1980 KZ 1300 Spitting problem

Wow, nice bike. Looks mean. :side:

I'm a noob to this site, but have owned several bikes, had a 1980 LTD 1000, and just bought a 1980 ST 1000 and a 1979 LTD 1000. When I was putting the 1980 back on the road, I had the same issue. What it turned out to be in my case was a couple of bad plugs, believe it or not. The plugs looked brand new, and had obviously been replaced recently, but they were still bad. I didn't see anywhere in the string that anyone had mentioned that so thought I'd throw it out there.

GORGEOUS bike, BTW. Beautiful. I like the unfaired look (hate the term "naked bike").

Welcome Mark! In my last post I failed to mention that I found all the Spark plugs loose and the washers not compressed enough to seal. This most likely is part of my problem. I tightened the four outboard plugs but left the two inboards as they were to show the mechanic. I still feel that the Valves will still need adjustment but I am waiting on the results of the current work before committing to this. However, the spark plugs were an issue during the initial tune up as several new plugs were bad out of the box. Could be that I'm experiencing the same failures. Most likely the plugs were made in China and that would explain a lot of the issues this bike has had as far as parts go. The replacement battery was also bad out of the box as so was the next one. Shorted cells. The mechanic ordered a new battery from another manufacturer and this one seems to be charging and holding the juice good. The non-starting problem is from the anti-theft system and has been corrected. So now the issue remaining is the Valve adjustment. Which I decided to do myself this spring if it is needed.

I'm going to get a service manual from Z1 Enterprises and do all future repairs myself. Right now though, I got to get my Yamaha XJ750 ready to trade and start a restore on a 1974 Yamaha GT80 I bought for my 8 y/o son to learn on. The XJ750 is being traded for a Honda R200r Street/Trail so I can teach him by example how to ride off road. This is a father-son deal with me.

unomike wrote:

I'm going to get a service manual from Z1 Enterprises and do all future repairs myself.

Damn straight brother! :laugh:

Today is Christmas so ... Merry Christmas!!

Well the Battery is no longer an issue. Bike starts but still with some difficulty and the mechanic feels that still something is not right. He believes the Choke Circut is not operating as it should, so now he is going to take off the carbs and go through them again. - At no cost to me. I guess every mechanic will get a machine that will frustrate him every blue moon or so. And the old KZ is doing just that to him. ... and me too.

It won't be looked at unill after the first of the year. The shop is closed for the week due to the holidays. Well lets go trade that Yamahammer.

I would be looking at the ignition coils, if they are stock then toss them out. Accel sells a nice kit for the 1300, new coils and wires. It takes a little bit of work to make them fit though. The Accel coils will come with clamps which you have to tuck up where the original coils were. The area under the tank gets very hot on the 1300 and the stock coils can crack. Save yourself a headache and get the kit. The resistor is also removed when the coils get hooked up

Hi Mike,

I've got a manual that you can download. Send me a PM.

Bill

Thanks for the offer on the manual. I just sent you a PM.

The KZ has Accel coils and wiring was already installed by the previous owner and the mechanic checked for proper voltage/ohms in the ignition system and it is within specs.

My achille's heel is carbs. Not all carbs though. I am comfortable with 2 stroke and Harley carbs. Multi carb setups however tend to throw me for a loop. Some here may roll thier eyes at this but don't we all have a weak spot somewhere? At least with a manual I can use it to overcome my weakness. Work on my weak points and turn them into strong ones.

unomike wrote:

Thanks for the offer on the manual. I just sent you a PM.

The KZ has Accel coils and wiring was already installed by the previous owner and the mechanic checked for proper voltage/ohms in the ignition system and it is within specs.

My achille's heel is carbs. Not all carbs though. I am comfortable with 2 stroke and Harley carbs. Multi carb setups however tend to throw me for a loop. Some here may roll thier eyes at this but don't we all have a weak spot somewhere? At least with a manual I can use it to overcome my weakness. Work on my weak points and turn them into strong ones.

hang in there and study the manual...we all have our weak spots.....cleanliness is numero uno in carb rebuilding...synching them is next....i rebuilt a couple sets of vm series with good results....if i can do it, you can also......a couple of years ago , i wouldnt have even attempted it......lots of help here....good luck...

Spitting problem solved! Turns out that one of the intake boot clamps was loseing up after awhile. Replaced the clamp and it runs without spitting. The old KZ1300 starts better but cold weather startups is still a thorn in my side. It will start with some coaxing.

I feel that replacing the standard spark plugs (NKG BP6ES) with NKG's (BPR6EIX) will improve not only the cold starts but overall performance and fuel economy. Does anyone here on KZRIDER have any experience with these Iridium spark Plugs? Below is a link to the NKG Iridium Spark Plug web page. Any thought on this will be much welcomed.

www.ngksparkplugs.com/products/spark_plugs/iridiumix.asp