kz750 ltd h2 1981 - will crank wont start fully?

I've posted this before, but it's a good statement:

The Old 4 Cylinder Dinosaur

Many of you, who are owners of older bigger 4 cylinder Kawasaki’s, may have noticed when out for a ride for a snack or a “Cold One” how a crowd will gather next to your bike.

Statements will be made about how they had one, or their Fathers, Brothers or Uncles owned one and how fast it was, and how for the most part, the newer, faster, sports bikes on the street tend to be ignored when you drive up on your “Dinosaur”.

Sure, the older bikes cannot compete with today’s motorcycles in handling and acceleration, but they can sure turn heads when they rumble down the streets exhausting through a nice 4 into 1 collector.

If the owner of a new sport bike wonders why the interest in your bike, ask him/her in 20-30 years will his/her bike attract as much notice as your’s does today? Our older bikes are like the “Muscle Cars” of the 70’s.

Mtbspeedfreak wrote:
I cannot believe the number of compliments I get on my bike! Random guys (mostly ) who roll down a window at a stoplight, guys at the muffler shop, hanging out at the motorcycle shops around town.

Heard quite a few stories- "I wanted one but my GF said no, glad I listened because I married her" and the occasional "a friend of mine was killed on one..." Pull up to bike night and the Harley guys will come over, the occasional crotch rocket riding squid will mumble a compliment under his breath, and sure I get a lot of "why do you ride THAT old bike?!?" Truth is, I quite honestly wouldn't trade it for nearly anything!

Sheldon bourgeoi wrote:
I must admit, it is a pretty good feeling when you park your bike at the local stop, and people come up to it to have a look. It's even better when your getting gas, and some middle aged guy comes up to you "reminiscing" about how he had the same bike back in high school. Then, as he walks away to leave, he hands you his name and phone number on a piece of paper, then tells you to call him if you ever decide to sell it. That's happened to me more than once!

Steel Panther wrote:
The old inline fours are cool. They are my favorite bikes. The ol' Z1R with a good exhaust, made music, not noise. The vertical twins are pretty cool too. Every once in a while I'll stumble across a gem someone has preserved or restored. They always draw my attention. Cool thread, brings back memories.

roy-b-boy-b wrote:
Amen Brother. It happens to me all the time. A guy was checking out my bike real good yesterday. He had owned the Kawasaki dealership in town when the Mach II tripples came out.

Househunter wrote:
I bought my '78 KZ1000 in 1983 "BC" (Before Children) Had not been licensed since '94 until last summer. Since July '10, I put over 10K miles on her. I too have been amazed at the number of people commenting or passing on the highway and giving a "thumbs up" as they go buy. The wife wanted me to sell it many times but I just had to keep her (and the wife too). So glad I did!!!!

Jacksdad wrote:
I gotta chime in here, last winter(10-2011) money was tight, and the wife says to me we should figure out a way to cut back because of the gas prices, next day, at Home Depot,(job) I casually ask an older guy if he has any bikes for sale (he has about and he says "yeah, matter of fact I do, 79 Kawasaki KZ750 that I'd been tinckering with for a few months, but could never get to run, I'll let you take a look at it and tell me what you think" so a week goes by and I ask him if he can bring it to work with him one day, he says, sure, I tow it home, CHANGE THE PLUGS, fires right up, I quuickly call him to ask what he wants for it, he says well I got 350 in it, but for you, I'll take 325, I immediatly drive to his place with cash, then I tell him what I did, and he has since offered me 500 I keep saying no.. sorry to ramble on, but this is the single BEST investment I have ever made, and alot of you guys helped me get her running as good as she does, so THANK YOU ALL. even though mine is only a two cyl.

Tfh903 wrote:
AMEN...... Sometimes the younger ones ask me if it is a new bike, I tell them it will be 39 years old in September 2011 (4 digit serial). How many other bikes can be worth more than 5 times their original showroom sell price when they are 39 years old, and can still kick A## over a Harley twice it's size?

Mtbspeedfreak wrote:
Haha yeah I hear ya! Someone came up to me and honestly said "I didn't know they made a reproduction model of those old Kawasakis." I said, "Nope, no reproduction, this one is 35 years old!"

PS- this was halfway down the Baja Peninsula, just outside Guerrero Negro.

Linsk wrote:
I had my 80 kz 1000 for 31 years I remember when it was invisible. This past year my cousin and I decided to take his 12 year old son up to americade with us. Every were we stopped people will come up and check out my bike. everybody has a story and I like hearing them. On the fourth day my godson came up to me and asked me why nobody talks about my dads bike. So iI explained to him what a classic was. I said to him I will leave my bike to him when I go.He just smiled and said I think your bike is cool. Made me smile we have to get the younger kids interested in these bikes.

Medina wrote:
Yup, 81KZ1100 and I've owned a few bikes, this is the only one I've had strangers (four so far) say something when I was out. I'm talking total strangers, out of the blue saying something.

All my pals, neighbors, you lugs like it granted. But I'm talking the sort of thing where I'm turning left in the middle lane, a guy at the + intersection who is also turning left- hits his horn, rolls down the window and yells "HEY", then when I make eye contact trying to figure out wtf is going on, I get a thumbsup? THATS never ever happened. I'm just enough of a narcissist to really get off on that (over 50+ crowd here too) .
Interestingly enough, there is a 79 or 80 KZP still in the white I've seen, and an 82? (that red color twin to mine) that pulled up behind me tooling around town. I didn't notice the 82 till I'd made a left turn and looked back at traffic. I'm wondering if he's an inmate here?


I was told I could never sneak up on anyone on my bike.
Nothing can quite compare to the sound of a big, 4 cylinder Kawasaki, getting it’s act together and moving on down the road…

hi mfolks

you've made my day with these entertaining
stories. thank you so much!
did you see my first ride out to the mot shop
video?

also the uk mot pass certificate, this
brought a big smile to face.
i felt proud of my rebuild. to find
all the correct parts, took over two years
of ebay and patience of auction waiting.

i've a lot of parts here that others could
buy off me for amicable prices.

thanks again for your stories mfolks,
made me think, laugh, smile!

regards

angel

This website and a few similar to it, have an incredible amount of knowledge about these older kawasaki's. From your struggles in getting your bike running, you've learned quite a lot! I believe that anyone can get a old bike back on the road, it might take a bunch of blood, sweat & tears(and $$$$ too), but the satisfaction of having a unique bike like know one else's, is great satifaction.

Good on ya Angel, all the effort has paid off nicely. I love the sound of Eric when the exhaust echoed off the garage! Nice!
Get out and ride the wheels off of it!

hiyall friends!

i've some further problems with eric!
i'm sure i won't be the last to ask these questions.

eric isn't running correctly. i asked for a quote
to balance my carbs and find why my
plugs are still running black, dry and sooty.
too rich mixture. the mechanic said 'diagnostic
work is expensive, carb balancing is very
technical!' i said i will have a think about
it and quickly left. i then ordered a morgan
carbtune 4 cyls. also a gunson colortune.

i read the carbtune leaflet, set the carbs up with
them and started eric up. #1 was off the scale.
corrected this. #2,3 at 22, just had to tweak
#4. the bike sounded great and stopped popping!
technically challanging not! one down, one
to go.

the engine is running rich. has anyone used
the single colortune kit to analyse air/fuel mixture please?
i set up #1 and it showed yellow on idle, this went
to bunson blue using the throttle. #2,3 were showing
bunson blue on idle, not yellow? #4 was showing blue/white
which is too lean. each spark plug differs in color.
i find the color chart confusing. is there an easier
way to understand using this colortune please?
it mentions 3 tests and i've got lost in
trying to adjust all the mixtures correctly?
i'm a timing rookie!

the final fueling problem i've is the safest
resting position for the carbs overflow tubes.
the workshop manual advises that each pipe
is inserted in the airbox holes. any surplus
fuel gets squirted into the bottom of the airbox.
the squirted fuel then collects in the airbox
and in my opinion 'is dangerous!'
i mentioned my concern to a bike mechanic
and he advised 'dont put the overflows into
the airbox at all, just clip them all together
and let them live in the top of the swingarm.
any surplus fuel will fall to the floor and is safe to do
so. is this correct kzr's?

q) why did mr kawasaki design the overflow
to fit into the airbox and cause a dangerous
fuel puddle! i don't understand this?

many thanks for your cummulative
advice. 'do it once, do it right!'

regards

angel

Check the input voltage to the ignition coils here's how to do it:

Testing Kawasaki Ignition Coils For Input Voltage

When voltage testing Kawasaki Ignition Coils, the following needs to be done:

1. Remove the fuel/gas tank to access the coils.

2. Fully charge the battery.

3. Using a multimeter, set it up for VDC(Volts, Direct Current), range of 20.

4. Turn on the ignition switch and the run/stop switch to “Run”.

5. Put the multimeter’s RED probe on where the red or red/yellow wire goes on the ignition coil.

6. Put the multimeter’s BLACK probe on either the battery Negative(-) post/terminal or a good frame ground(Earth, for those in other countries).

7. You should be able to see battery voltage at the ignition coil connection, but this depends on the current draw of other items in the same circuit.

8. If the tested voltage is down to 8-9 volts, you probably need to clean the many and various electrical connectors.

And:Cleaning Motorcycle Electrics

1. Get some of the De-Oxit electrical contact cleaner and figure on spending a good day going from the front of the bike to the back. It’s a plastic safe cleaner/preservative. www.deoxit.com is their website. Or use any plastic safe electrical contact cleaner(NOT WD-40 !).

2. On the older Kawasaki's, a majority of electrical connectors are inside the headlight housing requiring removal of the headlight, then the fun begins.

3. Do one set of electrical connectors at a time to avoid mixing up what connects to where. Usually disconnecting, spraying with De-Oxit and reconnecting is about all you'll need.

4. However, when encountering the green crud of corrosion, a brass wire brush may be needed on the pins you can reach. Some 400-600 grit wet and dry sandpaper strips rolled into a tube should reach the male and female pins in the more difficult to clean connectors.

5. Smoker’s pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and wooden toothpicks work as cleaning aids.

6. Really small electrical connectors may require the use of a welders tip cleaning tool assortment.

7. Most pins in the connectors are coated with a thin plating of tin, and others may be nothing more than copper or brass.

8. If moisture is added, the resulting corrosion lowers the voltage/current being carried causing dim lights, slow engine cranking, slow turn signal responce and lower input voltage to the ignition coils resulting in weak spark.

9. The left and right handlebar switch pods will need attention too as they have circuit functions like turn, horn, run/stop, and start. The older Kawasaki’s have reports of the soldered connections crumbling, if your bike has this problem, just ask, as I’ve got a repair procedure for this.

10. Usually a spritz or two with actuation of the switch is about all needed for these switches unless corrosion is detected and then careful disassembly is required.

11. The ignition switch may or may be not sealed to allow spraying the internal contacts. I urge caution if attempting to open this up as springs, and ball bearings may fly out never to be seen again!

12. If your bike has the older style glass tubed fuses, I suggest replacing them as vibration can cause internal failure. AGX is the type used, and most auto parts stores can get them for you.

13. Clean the fuse holder clips, looking for signs of overheating(discolored insulation, signs of melting). I use metal polish on a cotton swab, followed by spraying another clean swab with the De-Oxit and then rubbing the inside of the fuse clip.

14. All battery cables must be clean and tight for maximum current transfer. Check the cables going from the Negative(-) battery terminal/post to the engine mounting bolt

15. Also the one going from the Positive(+) terminal to the starter solenoid and from there to the starter motor.

16. If any battery cable feels ”Crunchy” when flexed, replace it as possible corrosion is inside the insulation.

17. Each "Bullet Connector" will have to be sprayed to ensure good connectivity, especially the ones going to the energizing coil of the starter solenoid.

18. The alternator output “Bullet Connectors” are usually behind the engine sprocket cover and will need inspecting and cleaning too.

20. The turn signal light sockets will benefit from a spritz from the contact cleaner along with the tail light/brake light socket.

21. Some brake light switches can be sprayed on the actuating rod, with the spray running down inside to the electrical contacts, others may be sealed requiring replacement if the switch is intermittent in operation.

22. Some people put the Di-Electric Grease on cleaned terminations/connectors, I don’t, as I’ve read/heard it can cause problems when it gets hot, actually insulating the connections, so the choice is yours to use or not.

I think I've covered about all of the electrical systems on the bike.........

“I spent a weekend going through every electrical connection and switch on the bike with a little scotchbrite pad and DeOxit - what a difference! Everything was brighter, gauge backlights, indicator lights, turn signals, I was getting a nicer spark, it fired up quicker, etc. Well worth my time. WELL worth it! “

From a forum member at www.kzrider.com

Also the sparkplug caps contain a 5000 ohm resistor that can fail or become intermittent, affecting the spark energy.

The caps unscrew from the sparkplug wires(high tension leads) and can be checked with a multimeter set on OHMS(on the meters, it looks like a horseshoe upside down)range of 20K, put one probe inside the cap, touching the part that snaps on the sparkplug, and the other on the part that screws into the wire(high tension lead) if they test good, before re-installing them, cut about 1/4" off the end, and screw them back on.

Stock 1976 KZ900-B1 LTD:



Good Fortune!

hi

many thanks for your reply!

my bike is a kz750 ltd h2 1981.
the manual advises 'insert the overflow pipes
into grommeted holes in the front of the
airbox'.

in running the bike, the airbox bottom
then becomes a puddle of fuel, not the
best solution!

where does other kz750 ltd h2 1981 route
their overflow pipes please?

many thanks

angel

hi

thank you for your very informative answer.
i'm not being unkind, but does your
reply, answer my questions?
all my electrics work!

i'm concerned about correctly adjusting
my rich mixture. i would like the same settings
for all cylinders!

thanks again!

regards

angel

How's the compression on all 4 cylinders? it should be within 10% or the engine will be unbalanced. Air filter clean? Fresh, properly gapped sparkplugs? Correct heat range?

Would route the overflow hoses to exit underneath the bike, so any overflow will be immediately evident and readily traceable to the particular carb involved. Which presupposes that the overflow circuits are clean, clear and functional.

As to black sooty spark plugs ---
Before adjusting the air/fuel mixture, if not already done, would first assure all the following:
• Correct fuel level in each carb by using the clear tube test;
• No carb overflows (fuel valves are properly functioning);
• Fresh, clean, unobstructed air filter;
• Fat blue sparks visably observed on removed plugs;
• Valve clearances are within specs;
• Adequate compression (perform a compression test).

Even otherwise perfect carbs won't compensate for deficiencies in compression, spark quality, or fuel level.

After attending to all the above, could then proceed with carb tuning, including sync, adjusting pilot mixture screws, and possible jetting changes.

Good Fortune!

Here's a magazine article of possible interest.
Unfortunately doesn't speak to the matter of overflow hoses into the air box.

Click > kz.bike-night.com/media/CycleGuideMay1980KZ750E.pdf

Sorry about any repetitions from not having reviewed all the prior posts in this thread.

Good Fortune!