Kz440 let's white smoke!!!!

Hey guys! I'm really excited to join the forum!
I recently got a KZ 440 LTD belt given to me by a friend. Super pumped to bring it back to life as I've always wanted to learn mechanical stuff.

I've got a few questions though that I need some advice on since you guys all seem to be the best resource!

The previous owner hadn't ridden or started the bike for three years so getting it to start was a little bit of a process over the past couple weeks.

So far I have done the following:
Removed and cleaned out a few flakes of deride gas and a tiny bit of rust from the gas tank.
Removed and cleaned the petcock with carb cleaner.

Disassembled and clean the carbs. I am not a hundred percent sure I clean them as thoroughly as I should, but I was able to see daylight through all of the holes in the Jets and there's no chunks or obvious degree anywhere in them anymore.
I wasn't able to take out the adjustment screws (if that's what you call em') since they seem to be sealed by the factory and I didn't have access.

Changed the oil and filter.

Changed spark plugs

Installed an online fuel filter between the petcock and carbs.

Installed a new battery and attempted to start the bike yesterday!

After a couple minutes of trying to get it to start and then realizing I needed to have the petcock in the "prime" position, I got it to start! ...... for a short while.

It ran for about 2 minutes. I popped it into gear and let it pull me from one end of my short parking lot to the other and it died shortly after.

Fiddling with the choke some more I got it to start again but it died within a few seconds.

There was a white smoke coming out of the exhaust and even after the bite was off, white smoke continued to come out of the exhaust pipes for a good 60 seconds.

I'm not sure if it has something to do with the fuel/air mixture, leaky seals, or maybe a bit of the old rotten oil still lurking in the engine when I added new oil to it?

Not sure what I need to do now… Any and all advice is welcome!

Here are some more facts about it to help guide any instructions:

When I changed the oil, the old oil reeked of turpentine.

Both spark plugs were fouled, however, the right side one also had oil fouling on it.

It came with Pods installed instead of the factory air box.

Sounds like the carbs are still dirty. Choke and pilot passages.

The stinky oil suggests the carb floats were sticking and gasoline filled up the cylinders and got into the crankcase. This is a very common issue with bikes that sat for a long time.

I'd focus on getting the bike running right and then see if the white smoke continues. BTW, since the bike has pods that means you need to rejet the carbs so good luck with that. I wouldn't even bother trying to run the bike until you figure out the jetting business or install the airbox.

Thanks! Ya it's a bummer trying to figure this stuff out since I'm on a limited budget and have very little knowledge about carbs and engines hahah.
With the pods.... would restricting the air with a sock or something help? Cause I can't seem to find an air box online for sale.

Also... pardon my ignorance but what exactly does rejetting the carbs mean? Do I just buy Jets that are bigger? Or do I drill something out? Any help is appreciated!

I've rebuilt 8 sets of carbs and all run great with the factory airbox. I am currently working on a project with pods. I've got three months of my life trying to tune them and make it start properly. I've yet to succeed. Needless to say I'm not a fan of pods.

Smallzphoto wrote: Thanks! Ya it's a bummer trying to figure this stuff out since I'm on a limited budget and have very little knowledge about carbs and engines hahah.
With the pods.... would restricting the air with a sock or something help? Cause I can't seem to find an air box online for sale.

Also... pardon my ignorance but what exactly does rejetting the carbs mean? Do I just buy Jets that are bigger? Or do I drill something out? Any help is appreciated!

Blocking airflow into the filter is an old school tuning trick. When it runs better with less air flow the jetting is lean
and visa versa. DynoJet does not make a jet kit for the KZ400/440. But I have found a way around that.
Check out page 12. www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=39120.165
6 Sigma makes a kit for the KZ440 but it does not have a jet needle which is very important.
There is information on individual filters with CV carbs and how to make it work.
I have run K&Ns on my 2002 ZRX1200Rn since almost new.


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I tried socks on the pods. Literally my socks. And it actually seems to have helped it stay running for a bit longer hahha. It's not smoking as much either. I just had to play with the choke a lot more but I kept it running for a few minutes this time and was even able to ride it (sort of) to the end of the block before it died again.
The idle is all over the place and it stumbles over it self trying to accelerate at all. I maybe got it up to 10mph.
Right before I shut it down the idle climbed really high and I had to hit the kill switch..... then a little puff of a baby backfire from the exhaust came out.
The neutral switch decided to stop working in the short ride to the end of the block too haha.

I put some sea foam in the tank and ran it through during this test so hopefully it will dissolve any leftovers that might be lurking after my carb cleaning. I mixed it about 1 part seafoam to 2 parts gas and am now going to let it sit overnight in the float bowls before starting it again.

I tried finding a stock airbox online and it seems to be very scarce out there. I did see that thread about the guy named Balasz that fabed up a really cool looking one out of an aluminum box he bought on Amazon but unfortunately I can't find a detailed description of the build or any information about what might be inside it. He mentions a system of homemade baffles but, since the post was from 2014 and it is now three years later, all the photos are gone from the post. He also mentions in the thread that he would put together and post a detailed schematic of the build somewhere but I have not been able to find it.
My biggest worry at this point is the airbox scenario because rejecting the carbs is very intimidating to me as I know nothing about it and I'm on a very limited budget. Having a pro do it would cost too much.

I have enough tinkerers college to possibly be able to make my own airbox but I would need a detailed description of how it was done. Has anybody followed up on that post anywhere? Has anybody come up with another solution since 2014/15?

Thanks in advance y'all! During my initial Journey of even trying to get the thing to start I relied heavily on this forum. The wealth of knowledge is bountiful here and I'm sure someone will be able to help me!