Hi Guys
Please be gentle with me being a newbie, as this is my 1st post!

Ive not been riding that long, and found a Kawasaki GPz600R in a field, all in tact, full original 1987 fairing, and the farmer let me take it for £50!

I did the usual, looked over it and bought a manual to make sure it was pretty mostly intact, but it has been stored uncovered for about 16 years.

Just toying with it, I changed the fuel and plugs and is started, not for long, about 1 minute and responded to the throttle. Since then, its gone down hill.

I tried to do as much as I could without posting but am now totally stuck.

So far Ive done:

Drained the tank and put new fuel in
Bought & fitted new plugs
Tested all the plug leads; all ok
Bought & fitted a new starter relay
tested for compression. I could only get to cylinders 1 & 4 (120 -150 psi)as the coolant pipe is on top of 2 & 3, but as it has previously started and was ticking over, I figured it must have adequate compression
drained & chainged the oil
charged the battery.. ok
put a little fuel down each cylinder seperately & tried to start it..no change
checked all the fuses..all OK
tested the kill switch
petcock flows ok when the vacuum pipe is sucked
starter button connects OK
disconnected the switch on the side stand

It still wont start!...even though it DID on 3 occasions; very rough sounding, but it did start a few days after I first had it....I thought about the started motor, but if it was bust, it wouldnt have started when I first had it
But now, nothing, its backfired a few times and it turns over, but will never start!!

Its driving me mad!!

Im really trying to do get my hands dirty and do as much of it without having to bother anyone, but I just dont know what my next step should be.

Have I done everything I should before I have to learn about carbs etc and remove the carb & have it all clean and redone, or is there anyone out there who may know (based on the above) what else I should be doing or what the problem may be.

ANY..ANY advice would be so appreciated, and thanks guys for reading if you;ve come this far down the page!!

regards & a happy and healyth 2013 to you all

Neil

 

Hi from a fellow new guy.

A friend of mine had one of those. Hell of a bike when they're going well (his was also modified and a real handful). Anyway, the first thing I'd do is strip and clean out the carbies. Take your time doing it as the No.2 Phillips heads on the carbie screws chew out easily (I always replace mine with stainless steel allen head cap screws). After sitting for that long I'd near bet real money that they're crapped up and the slide diaphragms could be perished as well. Still with the fuel thinking, there could be rust in the tank that's flaking off and fouling the intake screen on the petcock.
If you can hit the button and the motor spins freely the starter motor is fine. If the engine struggles to turn the brushes and commutator might be fouled up or the engine is stiff. It'd be a good idea to put a little oil in each cylinder to lube the rings and top end rather than turn it over dry. Just a little, mind. Don't drown the poor thing.

 

thanks DA for that advice; really helpful. I knnow nothing about carbs, so I'll definately try your advise about oil in the cylinders first.

thanx again and have safe 2013 on the bike

 

Be aware that if you even START to separate the carbs from each other they will have to be rebalanced properly and it's not something most home mechanics can do by ear. You need a good set of mercury columns or matched gauges to do the job properly and it makes all the difference in the world. You should be able to get them clean only lifting the tops and float bowls and spraying them out liberally with carby cleaner. If they need more than that then take them to a mechanic. There are fiddly bits in there that you simply CANNOT afford to lose or break. Care and patience are key.

 

thanks neil for the healthy happy first. Welcome to kf and a happy first of the yr for you as well.

Check your fuses. Long sitting rides will develop bad connections. Post up some pics of the ol gal eventually. Congrats.

 

many thanks for your replies, any info is always greatly received. Since last time, I have poured a little oil down the cylinder heads, and checked all the fuses, and re-charged and tested the battery (12.29 volts)and.....nothing!!...it still turns over but wont start....mmm....I cant scratch my head at the moment, cos I need both of my hands to try and find my own ****...!!! Im going to take the tops of the carbs off, along with the bowls and spray the hell out of them and take the air filter out and spray through there also.. If anyone is interested, I will keep you posted!

Ride safe and have a happy and healthy year everyone

regards

neiljohndean

 

Have you checked the spark? Pull a plug out, reconnect the ignition lead and lay the plug on the engine somewhere it's touching metal and you can see it, then wind it over. You should see a nice blue spark between the electrodes.

 

Even though you checked out the leads, DA has a point. Verify that you have spark.

 

Welcome. Sitting 16 years in the open is a long time. I wouldn't hit the starter button any more until carbs were pulled and cleaned. Make sure all the airways are clean; airbox, exhaust, etc. Make sure there are no exposed or unattached wires under the plastic and seat. You will feel like you're disassembling the entire bike, but mice and the elements can do significant damage in places you don't realize. The positive, is that the engine is apparently "loose" and parts are moving. You've done a nice job (really) with the resurrection, so far. While you have the carbs off, check the intake boots (the rubber doughnuts holding carbs to engine) for cracks/leaks. Pull the carbs (as a "single-unit rack", I wouldn't separate them unless things look totally FU), drop the bowls (on the bottom), clean your jets, check the floats for cracks and proper movement, double check everything and be gentle; the rubber parts have lived a rough life. If you have questions once you get into it, just post-up and we can help.
Welcome again. Sounds like you're not far away from gettin' her running.

 

thank you ever so much for your reply, they are helping me a lot. I have re-checked all the plugs and they are fine, Ive just removed the valve cover and the gasket is knackered, so Ive ordered a new one. I am trying to check the valve clearence while Im waiting for it to come....so Im just gonna come straight out and ask it...the biggest bone question EVER!....I have the clearence figures for the IN and EX valves...but...how do I tell which valves are In and which are EX?!.....the manual Ive bought says which vales I can check when its at TDC..i.e.."toy can check both the IN and EX valves for cylinder 1 and only the IN valves for cylinder 2 etc....but I dont know how to tell which valves are which....told you I was a newbie!!...and it is a totally bone question I know, but as usual guys, youve been so helpful already, ....any ideas?

thanx as always