TOPIC:

"However, I am still running this engine in (only 250 miles to date) so it may need more time to 'settle in'. Also, because it has not yet been run it properly, I have not been caning it and most of the time running at below 2500 rpm, so that may be another cause of slightly dark plugs."

My 79 A1 burned a quart of oil every 250+ miles. Pretty much every tankful of gas took more 1/2 quart of oil.. well below the sight window. It was broken in nice and gentle. I complained to Kawasaki corporate who responded "Within service limit acceptability" e.g. go screw yourself. The spark plugs looked like your oily ones shown above.

I've heard unfounded rumors that the first year, 1979 models had out of round cylinders which promoted excessive oil consumption.

After the recent rebuild, I instructed the tech to run it harder than FSM but not full MotoMan Break In .

Too early to tell if this engine will consume oil or not as I've been fighting overheating issues, electrical issues. It probably has 500 miles on it, maybe, with 2 oil changes since rebuild. IIRC, I haven't seen oil level decrease in the sight glass so hopefully she's not a 'burner'..

dcarver220b wrote: My 79 A1 burned a quart of oil every 250+ miles. Pretty much every tankful of gas took more 1/2 quart of oil.. well below the sight window. It was broken in nice and gentle. I complained to Kawasaki corporate who responded "Within service limit acceptability" e.g. go screw yourself. .

Similar to my experience except mine burned even more oil than that - felt like a two-stroke. Kawasaki responded to complaints with - 'it's new, so it'll burn oil but consumption will decrease over time' (it didn't). Once the bike was out of warranty Kawasaki said it was no longer their problem. The crank eventually went out (in all likelihood related to the high oil consumption) and I replaced the engine with one from a model a few years newer which didn't burn any oil.

Do NOT put Locktite or anything else in or on the pilot screws !!!!!!

1) A new and correct size O-ring should hold the pilot screw in place on it's own.
2) The spring on the pilot needles should be the primary method of securing the position.