1979 KZ1000 LTD B3 Help wanted - Bike will not start

Nothing wrong with 26 mm pumpers.  Just a bit more complicated than non-pumpers, but way simpler than Z1 carbs.

My 1980 came equipped with VM28SS pumper carbs.  I haven't run the bike this year, but last year I set the carbs with 115 main jet and 17.5 pilot.  Everything else was stock.  The bike ran very well except at low rpms where it backfired a bit, which I attributed to timing, not carbs.  I run a 4/1 header and a Z1 air intake on the bike.  Late last year I switched to VM26SS carbs off a '76, with fuel/air screws, not pilot screws.  The bike ran a bit better at low rpm and pulled hard above 4,000 rpm.  The carbs have 115 mains and 17.5 pilots.

So its been a while since I updated. I stripped down the carbs and cleaned them. I received my Keyster carb rebuilt kits from Z1, Nice kits. I had 130 main jets and I installed the 105. Replaced the #15 pilot jets with new #15 ones. I did not mess with the jet needles as the ones I have were the correct size Y167-S / 5cn18. Also replaced the pumpers gaskets and the air screws. New O-rings everywhere.

Rebuilt the rear brake. Very dirty and rusty but came out ok. One of the pistons had rust on the bottom but the wall was nice and clean.

Re-installed the cylinder block. What a PITA. Took me a few tries but now its on and the pistons move nice and smooth. I am going to install the head next. I put on the gasket and O-ring.

Just had a question, if you look at the last pic, the O-ring is sticking out as its resting against the gasket in the middle. Do I need to leave it like that ? Or do I need to cut out a bit of gasket material so the O-ring rests in its groove ?

Thanks.

I would not cut it.

Looking very nice!

When you installed the barrels....there are two dowel pins that fit between the upper crankcase and the cylinder block. I hope you remembered to put them on.

Thanks !

And yes I made sure those dowel pins were in on the exhaust side as they should.

Should I stick the O-ring back in its groove and let the gasket run slightly over it then ? If I do that I am afraid I will compromise the seal for the center column.

The manual said to install the gaskets first and the O-ring second but if I do that, the O-ring doesn't sit inside the groove in the middle where the gasket meets.

If I install the O-ring first, the gasket sits a bit on top of it.

I've never had that problem but if I did I'd trim the head gasket a tiny bit and leave the O ring alone.

Be sure to put the head gaskets in the right side up.

I finished re-assembly yesterday. I had to undo the oil pan as I had some small leaks and I did not want any oil to fall on the 4-1. I undid everything, I was concerned about reusing the gasket but it was not damaged so I cleaned it up and let it sit to dry overnight. On Saturday morning I sprayed it with Permatex Copper spray gasket, which I also used on the cylinder and head gaskets. Voila ! No more leaks.

So I was able to install the 4-1. Really don't like those flanges as they sometimes shift. Which there was something better to use with the classic exhaust brackets.

Had a temporary fuel tank setup, New battery. Choke on and she's alive !

I can't !@#$% believe it

Took out my Jim Goose Helmet for the inauguration.

She does not run perfect and I have sone small exhaust leaks on 1 and 4. Needs to fix that.

Also experiencing some stutter when I come to around 4000-4500 RPM. Need to balance the carbs but I will also re-test compression and take a look at the plugs, maybe I need to look at my jet setup again.

I did 40KM yesterday. When she was warmed up I slowly took her to about 110 KM/H. Nice. The clutch is perfect, the transmission works good, all speeds work.

So thanks to all of your good advise, you guys really helped me out and getting her to run again. It was a great experience. I know everything about the bike and now its just a question of tuning and maybe changing the shocks, tires.



Again thanks to everyone !

It's a wonderful feeling when you press the button and the bike actually fires up! Glad to hear you got her going so easily!

Today I did static timing using a Ohm meter. So far so good, I have a strobe gun so I will do that next.

I had some exhaust leaks on #1 and #4 so I went ahead and started to fix that. #4 took about 15 minutes and all it was the header was misaligned.

Then I did #1 and no matter what I tried I could not get it right. The surface were the stud goes in the head is flush as opposed to all of the other mounts. Also the aluminium surface is rough. It looks like a repair maybe ?

After a few tries the stud broke off.

I used a punch and started a small pilot hole and then I used an 1/8 inch drill bit to widen the hole. I drilled in about 1/4 inch. Used a counter puller and part of the aluminium surrounding the stud broke off.

Wow just when I though it was smooth sailing, this happens.

What should I do ? Can I get it repaired ? Do I need to buy another head ?

Bad luck! I recently broke a bolt on the center crank cap. I tried to drill it but had no success on extracting it, so I found a machinist who took it out.

It looks repairable to me but if your problem was mine I would look for an aircraft machinist...someone experienced at working aluminum.

As mentioned above, a good machine shop should be able to fix that just fine.
With some exhaust systems, the thin Kawasaki gaskets will not seal. Suzuki GS 1000 gaskets are the same diameter but thicker. They usually solve the problem.

A little update,

I got my head back, I found a welder that fixed it for me. Not pretty but once the exhaust pipe will be on it will be unnoticeable.

Will start putting it back together this week-end. Received some fresh gaskets.

Re-jetted the carbs to be leaner as my plugs where getting black fluffy stuff.

Also got an air box, new boots, new filters and a carb synchronizer so I will have some fun playing with all of that in the next weeks.

You found a good welder/machinist. Looks like a good repair to me!