TOPIC:

1st week of ownership of a 82 KZ1300A (16,000 miles). I haven't owned one since I sold my 1981 in 1985. So here are some of the problems that I'm facing. 1st problem, I'm not a mechanic. 2nd problem, the bike has been sitting for many years and I can't get it to run smoothly. It's skipping. 3rd problem, it seems to be consuming oil but with no apparent smoke out of the pipes. 4th problem, it has a vetter fairing, I'm in of a headlight assembly, fork ears, front blinkers and mirrors. Problems 2 and 3 are the critical ones for now. Any suggestions?

chances are if it's been sitting for a long period, the carbs have shellac in them (what happens when the gasoline evaporates and the residue left behind. These carbs are finicky anyways. Probably need to pull the carbs and clean them up.

Burning oil, sounds too familiar. If you can do a leak down test, that will tell you all that you need to know. Probably oil leaking past the piston rings The rings could be stuck in the piston grooves. I've heard of using transmission fluid to free them up. Old farmers method. Pull the plugs and put a teaspoon of tranny fluid down each spark plug hole and let it sit for a couple of days. Something about the tranny fluid having the ability to degum the rings and pistons. After a couple of days, flip the motor over on the starter to blow out whatever tranny fluid is left in the cylinders, put the plugs back in and push the bike outside THEN fire it up. There's going to be some smoke. If no joy, you'll be pulling the cylinders (assuming the problem is the rings)

Yeah, to break your post down point-by-point:

1. Might be an excellent time to learn, unless you know a good motorcycle mechanic. Most shops won't touch anything this old, and many have never seen a 1300 Kawasaki, or even know they exist. I'd recommend grabbing a service manual (a fun read just by itself) and diving in. There is a lot to these engines, but they are more-or-less straightforward. There's just more of stuff because there's so many extra cylinders.

2. Start with the simple stuff- compression, electrical (are you getting a good spark?), and finally carbs last. Again, they have their quirks, but are relatively straightforward. There is a pretty good carb write-up floating around these forums.

3. See Kawboy's post.

4. Good luck. Those are pretty popular items, and pull popular prices. Stock items are going to be VERY pricey, and your best bet is to get lucky on Ebay. Aftermarket alternatives ARE available, however, and if you're not picky, you can get some stuff that's pretty close. It's all up to what you're willing to spend.