1980 KZ1300 - Bad Day at the Office

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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Fin

#586

Post by Lucien Harpress »

calif wingnut wrote:Slick 1300 cafe http://denver.craigslist.org/mcy/5384934499.html
I saw that bike bike kicking around craigslist for a year or two now. I had to laugh when it first came up, because he had everything he had done to it listed in the description, and had a price tag on it of something like $10 grand. I see the ad is down, so he probably finally got rid of it, but the initial price was RIDICULOUSLY optimistic.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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calif wingnut
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Fin

#587

Post by calif wingnut »

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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#588

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Just for fun, I figured I'd keep this thread going.

So, I pulled the old Kiwi out for a bit a spring freshening up, and had a rather eventful day. I had taken it out once already this year (just up and down the road), and discovered that it was only firing on 5 cylinders. Thankfully it just turned out to be a fouled plug- once I cleaned it up today all six came back to life.

That being said, I still got quite a few loud pops and bangs from the left exhaust (cylinders 1,2, and 3- no crossover). I attempted to fiddle with the mixture screws a bit, but nothing major- just comparing the plug colors and adjusting accordingly. I don't think it did much.

The main crux of my issues were the carb sync, though. At least, I thought so. I had fiddled with them before, and as a result the bike now idles up past the moon, and won't drop to a steady 1.5K. So, I tried again today, taking special care to dial in all three of my gauges to the same base reading. The carbs were a bit off, so I did a small adjustment, and a took a brief ride. The results?

-Front end was VERY spongy. Come to find out the front tire was nearly flat. :shock: Should've checked that before....
-She still leaks oil from the valve cover corners.
-She still leaks oil from the impeller seal.
-NEW FOR THIS SEASON: She NOW leaks from the right front forks seals.
-My "carb sync" has now made my bike run worse. :roll: (Which is odd, because I re-checked all my readings a couple times- all were as identical as I could get them. I may have to buckle down and get enough gauges for all six cylinders, even though you can't change readings between "shared" pistons. Official instructions are to take the average of the two readings, but then again, they are also supposed to be identical.... hmm....)
-It was also REAL hard starting when it was hot. I may have to clean out/rebuild the starter motor at some point.

Whew. I think that's it.

So yeah. Small list. :IDTS:
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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fish
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#589

Post by fish »

carburetor synchronization is the last thing to do after
1) valve adjustment
2) plug gaps
3) spark plug wires & caps are 100%
4) float height
5) idle passages clean
Timothy Mark Fisher
Catalina Arizona
"ride it.. don't be one of those guys who will fix it 'til it's broken" (JDVorchek)
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"I fully agree with fish, well at least 27% of the time."(Casper)
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#590

Post by Lucien Harpress »

1) Valves were professionally done by Robin last... year? Something like that.
2) ...Okay, you have me there.
3) Plug wires and caps are brand new (as of last year).
4) Float height is as close as I can get it (measured via wet method- not ruling this out, though)
5) Carb cleaning was as good as I could get it when I first brought the bike home.

Basically, I've gotten to that magical place (for me) when it seems like I've done all I can, and there's still issues. It's always a fun process working through. :lol:
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#591

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Well, finally got around to pulling the plugs from my short ride yesterday. Results are encouraging. Plugs 1, 2, 5, and 6 look exactly like they should. 3 is still pretty dark, and while 4 is slightly better, both are still wet at the edges. I think I'll tighten up the mixture screws a bit more before I pull the carbs and reset that float level. At least I'm up to 4 good cylinders, though.

Worst part is that pots 3 and 4 are the only combination that share both a coil AND a carburetor. It's harder to figure if this is a carb or a coil issue. The only upside is that both cylinders ARE getting gas, so hopefully a gummed up carb isn't my issue....
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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5speed
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#592

Post by 5speed »

try swapping coils and see if the wet plugs follow the coil..
1982 1100 standard. (sold)
1986 Yamaha FJ1200
2000 Yamaha Roadstar
1976 GoldWing. running but not on the road
1978 Goldwing. future cafe project.
2019 Can-Am ryker (boss's new ride)

2002 Shadow American Classic(sold)
1983 Shadow 500. (sold)
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#593

Post by Lucien Harpress »

3 is still snapping pretty badly so matter what speed the engine is running at, and while 4 is a bit of a problem child as well, 3 is definitely worse. I'm going to start by swapping 3 and 4, see if the problem follows that side of the coil. If that doesn't work, I'll swap that coil with another, see if THAT works. If not....

I don't know. May as well do another compression test. Make sure THAT'S still good after my marathon rebuild (mostly for my own peace of mind). If that checks out, it's gotta be carb related.

EDIT: Swapping plug wires on the same coil did nothing. Going to do a compression check tomorrow, and possibly a coil swap if I feel up to it.

DOUBLE EDIT: I don't particularly mind that I have one cylinder (okay, maybe one and a half) that's acting up. I just ask WHY it had to be the SINGLE HARDEST ONE TO ACCESS?!
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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robin1731
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#594

Post by robin1731 »

I don't remember, is this new or has it always acted like this?

.
1976 Goldwing Super Sport
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases
Randakk approved Carb Rebuilder
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#595

Post by Lucien Harpress »

To some extent yes, at least post-rebuild. Cylinder 3 has acted up ever since I brought the bike home. It's just that, initially, I had a bent rod.

After I rebuilt it, it was still running really rich from that left side. Lots of snapping and popping from that exhaust when I first start it, and while it would kind of die down as I rode it, you could tell it was still popping and burbling a bit (ESPECIALLY on decelleration). Plugs from that cylinder have always been a bit damp whenever I pull them. Again, I plan to do a compression test again tonight, just to check off some possibilities.

Just to add to the confusion, I may have a leaky needle valve on that carb as well. I accidentally left my petcock open all night, and when I pulled the plugs and whinged the starter over, that cylinder was completely full of fuel. Not sure why cylinder 4 wasn't full as well (3 and 4 share a float bowl). May have been the position of the intake valves...... I don't know.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#596

Post by wingrider »

Perhaps that has been the culprit all along? Certainly would explain the bent rod.
2002 1800 Wing
2001 Valkyrie Interstate
1978 1200 EFI Wing with Motorvation Coupe Royale sidecar
1977 1200 Wing cafe/bobber project
1974 Suzuki GT550
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#597

Post by Lucien Harpress »

The only thing I didn't "fix" were the carbs. I just disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled them. I DID make a point to check the jet numbers to be sure all the idles and mains matched up (and were correct), but who knows. Maybe they got drilled out. Maybe they're leaking (except they are screw in jets). A bad float level would affect both cylinders 3 and 4, not just one.

In any case, we'll eliminate the other possibilities (compression, spark) before carb diving again.
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#598

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Whelp, I managed to get my (post-rebuild) compression test done. The results are in!

(Drum roll, please)

Cylinder 1- 126
Cylinder 2- 124
Cylinder 3- 148
Cylinder 4- 125
Cylinder 5- 125
Cylinder 6- 149

anim-cheers1

Holy moley, can you call that a huge sigh of relief. It's good to know my year-odd long and probably $2000 rebuild actually DID something.

I guess next up are spark and gas. I"ll swap some coils around tomorrow and see if I can get a change. If that doesn't work (and I'm suspecting it won't), I guess the carbs are coming off again. Stay tuned!
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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Barney T Weasel
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#599

Post by Barney T Weasel »

Should all be reading about 155-160 psi
GL1000 '75 model Blue....heading to rat, then cafe racer then full resto...owned 33 years.
http://www.dungbeetlebiker.com/forum/forum.php
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Spring Update

#600

Post by Lucien Harpress »

You know, I'm willing to take it. I'm hoping they come up as I ride it a bit more, and the most important thing is that the cylinder I'm having problems with has excellent compression.

Looking back through the thread, I'm a bit worried about my float valve issue- it seems the one that's leaking/leaks is the one I had to replace. While this may indicate a crap aftermarket float valve, you have to remember I was having this same issue before I opened the carbs at all. In that case, I may have saturated floats themselves.

In any case, I'm hoping to pull the carbs tomorrow, and see if I can see anything amiss. If it IS the float valve that's junk, I don't think OEM valves are available anymore, so I have no clue what I'm going to do....
1997 Valkyrie- Light Cutomization, but Too Busy Riding
1980 KZ1300- Bike's Haunted
1976 GL1000 (Yellow)- It Runs (Poorly) and Doesn't Leak (Mostly)
1974 Velosolex 3800- Better Than Walking
1972 CB750- Broke the Chain And Ate the Motor
1969 CT90- The Most Fun You Can Have on 90ccs.
1965 CA77 Dream- Needs a Full Teardown, but Complete

All advice I give is only valid until an expert corrects me.
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