A Big Week for the KZ750

1983 KZ750 L3.

It'll be moved outside, filled with fuel and given a test start. Carbs are clean, fresh battery and plugs.

I forgot to hook up the vent tubes on the carbs; but other than that it should run. Wish me luck.

I've owned this bike since 1990 and it's the first motorcycle that my eldest son rode on when he was just a tot.

Still can't get the front brakes bled. I think the China front master is not pumping.

Photo from 1999.

There’s a guy near me that has that exact bike. So far I’ve seen him out three times. Once at the grocery store then twice on the road. Been trying to catch up one of these days for a closer look .  Good luck with the start up. 

About your new master cylinder, I suggest "bench bleeding".  Or you could try using the "turky baster" type tool to SLOWLY pump fluid up from the caliper bleeder to fill the master.

Ooh, I really hope you take some photos of it all put together for us. That black with the red/orange livery is the coolest. 

Well, it's outside for the first time in 15 years.

Gas in the tank, confirmed petcock works on prime and there appears to be fuel past the in-line fuel filter but there's no fuel in the bowls, any of the bowls.

Going for a ride on my 650SR and think about it.

chopper1963 wrote:

Gas in the tank, confirmed petcock works on prime and there appears to be fuel past the in-line fuel filter but there's no fuel in the bowls, any of the bowls.

What sort of fuel filter did you use? The ones intended for cars (with fuel pumps) may not allow any flow with just gravity/prime. Recommend a filter from a motorcycle shop - or possibly from a lawn mower shop, since mowers also tend to be gravity-fed.

It's a small lawnmower-style filter. It seems to flow well.

I intend to figure out a non-vacuum petcock solution.

It runs using a Motion Pro gas tank.

Okay. Here is a first run /post run update.

I had it outside and running on a motion pro remote fuel tank. Petcock vacuum line blocked off with a bolt. It ran okay for not running for God knows how many years. More than 15 years for sure. I also noticed that I had forgotten to put the vent hoses on the carbs, FWIW.

While it ran in the sunlight, not my shop light, I noticed that the rubber manifolds were cracked and leaking. And that it was puking fuel back out of # 1 & 2 carbs. I did not have the rubber airbox rubbers on all the way because I suspected there would be issues. It ran and idled actually okay. Revved out a little bit--sounds good.

Brought it back in and pulled the carbs back off. Installed new manifolds and new vent tubes on the carbs. Pulled a spark plug from # 1 and it's a beautiful brown.

I put it back together last night probably going to roll it back outside tomorrow and start it again. See what it does this time.

I just did the math. This bike has not been ridden in 29 years. You have no idea how many times I almost gave this bike away thinking I would never get to it.

It's been stored inside the whole time which I think is what saved it. Dry and covered with a Toy Story sheet.

I've tried to half-ass ressurect this bike a few times in the last years--I think the last real effort I made was in 2016.

It was cool to hear it run again.



 

Ha! Tuesday update. It ran better with leaky manifolds.

It started and ran. IR temp on # 1 cylinder exhaust pipe was half of the others. Ran like crap. Carbs/slides hanging when give it throttle. Crank idle way up to compensate and let it get up to temp. Ran worse the warmer it got. Drained the carbs and it'll go back on the bench. Will pull plugs to see what they look like.