Maintenace to do with a 78' kz650 (sat 2 year)

I have a 1978 kz 650 i havent rode it in 2 years now it ran fine 2 years ago no problems at the end of the season i changed the oil and oil filter and maybe rode it 5 times for a total of 3 hrs on that new oil and filter. I also put fuel stabalizer in the fuel tank it then sat in my heated garage for 2 years collecting dust so today i was planning on taking it out of the garage giving it a good wash seeing if it will fire up and doing a oil change here are my questions.
1 - should i drain the fuel and put new fuel in ? it has sat for 18 months with a good amount of fuel stabalizer in it.
2 - I know i need to do a oil change because of the length of time it sat but would i still need to change the oil filter would it have possible decayed or rotted over the 18 months of just sitting there.
3 - Anything else i should check on my bike

Please note i am very new to owning a bike and routine Maintenace for these bikes so any advice to keep my bike in good running order would greatly be appreciated thanks

Update:

So i decided to drain my gas tank and carbs i got all but one carb drained the last drain screw on the carb was impossible to loosen anyway im glad i drained it because the gas had a apple juice colour to it.

Question: When should i check my tire pressure when its on kickstand or bike stand also what kinda pressure should i be pumping my tires up to, thanks

Check your tire pressure with the bike on the tires or on the stand - it doesn't matter.

Since you did not prepare your bike properly for long term storage, i.e. drain the carbs, you may very likely need to clean the carbs before the bike will run properly. Letting fuel sit in the carbs for 2 years will normally result in varnish building up in the jets and other parts, although I suppose it's possible the fuel stabilizer prevented that from happening. Ed

Thanks for the reply Ed.
How would i go about cleaning the carbs ?
the gas that came out smelled good it was still very tansparent but had a tinge of yellow to it like watered down apple juice lol i really hope its okay because im thinking cleaning the carbs is out of my skill level.
Right now the batter is charging so ill update when i try and start it

If you get it started and it runs fine you'll be ok. If it runs poorly and you need to clean the carbs I suggest you familiarize yourself with the Kawasaki Service Manual for your year / model bike as cleaning them will at least require removing them from the engine. Ed

insutama wrote: Thanks for the reply Ed.
How would i go about cleaning the carbs ?
the gas that came out smelled good it was still very tansparent but had a tinge of yellow to it like watered down apple juice lol i really hope its okay because im thinking cleaning the carbs is out of my skill level.
Right now the batter is charging so ill update when i try and start it

If it starts and everything else is in working order, get a can of SEAFOAM from your local auto store, dump the appropriate amount in the fuel tank, and take the bike out on a run, again ONLY if everything else seems to be in working order (tires, brakes and all the important stuff).

Seafoam can get a lot of the gunk out of your carbs, and in some cases, saves you the trouble of having to rebuild the carbs or take them apart for cleaning.

Gas sitting in the carbs 2 years, the jets are all clogged, so I doub't you'll be able to ride until the carbs are disassembled and cleaned. It's too bad Stabil and the like make claims that are not close to being true. Stabil added to the tank and sit two years, no problem there, but sitting in the carbs is a different story. Maybe you will luck out though.

If i take the carbs off and clean them will i have to tune the carbs again ?

Before removing the carbs I would first take the bowls off and inspect them; this can easily be done with the carbs still in place. Plan on installing new carb bowl gaskets; the original ones may be very hard and may leak if re-used. If the insides of the bowls are heavily coated with resin, lacquer, or some other hard residue it’s a safe bet that the jets are also fouled with the same coating. If that is true, cleaning the carbs will be necessary.

If the residue is thin, as stated previously by JWKZ750, you may be able to clean them by adding the appropriate amount of Seafoam to the fuel and riding the bike. Of course, this assumes the engine runs well enough to ride the bike.

Again, if the residue is heavy removing the carbs will be necessary to properly clean them. If you can get the engine to idle fairly decently before removing them it would be a good idea to test the carb holders for vacuum leaks. If they leak you should replace them while the carbs are off the engine. Also, if you need to remove the carbs give serious consideration to replacing the carb ducts that run between the carbs and the air box. Doing this will make your life much easier – old ducts get very stiff and hard to manipulate; new ducts are soft and easy to manipulate. If you remove the carbs be sure to keep each carb’s pieces together; don’t mix parts between carbs.

You do not need to re-tune the carbs (as in changing needle positions, rejetting, etc.), but after cleaning and installing them you should re-synchronize the carbs.
Ed

Yes you have to do some little tune like :


1. Get the right tools, like a good set of screw drivers for the jets and screws.
2. Get a service manual for your bike / carbs an read them
3. Check float bowl high
4. Set Idle air screws to reverence, ( normally 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 turns out )
5. Do a vacuum carb sync

Here some carb rebuild manuals to get an idea what to do or not to do.

Michael

For removing the bowls while the carbs are still mounted consider either of the following tools: