1980 KZ1300 - Bad Day at the Office

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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#616

Post by Lucien Harpress »

...it definitely pours. I've gone backwards on this project, quite far. In no particular order:

-After getting the carbs back on, the bike now runs worse than ever. Yes, even worse than when it had a bent rod. It fires on all cylinders, but not all the time, and won't run at all off choke.

-The front master cylinder pretty much exploded. I don't know if it let go at the plunger, but at the very least the lid seeped out brake fluid all over everything. I'm going to have to strip, clean, and repaint the whole master cylinder. The only upside is that I can fix the POs bodge-job with the pressure brake light switch while I have it apart.

Which leads me to the biggest PITA disaster...

-Some of that brake fluid got on the fuel tank and bubbled the clear. And there's no way I can afford to get it fixed until tax time next year.

So yeah, I'm pretty... happy right now. This bike got SO much worse with me doing absolutely nothing. I'd say I need time away, but it hasn't moved in a year and a half. So it's been fun.
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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Whiskerfish
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#617

Post by Whiskerfish »

sux going backwards, but it is often the way we learn. I have learned a lot ;) ;) ;) :P :P :P :P
"Agreement is not a requirement for Respect" CDR Michael Smith USN (Ret) 2017
"The book is wrong, this whole Conclusion is Fallacious" River Tam
2008 GL1800 IIIA "TH3DOG"
1975/6/7/8/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

Psst. oh and by the way CHANGE YOUR BELTS!!!!
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#618

Post by Old Fogey »

Whiskerfish wrote:sux going backwards, but it is often the way we learn. I have learned a lot ;) ;) ;) :P :P :P :P
Yeah, that's the way of it alright! :orange
"Impossible Is Just a Level of Difficulty!..."
If I'd wanted you to understand, I would have explained it better! (Johann Cruyff)
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#619

Post by Lucien Harpress »

I like to pretend I know what I'm talking about... lolol :roll: lolol :roll:
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"- When it Rains...

#620

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Well, the fun keeps coming. In no particular order:

-I went to remove the front master cylinder today, and managed to strip out one of the screws holding the lid on. I needed to drill it out to remove it. Currently have no clue how difficult these are to find.

-I'm debating if I need a rebuild kit or not. There was a LOT of brake fluid around an in it, BUT it's also at the lowest end of the MC, and may just be drippage from the lid. At 60 bucks a pop, I'd rather hold off if I don't need it.

-In other news, my brake light no longer works. The running light does, but when I click the brake switch, the whole tail light goes dead. The rear brake switch doesn't work at all (still need to confirm if this switch even exists). Fuse seems fine. Hoping for a bad bulb.

-While checking tail light fuse, I noticed the main 30 amp fuse looks pretty burnt up. It still works (because the bike had power), but it doesn't look happy. [sigh] Something to look forward to.

...Wrenching on bikes is supposed to be RELAXING. Isn't it?
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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Graham Cracker
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#621

Post by Graham Cracker »

Maybe DOT 5?
Mark

1975 GL 1000 Candy Antares Red
1976 GL 1000 Sulfur Yellow
1977 GL 1000 Pearl White
1978 GL 1000 Candy Limited Maroon
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#622

Post by Old Fogey »

Graham Cracker wrote:Maybe DOT 5?
Unless you are prepare to strip out the entire brake system, clean it all of any DOT4 and put it all back together, don't even think about changing to DOT5. The two are totally incompatible.
"Impossible Is Just a Level of Difficulty!..."
If I'd wanted you to understand, I would have explained it better! (Johann Cruyff)
I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous! :-D
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robin1731
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#623

Post by robin1731 »

Old Fogey wrote:
Graham Cracker wrote:Maybe DOT 5?
Unless you are prepare to strip out the entire brake system, clean it all of any DOT4 and put it all back together, don't even think about changing to DOT5. The two are totally incompatible.


Yup,what he said. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ;)

.
1976 Goldwing Super Sport
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#624

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Yeah, DOT 5 isn't a rabbit hole I'm QUITE ready to go down.

As it stands right now, I've got the whole master cylinder apart, and I'm stripping everything down to bare metal so I can repaint it. I've heard that POR 15 makes a chassis topcoat that's pretty durable. I mean, brake fluid will still eat it, but the idea is to keep all that INSIDE the master cylinder.

The plunger seems good. I managed to find a replacement screw for the lid for not that much money. I might spring for a replacement lid seal as well, as they're pretty common, and I think the lid lead was my main problem to begin with. It'll have to wait until next paycheck though, because I'm broke. I don't doubt I can get the whole thing together. I just need to keep everything sealed up afterwards....

In other news, I got the brake light figured out. User error (aka, I'm an idiot). Apparently, the way the front brake switch works is that "in" equates to "off", and "out" means "on". When I was clicking in the brake light switch, while I THOUGHT I was turning it off, I was ACTUALLY just killing the brake light. The more you know, I suppose.
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"- When it Rains...

#625

Post by calif wingnut »

Keeping the thread alive.
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Graham Cracker
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#626

Post by Graham Cracker »

When you're ready to convert to DOT 5 you will be glad you did. The extra effort to convert will give you peace of mind. Had to repaint the '75 because of a leak so now all my bikes have DOT 5.
Mark

1975 GL 1000 Candy Antares Red
1976 GL 1000 Sulfur Yellow
1977 GL 1000 Pearl White
1978 GL 1000 Candy Limited Maroon
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- When it Rains...

#627

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Managed to get a consistent, good run on 5 cylinders out of 6. Left side keeps popping and giving me trouble no matter what I do for months. Right side is absolutely fantastic this entire time. FINALLY narrow it down to a partially clogged idle jet in cylinder 2. Swap it out, pop carbs in, fire it up, it runs GREAT.

Until 5 seconds later, when the right side starts popping exactly like the left did.

[SLAMS HEAD ON DESK]

...and thus describes my 2018.
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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Whiskerfish
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Small Update

#628

Post by Whiskerfish »

Dynamite?
"Agreement is not a requirement for Respect" CDR Michael Smith USN (Ret) 2017
"The book is wrong, this whole Conclusion is Fallacious" River Tam
2008 GL1800 IIIA "TH3DOG"
1975/6/7/8/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

Psst. oh and by the way CHANGE YOUR BELTS!!!!
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Small Update

#629

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Not quite yet. Still got one more new pilot jet I can try out first.

Then we'll see.
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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Posts: 4077
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Re: 1980 KZ1300 "Kiwi"- Out on Good Behavior

#630

Post by Lucien Harpress »

For the first time in years my KZ1300's tires tasted asphalt. I think..... 20ish miles? Enough to kind of get an idea of what's fixed and what isn't. Namely, the second new idle jet on 5 cleared up a lot of the nasty popping while at speed, and I'm happy to report that while maintaining a nice 55 at 4K on the tach, the bike is VERY happy. Consistently hitting on all 6 cylinders, and you can tell it wants to just GO. It also settles down into idle (1.2k-ish) really nice, even after a long run.

That said, I've still got some strangeness while going slowly. Some burbling while riding around town, and some strange popping while taking off after idling at a stop light for a bit, before it cleared out after I got on the gas. I couldn't tell if it was out the exhaust or back through the carb. Now I can't tell if it's more idle jets that need replaced (I've only done 2 so far), mixture screws that need adjusted, or the bike just needs to be ridden.

There's other stuff too, but getting back on the road is a huge step forward. I'll stay as updated as I'm motivated to do so.
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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