my 81 kz650 nightmare

i will have to check that out...maybe even give ebay another shot...thanks for the input

Your nightmare is my dream. Wish somebody would give me a motorcycle! Looks like a good base for a restoration. Wait'll you hear it run, you'll be glad you fixed her. Other than some rust and missing a few parts, it looks pretty solid. Motor looks clean, I see no oil leaks, and the gas tank looks straight. Is that a header I see? Bonus if it is.

I just remembered another great resource, check this out: www.dansmc.com/ . I learned a lot from this guy, and he's got a great sense of humor too. Click on index/online motorcycle repair course/troubleshooting a bike that will not start. This should get you going in the right direction.

I was a little curious when I first got it, so I threw some gas in and after a couple trys she fired up. Didn't sound bad at all even with the miss. After a quick minute I shut her down though. It will be awhile before I hear her again. Yes that is a 4 into 1 with a vance&hines. I took the carbs off today, and started in on them. The one thing that puzzled me was when she fired up the rpm's hit 4grand. That was without the number one cylinder fireing. Wires bad...Anyway, this is all new to me..so if you have some input let me know...Thanks

Seems like there are a lot of king/queen seats for cheap out there. I picked this one up for $40 including the pan. Shaved the foam so it was flush on the sides and top. Then carefully laid the excess material on the skin down and sewed it flat. Re-mounted the skin back on to the foam then back onto the pan. Not perfect but fit the budget.

Another view.

I was a little curious when I first got it, so I threw some gas in and after a couple trys she fired up. Didn't sound bad at all even with the miss. After a quick minute I shut her down though. It will be awhile before I hear her again. Yes that is a 4 into 1 with a vance&hines. I took the carbs off today, and started in on them. The one thing that puzzled me was when she fired up the rpm's hit 4 grand. That was without the number one cylinder fireing. Wires bad...Anyway, this is all new to me..so if you have some input let me know...Thanks

Wow, not bad for a free bike. V&H header! I'm jealous.

I'm not surprised that you were able to hit 4 grand on 3 cylinders...these are tough bikes that can take a lot of abuse. When I first got mine going she was only running on about 3 1/2 (#4 wasn't firing right due to a loose primary jet that was flooding it with too much gas), but surprisingly, I was able to hit 10 grand running that way and even rode it, although it lacked power. My "Roach Rocket" had sat outside in the harsh Tahoe weather for 4 years without being started before I got her, 27,000 on the odometer, but since it's not an original motor (serial# confirmed it as a '78), not telling how many are on the motor. Nevertheless, a compression check revealed pretty good numbers: 149 PSI on cyls 1&2, 147 on #3, and a low of 140 PSI on #4. Like I said before, real tough bikes.

So when you wrote "wires bad", did you mean the coil wire? I'd make sure you have spark to the bad cylinder. Replace plugs and plug wires as necessary. Then make sure it's getting the right amount of gas to the cylinder. Probably a good idea to clean the fuel system including the gas tank/petcock in addition to the carbs. And finally, I'd check the compression. It's always a good idea to run a compression check on an old motor to give you some idea of the shape of the cylinder/pistons/rings/valves. You can get a cheap compression tester that'll work for your bike at Harbor Freight for $8.

Once you get 'er firing on all 4 you'll want to check your valve adjustment, your manual will tell you how it's done, and it's not a hard as it sounds.

Your a lucky dawg to get a running KZ650 for free. Good luck with it.

Yea I am lucky being able to get a free kz. What I meant is the number 1 plug wire is bad. I checked everything for spark, and it is not getting any. so I pulled the boot end off, and the actual wire is getting good spark, just not the end. I was going to change the plugs and wires anyway, so no big deal.

just change out the cap you can get a 5 k ohm ngk for less than 5 bucks most bike shops

Hi I am in the restoring a 650 boat although for the time being I would be happy enough if it just ran. My major problem at present is all my tools are on the way over here. I picked this as my previous bike was a Z750 H1. Engine wise this SR650 D4 is the same. I'm really looking forward to riding it.