TOPIC:

Hi there. I have recently purchased a 1979 KZ1300. I have been out on it approximately 4 times and it seemed to run well with no issues although sometimes it doesn't like starting when warm. A couple of days ago I tried to start it but the battery was down. It was turning the engine but not enough to start. As I looked down I noticed a large patch of petrol on the floor. I noted when looking down that the hole where the air filter fits when the bike was running fuel was leaking up into the air box and then draining out onto the floor. A couple of people suggested sticking needle valves so I purchased a kit with new needle valves and housings and seals. I fitted these in today. The bike started first time, sounded great but within 2 minutes the fuel was leaking up into the air box again.

If anybody could shed any light on this I would be very grateful.

Cheers Leroy

Leroy, 1) have you checked and adjusted your float level settings, the wet method way?
2) Is your fuel tap closing and sealing properly?

If your bike has leaked fuel, I would take the plugs out, especially on cylinders 1 & 2 before cranking the motor over. With a leaking system fuel has a tendency to leak in to the cylinder a pool on top of the pistons. If you try and start it like this you will get hydraulic lock and possibly bend a con rod! So if the is fuel on the pistons, make sure you take the plugs out and let it evaporate. I would be careful spinning it over with no plugs and bare HT leads laying around and fuel pissing out the plug holes!!! Also check your oil for fuel dilution. The fuel can also seep past the rings and into the sump mixing with the oil. You may need to change the oil too.

If you have an original Kawasaki fuel tap, change it out for a Pingle or similar.

There are plenty of threads on this site that go into more detail that will help you resolve the problem

Hi Craig

Firstly I never altered the adjustments on the floats because up until now there had been no problem. As for the petrol tap, I haven't looked at this yet. Not sure if it's a conventional tap or a vacuum tap. How can I tell?

Thanks for the advice.

Cheers Leroy

Your float levels are probably way out, or you have a little dirt or debris caught between the needles and seats. Did you replace the 'O' ring on the needle and seat? The one on the seat the presses into the carb body. Those 'O' rings may have perished too.

If you have a vacuum tap, you will find a vacuum tube/tubes connecting to the tap that come off your Inlet manifold, more than likely where you would attach a vacuum gauge to sync the carbs

Ok Craig, I will check it out, thanks again for your help
Leroy

Leroy, go to the index tab, click on that, and then page down to the "Carbs and fuel Injection" section. Open that up and you'll find numerous posts by "Scotch" on carb rebuilds etc. These are very detailed and will help you through all carb issues.