Jetting that @#$%^!!! KZ650

Well, as far as this thread is concerned, the point was to get help with my carbs.

seanof30306 wrote: Well, as far as this thread is concerned, the point was to get help with my carbs.

Oem carbs?
Good Fortune!

WOW!

After waiting nearly a month, and calling regularly, I went by Turbo's Thursday morning to insist he put everything else aside and work on my bike till it was done. When I got there, he was synching the carbs, so that kinda resolved that. He told me he'd have it done later that day, and sure enough, he called me a few hours later to say it was done.

I couldn't get back over there till yesterday (Friday). Sure enough, just as I was pulling in, it started drizzling. I decided I was gonna test ride that puppy, even if I had to wear a snorkel!

We started the bike up, and I was amazed. It cranked right up and idled smoothly at around 700 RPM. It's never done that. I jumped on it before it started raining harder and took it out for a ride. At first, it had some of the hesitation and rough running at 1/4-1/3 throttle, similar to before. Within a short time, though, the bike warmed up, and it cleared right up. It seemed perfect, with much crisper throttle response than it had ever had before. It started raining harder, and my back tire is total crap, so I had to cut the ride short after only a mile, or so.

I took it back to Turbo's, leaving it running. I noticed how quiet it was at idle. Previously, at anything under 1,200 rpm, it knocked like crazy; a noise normally attributed to the primary drive chain, and a noise that appeared to get better, or worse depending on how well the carbs were synched. Turbo said when he went into my carbs, he found my jet needles were corroded. He sanded the corrosion off of them, but he said that made them too small. He said he also found problems with the slides, although I didn't really understand what they were. Back in 2007, though, when I had the carbs rebuilt the first time (a terrible experience), the guy had said there were problems with the slides, too. I didn't quite follow on how, but Turbo said the slides being bad had been what was causing all that noise. All I know is, it's quieter now at 700 rpm than it was before at 1,500. I'm sure glad I had those spare carbs.

And here, dear reader, is where The First Law of Owning a 30 Year-Old Motorcycle comes into play: Never pass on a cheap parts bike.

Nearly two years ago, I picked up Fitty, the 50.00 parts bike. It's an '81 650 CSR that had no front end, no swingarm and rear wheel, a blown engine with a disassembled top end, and a "few bolts" the drunk guy I bought it from had dropped down into the transmission when he was disassembling it. I bought it to upgrade the charging system on my bike, and those parts alone made it well worth the 50 bucks I'd spent on it. A few weeks later, my bike fell over and broke the stator cover. The one I took off of Fitty saved me at least another 25-30 bucks, so I figured I was already ahead of the game. I also took the electronic ignition and coils off of it and boxed them up, in case my Dyna S ever craps out. I planned on selling the carbs, the head, and small parts off, but never got around to it, and I'm sure glad i didn't. When we found the carbs on that @#$%&!!! KZ650 were problematic, Turbo's first impulse was to swap to Fitty's carbs, which are identical. When he opened them up for inspection, though, he found they were corroded and crapped up, so he went back to the ones that were on the bike and rebuilt them. When he didn't like the slides and jet needles in them, though, he was able to take the ones out of Fitty's carbs, saving me time and money. Fitty has been a great investment. It's paid for itself numerous times over. I've decided I'm going to box up what's left of the carbs, the head, and the bottom end. Probably the wiring harness, too. I still think I'll get more than 50 bucks for the tank alone, which wouldn't fit my bike, anyway. Then there's the gauges, the frame with a clear title, etc.

Anyway, back to that @#$%&!!! KZ650.

So, the last obstacle was for us to go and settle up. Turbo had originally quoted me 500 bucks to replace the head gasket, adjust the valves, and clean the carbs. He'd obviously had to do more than we'd originally discussed with the carbs, so I figured it would be more. What I was afraid of was he might try to cover the cost of his having to have my tank repainted after he dropped it by building the cost into the bill. I decided if the bike was right, and he charged me 650.00, I wouldn't squawk. Anything over that, and we'd be having some discussions. I was honestly afraid he'd say 900 bucks, or something like that. He must have read my mind, as the bill he handed me was for 662.74. I decided to pay him and get the hell out of there before he changed his mind.

It's going to be stormy and rainy here throughout the weekend, so I won't get to ride it until Monday, or so. I'm really hopeful that the bike is finally running right. We appear to have licked the electrical problems last summer, and now the carb/running issues appear to be resolved. After 5 years of fighting this thing, I may finally be able to ride it this Summer!

I'm still really disgusted at the bike sitting in his shop since the first week of October, 2011, and I'm sure the damage to my tank was more than just "a scratch", but all will be forgiven if the bike runs right!

Fingers crossed.

You know, right after I bought that @#$%&!!! KZ650, I talked to WiredGeorge about sending him the carbs for a rebuild, and was all set to do it. Before I could do it, I was over at a local vintage cycle shop getting some parts from their indoor salvage yard, and their head mechanic happened to be standing there when I was asking the parts guy if he'd had any experience with WiredGeorge, or heard anything about his work.

"Hell, we can rebuild 'em right here." said the mechanic, "Save you lots of time and money."

I was still gonna go with WiredGeorge, but on the way home, the timing chain adjuster crapped out, and I took it back there to be fixed. I figured: "as long as it's here ....", and let them do the carbs, too.

It took me 10 weeks to get my bike back, it ran worse when I picked it up than it had when I'd dropped it off, they charged me four times what they'd quoted me, and I was off and running on this 4 1/2 year "adventure".

I wish I'd stuck to my original plan of sending them to WiredGeorge. When you don't have the skill to do something as complex as carbs yourself (I don't), it makes sense to send them to an expert, whose entire business is built on doing them.

Lesson learned. Sorry George, I'll know better next time.

Well, that @#$%&!!! KZ650 just set a new record. 8.4 miles (the previous record was 13 miles, or so).

As I sat there beside the road, shaking my head in disbelief, I realized there was good news, and bad news.

The bad news was, when I'd pulled out my AAA card, I realized I'd let my membership expire. I mean, the bike's been in the shop since last October, so I wan't using it. It slipped by me. I called them and offered to renew my membership on the spot if they'd come get me, but no good.

The good news was, hard experience with that @#$%&!!! KZ650 has made me one suspicious, paranoid S.O.B., so while It died after 8.4 miles, I hadn't driven 8.4 miles away from home. I only had to push it about a mile.

The second bit of good news was, while I was replacing virtually everything else on that @#$%&!!! KZ650, I'd put new front and rear wheel bearings in it, so it rolls pretty easy (relatively speaking). The old fat guy is still pretty tired.

Now you know why it's named "That @#$%&!!! KZ650".

Sorry to hear about all your misfortunes, but there are only two things (saving a major mechanical breakdown of the engine) that will cause a motor to stop while underway; lack of fuel or lack of spark. If it stops suddenly without warning, it's almost guaranteed it's a lack of ignition. If it lose power, it's more likely running out of fuel.

Do you have an inline fuel filter? It can slow fuel flow enough to run the float bowls dry, some thing I learned from my XT600. Also, you may have a poor tank vent - try popping the fuel tank lid open next time and listen for a woosh and also see if it makes the engine run.

To verify ignition issues, bring a cheap strobe lamp. If it flickers, you have spark. If not, you do not.

Finally, I will add that riding or driving old vehicles is generally costly unless you are able to take care of virtually every issue yourself. Although you can be lucky, chances are that you will have to fix this and that on a regular basis. Bits that often can be repaired with little material cost can be time consuming to put right. Paying mechanics to do that for you will bring the bill up.

OK, so I got out there this morning and started doing some checking.

It's getting fuel.

I pulled a plug and checked it. No fire.

Checked it at the coils. No juice.

I wondered if the relay had gone out in my trusty WG Coil Mod mod again, No juice was coming out of it, but no juice was going into it, either.

Checked the fuse between the battery and the relay; it was blown. Replaced it, and it fired right up!

Got to wondering about why that fuse had blown. WG calls for a 10a fuse, but I hate to blow fuses, so I'd put in a 75a fuse, and it still blew it.

While I was looking around, I actually saw the cause. The Dyna Green coils are bigger than stock, and mounting them using the stock mounts leaves the tolerances kinda tight. When I'd installed the coils, I put thin rubber sleeves around the studs to make sure the contact on the coils didn't touch the studs, but I guess it worked loose and rubbed through it, as the coil was arcing on the stud. I wrapped the stud in tape, and moved the contact on the coil as far away from the stud as possible, then tightened it up. That'll hold it for now, but I'm gonna have to find a better way to mount those coils.

I'm also gonna have to start carrying extra fuses.

Still, I'm really relieved it was something so simple. It's a beautiful day, so I'm going to go get the tag sorted out on it, then go for a nice, long ride.

Goal 1: Go further than 8.2 miles (new record set on Saturday).

Goal 2: Go further than 13 miles (old record)

Goal 3: I'm way too jaded to have hopes higher than breaking 13 miles.

sorry bout your luck.hope it goes better.but next time i am going to wate till the movie comes out!!!!!!!!!

When mounting Dyna coils on 1976 KZ900-B1 LTD, may wrap the stock mounting spacers with small nylon tie straps which serve to insulate the spacers from the heads of the screws used to attach the coil leads to the primary terminals. (See following pic.)




Other insulation options would include tape, rubber, etc., or fitting non-conductive mounting spacers (such as plastic).

Then there's always the MacGyvr special coil remounting designs. :lol:
Such as suspended with a strip of baby diaper, or hung inside a old sock, or kept inside a tank bag.
Any of which should work just fine, the point being that the coil need not be grounded to function otherwise normally. Hanging suspended in mid-air would also be okay, but should include a leash so it won't float off. :lol:

Here for consideration is a temporary new avatar. :woohoo:




Good Fortune!

Good to hear your on your way for a full sorting of the bike, but I would not fit oversized fuses; you risk burning up costly coils or even worse - the whole bike. I know people who have put nails instead of fuses. Some had luck, one set things on fire. Even if the car was saved, replacing a burned out wiring harness is not the most fun way to spend a weekend. Or three.