It's been a minute since this bike was on the road, about three years to be exact; a long time for a bike to sit, I admit. Since I finished up the 1974 Honda CB550K I was working on, I turned my attention to this one, my 1978 Kawasaki KZ650B.
This bike is still registered and tagged, so I figured it would be a good thing to do to get her back on the road so I could at least ride something this summer - this summer being the summer I hope to ride more than wrench.
Like a lot of old bikes you see, even this one 'ran when parked,' but this time around she didn't. I had a blast a couple years ago with her when we went riding with some friends - here we are on the Blue Ridge Parkway...
I brought her home after a ride late one summer and parked her, where she languished for some time. I had tried to start her up last year, and it just wasn't happening, for some reason, so I stashed her back in the garage next to the Goldwing and there she sat until yesterday, when I finally was able to clear the lift table and get her up on the slab. Note the gasoline I-V drip...
She cranked okay but just won't start. I thought it might be the carbs, but the carbs were okay, which I ascertained after going to the trouble of taking them out and putting them back in - a true Pain-In-The-Ass scenario if there ever was one. Here I am in the process of taking them OUT - which in the manual only says (essentially) "clear all the crap out of the way and slide the carburetor to the right and remove."
AH-HA-HA-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha...!! Those Japanese scamps! It's the way they tell it! Here you see my attempts to get the carbs out from their rubber-booted prison after wrestling with them for a good half-hour, at least...and No, the kick starter lever is not in the way, it was just folded up against them in this pic...Looks like they'll slide right out here, right...? Wrong! You can't really see it here, but the carbs are blocked to the left by the air box boots, blocked to the right by the manifold boots (with the silver rings on them) - stiff rubber roundels that do Not 'give' a millimeter - and blocked underneath by the damn cam chain adjuster that sticks out between the carb bowls! I used to be able to do this operation in AND out in, like, 45 minutes...not this time! Time passing has a way of fucking up your memory. Let's just say it was an experience of confusion, exasperation and swearing and leave it at that, shall we...? But I did get them out - eventually.
Anyway - I got the carbs out and went through them, checking the jets and float height, and everything was/is spot-on, and then had to re-install them, going back through the agonizing process of getting them back into their boots, after forgetting to reinstall the boot rings (clamps) back on (those silver rings on the right in the above pic) and evincing another rich flow of diatribe from me, so I had to loosen up the carb again and pray that it didn't slip out of the boots while I fingered those clamps back on, which would have forced me to do it all over again (it didn't), got her all buttoned up and tried the starter again - No Joy. NOTHING! Not even a Crank! And it was getting power!
"WTF?? It cranked FINE before! All I did was take out the carbs!"
Turns out a main power wire had disconnected in the wiring harness under the frame; plugged it back in and it cranked just fine - but still no start!
So that's where I am as of this writing, trying to figure out why this bike won't start. I'm going to be looking at points gap and timing next but am REAL interested in putting in electronic ignition so I wouldn't have to fuck with points anymore. I'll keep you updated.
Add comment
Comments