TOPIC:

I finally got the electrical problem sorted out on my 1983 KZ440, and it's running great. It idles nice and smooth. It's smooth when I rev it, and settles right back down to idle. The problems start when I try to ride it. It has absolutely no power. Besides the fact that it's a 440, I am at a loss for what could be causing the problem. I can barely get it up my street, which is only a slight incline. The engine starts to bog down and and it seems to knock a bit as soon as it has a load on it.

I just finished rebuilding the carbs. Maybe I missed something? I find that odd though since it idles and revs so well. I should mention that this is the first time I have tried to ride this bike. I bought it over the winter from an owner that had stored it (not very well) for years. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. It's finally warming up so I'd really like to get on the road soon.

Post edited by: danielcwebb, at: 2006/04/04 19:53

Your symptoms sound a lot like fuel starvation. When idling and revving, you don't need much fuel flow. Under power, fuel flow goes waay up.

I'd verify that there is nothing blocking the fuel flow from the tank to the carbs (bad petcock, filter, etc...), then the next thing to check is float level. If you set the floats a bit too low when you reassembled the carbs, you might be starving for fuel when you most need it.

I am just curious as to what your electrical problem turned out to be.

It turned out to be a defective battery. I had just bought it, so I ended up checking every other component thinking there was no way it could be the battery. But it was. At least it was easy to fix.

Is it running on both cylinders ? Low power and a bit of knocking noise makes me wonder. What colour are the spark plugs ? When you put the carbs back on did you synchronise them ?

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Woodstock ON Canada
1980 kz750E1, 4->1, K&N pods

Yes, it is running on both cylinders. I have not pulled the plugs and I did not sync the carbs, but that sounds like a good place to start. I will also double check the float level and fuel supply. I guess my initial reason for the post was to determine if you guys thought this was likely a minor problem (ie. cheap to fix) or if we were talking internal damage and/or wear. From the responses I've gotten, it seems like this is something I can handle.

I am quickly learning that these bikes aren't very forgiving. It seems that when everything is properly adjusted they run wonderfully, but if one little thing is off, they can give you fits.

DanielCWebb,

Have a similar problem with mine today but I am 100% sure it's carb sync. Bench synced them befor fitting back on the bike then last night started to sync but didn't allow myself sufficient time. Left side fuel pipe came off the carb spigot in mid sync! Wondered what the clear stinky liquid was pouring on my feet. Pulled the snc sticks off and gave it up for the night. Now no power/bogging today. Will resync tonight and report back.

I think the sync is your problem.