Z1300 Tech FAQ

Z1300, KZ1300, ZG1300, & ZN1300

Tech FAQ Page

Last Update 12/21/2012

This page is written with the assumption that you have a service manual for your Z1300 to refer to.

If you don't have a manual, there are posts on the links page of places to buy New or Used manuals and/or microfiche on the web for a good price.  Used manuals can be bought at auction on ebay.com easily for as little as $20 or $25 on occasion, up to maybe $35.00 or more, depending on who you're bidding against that week.  New manuals are about $55 - $65 last I checked, so don't pay too much for a used one.  Links page has links to new manuals first item at the top.

There are 2 standard service manuals.  One is the base manual for all the Z1300 or KZ1300 carb models, and the other is a ZN1300 Voyager Supplement Manual.  The Voyager Supplement Manual is only needed if you own a fuel injected ZN1300 Voyager, or a fuel injected ZG1300.  So if you own a Voyager ZN1300 or ZG1300 you need both manuals.  If you own a Z1300 or KZ1300 through 1983 when those models ended production, you only need the KZ1300 Base manual.  The ZG1300 is a European model not sold in the USA.  It looks like a Z1300 or KZ1300, but it has the same fuel injection system as used on our 83' and newer ZN1300 Voyagers sold here in the USA.  For it, you'll need both manuals - the Base and the Supplement, the same as if you own a ZN1300.  Now there may be another specific ZG1300 Supplement manual that was sold overseas that I'm not aware of, that deals specifically with the fuel injected ZG1300 model.  I've never heard of a specific ZG1300 manual, but maybe there is one and I'm not aware of it.

Also, there are different year printings on the manuals, so if you have an 81', 82', or 83' KZ1300 model, you can't use a base manual that was printed in 80', because it won't cover but 79' and 80' models.  Be sure to look on the back pages to see if it has supplements for the 81',  82' and the newer printings have the 83' KZ1300 models also.  All the manuals I've seen cover the 79' and 80' model, but if you've got an 81', 82' or 83', then again, you need to check the back pages of the manual to make sure it has a supplement for 81', 82' or 83' if that's the year bike you have.  I'm specifically referring to the few extra pages in the very back of the Base manual referred to as 'supplements', that cover changes made to the bike specifically for 81', 82' and 83' models.  If you own an 81', 82' or 83' model, you have to have the corresponding supplement in the back of the manual to fix the parts of your bike that are covered in those single year 'supplement' pages.

There are a number of reference manuals for the ZN1300 Voyager besides the Base Service Manual and Service Manual Supplement that I describe above.  Depends on what part of the bike you're trying to fix.  On my paid member page - http://www.kz1300.com/paidmember.html

...you'll see the list of various service manuals I'm aware of, and I have everything I show on that page on the paid member DVD's if you choose to become a paid member.  But maybe you can find hardcopy versions of these special manuals from time to time on ebay if you prefer to try that route.

To reiterate.  If you need to do mechanical service on a ZN1300 Voyager or possibly a ZG1300, you need the KZ1300 'Base Manual' and the special ZN1300 Voyager 'Service Manual Supplement'.  Manuals with a White cover should be newer printings, and manuals with Red covers are typically older printings of our manuals.  A manual with a red cover could be a late printing with the 83' model supplements in the back, but you will definitely want to check the back pages if you're buying one of these manuals used.

Regardless, you have to make sure the base manual is a later printing and has (at minimum) the 82' KZ1300 supplement pages in the back of it.  If it covers the 1983 model also, then that's preferred.  (It appears that very few 1983 KZ1300's were ever made.  I only have 3 bikes in my members database that were 1983 model KZ1300's.)  Otherwise you'll be missing a few things that pertain to the Voyager because the 82'/83' KZ1300 and Voyager share some items like charging system, ignition pickups, etc.  Maybe some of the very things you're trying to fix.  Without at least the 1982 supplement pages in the back of the base manual, you'll be missing info on these parts.  Absolutely none of the info in the base manual is duplicated in the Voyager supplement manual!!!   david@kz1300.com

This page is added to on a regular basis in an attempt to answer the most common questions pertaining to the KZ1300 or ZN1300.  Most of this information is good for the Z1300 or ZG1300 models as well.  I don't address those 2 models specifically, because they were never sold into the USA market, and none of us here in the USA have ever seen these 2 models, even though they're basically identical to our KZ1300's, with only minor changes to meet regulations in the various countries they were imported to.

This page is a compilation of 1000's of old questions and answers that were archived off the old tech board that I cut and pasted together.  More recently in 2004, member Travis Denardo from Minnesota rewrote the entire FAQ page for us.  A lot of his work is what you see on this FAQ page today.  He took about 2000 - 3000 posts off the old Tech BB, and composed them in a question and answer format to enlarge our FAQ page considerably.  For those of us that work 40 hour weeks, that's at least a full weeks work, maybe more.  I know, I did it the first time around, and his work made a vast improvement over what I had up to that point.  Now I just try to keep it updated on a week to week basis.  

Many of the tech answers on this page were from Paul Bezilla, though most everything on the site has been reworded and put into a Q&A format for better reading.  If any members want to create some material to go on this page I would surely welcome it!  I've gotten requests for installation tips on aftermarket parts like ignition coils, exhaust, air shocks, fork springs, an aftermarket fairing or cracked fairing repair, carb repair, case savers, a radio, CB, or other electrical accessory and so forth.  If any of you install these things on your bike and would like to take pictures of the installation for the benefit of other members,,please write some text to go with the pictures and I'll create a tech page for your info if I have time.  Be sure and check the tech articles for more specific tech info also.  

It should go without saying that the info on this site is relevant for the Z1300, ZG1300, KZ1300 or ZN1300, though there are some major differences between the bikes.  In general on this site when I refer to KZ1300 parts, this is more similar to Z1300 parts, and not ZG1300 parts or ZN1300 parts, which are totally different bikes in most aspects.  The ZG1300 is basically a late model Z1300 with fuel injection, and it was never imported into the USA.  The things that are different basically pertain to the installation of the fuel injection.  Everything else should be the same.

Disclaimer:  Keep in mind that what's posted here is questions and answers from various members of the club over a long period of time and the answers are not necessarily always going to be 100% accurate or the ONLY solution to the question.  I've read through all of them and some answers are based maybe solely on the basis of one members opinion or experience.  I make no claims as to the accuracy of the answers, rather I ask that if any member notices something that doesn't appear to be stated correctly that they email me so I can add their changes or concerns to the page when I update it.

If you email me asking a question pertaining to our bikes, and it is not already answered here, then I make take your question and my answer and add it to this page.  I don't credit full names in the text unless you ask me to.

If you need parts for your bike, the Links page has the most up to date info available I have for what's available for our bikes on the internet.  You can buy things off ebay.com if you have an ebay account, or you can place a free wanted ad for something you need on craigslist, and some have good success with that site.  Start at the site entry page that has all the major site links and bookmark that page.  With all the people shooting home video these days, I did find some good Youtube videos on general bike repair posted here, that might be of some use to some of you.  No doubt if you search the web you'll find more good stuff like this, and if so, please send me the links.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  What are the most common problems I need to be aware of on the 1300?

A:  The number one problem to be sure you repair is the cam chain tensioner or CCT.  This is a known issue that was never resolved by Kawasaki to my knowledge, and can trash your motor in a split second with NO warning.  You may of got a warning in the form of engine noise you didn't recognize, so you didn't know it was the tensioner!   DON'T IGNORE THIS WARNING ON THE TENSIONER UNLESS YOU WANT TO DO A MAJOR, HIGH DOLLAR, TOP END OVERHAUL SOON!  Except - the parts are not available these days to do it anyway!

Read up about how to prevent this problem for cheap on the CCT tech article, because many members come here  crying after the fact that they talked to their mechanic, and he never heard of a problem with the tensioners.  So because of that they didn't do anything about it.  Now they have bent valves.  How much does that cost to repair!  Is their mechanic now going to fix their valves for free because he never heard of this problem before?  We've heard of the problem!  We deal with this bike specifically.  And we have more info on this model than anyone else.  So isn't that good enough for you?  You can easily spend $1000 doing that repair with new valves, versus $45 to install an APE manual tensioner, or $90 for the ZX-11 unit.  

So, which way would you rather go?

A)  The cheap route.  Fix it before I actually experience the problem firsthand, or...

B)  Fix it after it fails, and pay the big bucks to your mechanic who says he has never heard of this issue.  

When you bring it back in for repair what will his excuse be exactly?  And by the way, who benefited from not knowing about the CCT problem?  Your wallet is $1000 lighter, and his wallet is $1000 fatter!  Think about that a moment.  We talk about the CCT issue all over this site.  If he wanted to know about it, all he had to do was read our site.  If he's not convinced there's an issue with the CCT, I have a pile of junk 1300 motors he can come and inspect anytime he wants to.

Hard starting or poor performance can be traced to a number of things, but most notably bad / cracked ignition coils or wires, carburetor problems, and on the 79' and 80' models, a stuck mechanical timing advancer mechanism.  Check these first.  81' and later bikes used electronic advance.  Carburetor problems can be difficult to deal with, or time consuming and expensive if you have to order parts for them, but getting the carbs cleaned properly is usually the main issue here.  Charging problems are common on 79' to 81' models and it should go without saying on a bike this old, you may have bad electrical connections that need some attention.  Here's the first things I recommend:

#1)  Get a manual.  Available on (ebay.com - used) or (repairmanual.net - new)

#2)  See #1.  If you don't have a manual and I refer you to a page in the manual, your response is???

#3)  Look over the manual and at least familiarize yourself with the bike so the both of us can use the same names for the same parts.  Cuts down on confusion.

#4)  Replace the Cam Chain Tensioner before you ever start the motor the first time!  The first time you start the motor, especially after the bike has been sitting a long time, this is frequently when it goes bad and bends your valves!  THE FIRST TIME YOU START IT!! So you start looking for answers on the net because your motor has a problem, you find this site and now you realize you've already destroyed your motor.  What can I say except, I understand the problem.  But while you're here, check the tech articles for other things you should attend to!

#5)  Absolutely replace your ignition coils with Nology coils, Dyna coils or something that is a definite performance upgrade with a hot spark.  Most of us are going with the Nology coils these days.  Check the tech articles!

#5a)  Update your battery to a high cold cranking amp battery make by Hawker or something comparable.  Check the tech articles!

#6)  While you've got the tank off doing the coils, I'd check a number of things like electrical connections for corrosion, rubber hoses for cracks, vacuum lines for leaks, etc., and especially the brake hoses.  We've got many bikes out there with 25+ year old original brake lines or fuel line hoses still fitted.  How dangerous is that?  Are you seriously going to trust your life with those?

#7)  Throw the fuel solenoid away, but save the wiring harness off of it and send it to me at - david@kz1300.com (applies to Z1300's & KZ1300's only).  Replace fuel line if needed or clean carbs, add fuel filter and re-route the fuel line as I show.  I sometimes put insulation over the fuel line to keep the heat off if I suspect vapor lock problems.  Clean the gas tank vent.  Upgrade your petcock to a high flow unit made by 'Pingel'.  Check the tech articles!

#8)  Personally, I take some radiant barrier type insulation and insulate the bottom of the tank if it doesn't have factory insulation, because of the possible vapor lock problem Paul mentions.  You can find this stuff in the hardware store for wrapping water heaters with in your home.  It looks like thin  bubble wrap packing material with tin foil affixed to it on both sides.  You can cut it and glue it to the bottom of the tank with automotive weather-strip adhesive or whatever.  There's also a thinner version of this material available that's perforated which works better on the fuel line, but it may be hard to find in stores.  Shop the internet instead for the terms 'radiant barrier' and you should find it.  Check the tech articles!

#9)  Insulate the lower radiator hose by wrapping it with the same radiant barrier and tie wraps, or use some other type of heat shield to keep the radiant heat off of it.  The stuff 'hot rodders' wrap their headers with is also an excellent heat barrier, and good for this application.  You only need a small piece.  A race car shop will have scrap pieces they'll probably just give you that will be perfect for what you need.  This is a must do if you put an aftermarket exhaust on like the DG pipe.  I've found that the DG radiates a lot more heat than the stock pipes, and the intense heat coming off the DG can burst the lower hose.  Think of anti-freeze being kind of like gas when it spews out on the exhaust and catches on fire.  Trust me, I experienced this first hand on my black 82' bike shown on my 'original site' page.  I was lucky I had a water hose close by to put the fire out!

#10)  Add a manual fan switch, or change to an 84' and up ZN1300 temperature sensor as mentioned elsewhere on the site, so the fan cuts on at a lower temperature.  Use a ZN1300 #27010-1026 fan temp sensor instead of the KZ1300 model # 27010-1036 and your fan with kick on earlier.  And no, I don't know the exact specs on the differences between the 2 units, I just know it works.

#11)  Cut the connectors out and solder all the wires to and from the voltage regulator.  That goes for all models, even the Voyagers to prevent the stator(s) or voltage regulator(s) from burning up from a bad electrical connection.  This is a known issue on these bikes!

#12)  Service the steering stem and check the swing-arm and wheel bearings.  If you wait until you have noticeable play in the steering stem to service it, it's too late.  You'll get the play out of it, but the adjustment usually won't last long and you'll be putting new bearings in soon anyway.

#13)  Replace the air filter with OEM, or maybe better yet, a K&N #KA1350 or other washable filter media.  J.C. Whitney among others has a few parts like this for our bikes and they're probably the cheapest around.  I also have custom pod filters now so the air-box can be eliminated entirely on any model 1300, even the Voyagers.

#14)  Open up the front and rear master cylinders, clean the old fluid out and pump new fluid through the brake system and CHECK THE HOSES!  You really don't expect 25 year old brake hoses to still be good do you?  Steel braided lines are available from multiple sources.  Check the links page.

#15)  Timing advancer sticks on the 79' - 80' models and needs to be serviced. 

DON'T break the nylon gear on the backside!

Refer to the manual on how to remove it.  Do you know how it sounds to me when someone writes me wanting to buy one of these gears, because they didn't have a manual to refer to so they could see how to get it off without breaking it?  You can get a used manual for $15 - $25 a lot of times on ebay or a new one for $55 - $60, but people break parts that are not replaceable because they're working on their bike without a manual.  I know this is so, because people write me from every state in the union, and from half way around the world every few months wanting to buy one.  And they don't write me until they've exhausted all other resources, and realize they can't find the gear anywhere else.

Half the time I hesitate to even answer their emails because I don't want to hold a conversation with someone that's trying to repair their bike without a manual.  These guys always ask questions that are already answered in the manual or on this site, but they think I should have time to tell them things that I know are already answered in the manual or or prominently displayed on this page or in the tech articles.  That's my clue that they don't have a manual or don't care enough about their problem to read up on it.  I hate to rag on people, especially potential members, but all the information you need to fix your bike is probably either in the manual or available FOR FREE on this site.  There's only a few specific things on the paid member DVD's that might pertain to you if you have a Voyager, and most of those manuals you could find if you looked hard enough, or had time to wait until the day maybe they happened to pop up for sale on ebay.

It goes without saying that you need to check brake pads, fluids, cables, tires, replace your antifreeze, synchronize the carb's or whatever, but all this is regular maintenance stuff.  Things like carburetors is where most people get stuck, but I can assure you our carb's are not near as hard to work on as a lot of bikes out there.  Any of you guys ever had to work on a set of CBX carbs?  If you can deal with Hondas' idea of a 6-cylinder bike and service it then ours should be a breeze.  Yeah, parts can be expensive, but keep in mind you bought the 'Rolls Royce' of classic motorcycles.

I go through the things I just mentioned on a bike and that's usually it.  Many times I can put 1000's of miles on a bike and not have any issues at all with it.  The mod's Paul mentioned about the vacuum petcock, fuel pump, and some of those things I've never done, but only because I haven't had any problems that I thought one of those mod's might solve.  There's a lot of electrical related things you can run into on the DFI bikes.  On a Voyager for example, the electrical connections on the back of the main electrical junction box is the first thing I pull off the bike and look at.  The inline fuses coming off the battery are the second thing I pull apart and check.  On a Voyager, there's all kind of things you can run into, the list is endless.  The manual gets very elaborate on tracing down problems, but it's confusing because of the round about way it gives you information with flow charts spread across many pages, without ever telling you what you really want to know.  Still, I guess they did the best they could at that day in time, and you just have to flip back and forth through the pages to figure it out.

I understand that you don't always want to throw a few hundred dollars at a problem not knowing whether that's your real problem or not, or if you could get by without those coils and maybe find something simpler that would fix it for a lot less money.  But look at it this way; we're hundreds or thousands of miles away from you and trying to help you diagnose your problem on a 20+ year old motorcycle that could possibly have any number of oddball problems wrong with it, besides the stuff we already know about and go into great detail about on this site.  We shouldn't have to go around and around with the stuff we already know about.  These mod's should be a given.  

The reason I hardly ever post in the discussion groups is because I see people post with problems all the time that could very well be nothing more than BAD COILS, and they want us to speculate on what it COULD be, but they THINK they're coils are OK because they've checked them.  But you know what; they didn't check their coils when they were broken down on the side of the road with the coils being cooked from the heat coming off that motor while they were sitting at a traffic light.  

If you check them when they're cooler you might think they're OK, but with electrical components it's a known fact they can break down under extremes of heat and can appear to work just fine otherwise.  The only thing I'd prefer to hear about coils from here on out is that I replaced the coils; I checked my electrical connections; I eliminated fuel delivery as a possible contributing factor; and those things didn't make any real difference.  Rarely do we have an email from someone with a problem who's already covered all the preventive mod's and they still have an issue with their bike.  No..., these guys are out riding and if they have a problem they've already narrowed it down through the process of elimination.  It's going to be something like a bad ignition pick-up coil.  Or they're pulling their carburetors apart and doing a better job cleaning the crud out, or whatever.  But they've probably got some good ideas on how to fix it or what they should check next.

So, maybe it's bad coils and maybe it's not.  Maybe you have a carb problem, fuel delivery problem, vapor lock, or any one of a number of other things, but all these things are covered in detail on this site.  If I could ride your bike I might have a little better feel for just what's wrong, but we can't do that so you're going to have to take our free advice and act on it because it's still a heck of a lot cheaper than paying a local bike mechanic to figure it out, assuming you can find anyone willing to work on the bike.  Much less someone that's actually worked on one before... more than once.  I've seen blockage in the fuel rail between the carbs where 2 carbs were getting plenty of fuel, but the right side carb was starving for fuel.  It's an old bike.  Expect the unexpected.  I mentioned this to someone else and sure enough, they found the same problem with theirs.  It was some trash in behind the needle and valve seat on that specific carb.  Read below for common ways to repair these problems and more.

Common Problems

• Cam chain tensioner

• Coils

• Charging

• Carburetor

• Overheating

Getting Started

• Hard Start

• No Start

Electrical

• Charging

• Lighting

• Plugs

• Wiring

• Ignition

• Coils

• Alternator

• Battery

Carburetor

• Jets

• Air Filter

• Mechanical

• Fuel

• Injectors

• Fuel Pump

Engine

• Oil

• Cam chain tensioner

• Valves

• Fuel

• Clutch

• Cooling

• Starter

• Timing

• Performance

• Gaskets

Chassis

• Forks

• Shocks

• Tires

• Exhaust

• Tank

• Petcock

• Radiator

• Lighting

• Fairing

• Dash

Tranny

• General

Modifications

• All

Noise

• General

Q:  What options do I have to remedy the cam chain tensioner problem on the 1300’s I've heard so much about?

A:  I have a whole page dedicated to dealing with the CCT problem posted at - 

http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/z1300-cam-chain-tensioner.html

I don't sell tensioners by the way.  The part numbers are listed on the page.  Go to Kawasaki and order the ZX-11 tensioner if that's the one you want, or you can order OEM parts online these days through the many links I show on this page or the links page.  You can also modify your stock one, or buy the APE style off the web or from your local motorcycle store.  There's a reason I mention the CCT as the very first thing on this page!  Take heed lest you turn your motor into a boat anchor.  This advice applies to ALL Kawasaki 1300's, Z1300, KZ1300, ZN1300 & ZG1300 ALL YEARS / ALL 1300 MODELS!  Even the Voyagers that have the little oil line going into the end of the tensioner.  JUST DO IT and then there's no more worry about this potential problem.  Besides, it's a cheap fix either way you go compared to what happens if you don't, which is bent valves!   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I recently purchased the new cam chain tensioner you recommended how ever I have a question; there is a arrow on the tensioner does this point up or down?

 A:  You want to install the tensioner with the arrow as close to "UP' as you can make it.  Thinking of the gas tank being North and the ground being South, the arrow will point to the northeast position when installed.

This is most important!!  When you put the ZX-11 tensioner in, count the number of clicks the plunger went down before it stopped.  The Cam Chain rides over a nylon idler gear on the back side and these gears tend to disintegrate with age. You can pull the valve cover and look at the gear, (good time to adjust the valves) or another way to tell is to pull the tensioner back out if you've already installed it, depress the plunger, reinstall it and slip a small allen wrench in the hole and depress the plunger slowly and count the number clicks till it stops.  

It should click 19 - 20 times total if you extend it while it's out of the bike.  If you put it in and it goes more than about 10 to 12 clicks and there's 19 total clicks it could go, then your gear or the tensioner sliders are worn too far and you need immediate repair.  Do not start the motor!  It should really only go down about 3 - 5 clicks or less if it's in excellent condition.  I put one in that had a new idler gear and it only depressed one click!   

There's also a plastic or nylon plain roller on the bottom side of the tensioner assembly that needs to be looked at.  You may need to put in a new gear and a roller.  Order these parts from Kawasaki.  The head has to come off to put these parts in!   Here again, Kawasaki gaskets are preferred although others are available.  Check the links page for aftermarket gaskets.

Kawasaki Part # 12048-1113 Tensioner Assy, Part # 11009-1858 Tensioner Gasket is the ZX-11 parts if you want to go this way, or there are other options mentioned in the tech articles.

5.  After the exhaust cam is correct then look at the intake cam.  On the exhaust cam looking straight up you will find another timing mark.  This mark should be exactly straight up or just slightly in front of that.  The matching mark on the intake cam should be in exactly the same position.  There is a link count but I do not have that at this time.  Just remember it must be exactly like the exhaust cam.  Now the cams are correct.  Larry C. 

Q:  Several members said they were indexing the cam for best performance.  But the cam sprockets are part of the cams.  How are you changing the relationship between cam and crank?

A:  Do you have a degree wheel and know how to use it?  Without a degree wheel, you turn the crankshaft forward by the crank bolt.  There is a T, 1, 2 on the circumference of the right side alternator.  If you stop turning the crank when the T just gets to the split in the upper and lower case split at the front.  Then look at the indexing of the exhaust cam.  There should be an 'O' at the front side of the cam.  This 'O' should be just below the surface that the valve cover gasket seats against.  If above then you have to move the cam 1 tooth forward to make it so.  Then count the teeth from the 'O' on the top of the exhaust cam to the 'O' on the top of the intake cam.  There should be exactly on the 17th link.  That is a full link.  That is how I remember. The book says to do the 'O' on the exhaust cam like is said but then count 17 links from that 'O' to the 'O' on the top if the intake cam.  Then check the 'O' that should be at the back of the head and it should be just above the valve cover mating surface. 

Make sure to remove the CCT when pulling and moving cams and back in and snug when turning the crank and checking the 'O'.  I do remember that the T on the alternator circumference should not be past the mating joint and the 'O' on the cams should be toward the forward slightly (like about 1/8") below on the exhaust and above on the intake cam to be correctly timed.  When you move the cam forward 1 tooth that = 20 degrees.  To be by the book correctly timed, the T is at the case split like I said.  And the 'O' should be exactly on the mating surface of the valve cover.  But you should never run the cams retarded even slightly.  If you have to be off, be off slightly advanced.  A racer will advance a cam usually about 4 - 6 degrees to gain the maximum anyway.  

Remember the cam timing comes from the auxiliary shaft not the crankshaft.  The auxiliary shaft is driven through a chain that stretches over time.  If you have some miles on the bike, this chain will stretch enough to make cam timing retarded as much as 12 degrees or even possibly more.  I saw like 6 degrees retardation at 30,000 miles and 6 degrees retarded will make the engine run sluggish and run hotter.  The engine will be more peppy and run cooler when advanced.  Although, I really would not want an engine running 14 degrees advanced because that is really too much, the engine will perform better and run cooler that much advanced as opposed to 6 degrees retarded.  

If you use a degree wheel, you will be able to measure the exact cam timing and see what I am talking about.  This timing change does not affect the ignition timing.  Ignition timing comes from the right side of the engine on Voyagers and on older KZ models from a separate chain from the auxiliary shaft.  The ignition will retard on the KZ and must be retimed to the crank T mark to be correct, and using the F mark in the dist.  Again If you have a choice, you want to advance the ignition timing by about 2 degrees.  The F mark in the dist is the factory offset of 10 degrees.  Does this help?  I hope so and I hope you are not too confused by my very long dissertation.  Larry C.

Q:  In my continuing quest to unscrew an 86 Voyager I need to time the valves.  The P.O. had dropped a nut down the tunnel and the motor wouldn't turn.  It required my removing the cams, oil pan and head to finally find and extract the little bugger.  I am now in the putting it back together phase and need to time the valves.  My understanding is that Voyager valves are timed differently from a KZ1300, however my Voyager supplement manual does not mention anything to this effect. 
Can anyone help here?  Are they timed the same as a KZ1300?   Colin C.

A:  The easiest way is to remove the right side alternator cover.  Just remove the allen head bolts and the two bolts that hold the cover over the wiring on the bottom and pull it outward.  No need to totally remove it.  At the 12 o'clock position, you'll see a little bitty mark on the pickup holding ring that you will align the "T" mark on the rotor with.  This will get #1&6 piston at TDC.  

Pull the cam chain taut on the front side, slip the exhaust camshaft through the chain and set the cam in place.  There's a little hole on the camshaft gear that goes forward, lining up with the top surface of the head.  Be aware that as you tighten the camshaft down, the cam will go down, making the hole move upward.  In other words, when you first line up the cam and chain, have the hole pointing downward just a bit.  Get it tightened down and then could back 17 links and align that link up with the front hole in the cam gear.  It has two holes, the front one will point up and the other will point backwards, lining up evenly with the top of the head on the back side. 

You'll have to take apart and compress the cam chain tensioner and lock it down with the set screw.  Insert it, tighten the tensioner down and then release the set screw.  Crank the engine over a few times with a wrench on the alternator rotor and then line up the T mark again and check the cam gear holes to make sure they're where they are supposed to be.

Oh, I made a cam chain hole plug using the pattern in the back of the shop manual.  I used a piece of material similar to a thin truck flap to make it.  It was from a brake cylinder attenuator shield on a Dodge Caravan.  After hearing of some other people's problems, I sure didn't want that.  If nothing else, stuff the hole full of clean shop rags when you change shims.  John

Q:  After having had my Cam Chain Tensioner out to inspect it, I tried to put it back in but it just won't go in.  I've reset the arm all the way back in the housing and tightened the setscrew (bolt) to keep it full retracted, but it still won't go in anywhere near where I can start the bolts through the housing into the engine.

When I stick my little finger in the hole, I feel a slightly curved piece of metal covering the top half of the inside of the CCT hole and its fairly snug up against the casing.  Below it, and further into the engine, I can feel what seems like a roller of some type.  This curved piece of metal, with some effort can be pushed up and inwards but maybe only an eighth or a quarter of an inch.  It returns to its former position when I remove pressure from it.  It is this obstruction that is preventing the CCT from going into its mounting hole.  Any idea what it might be and what I might do to get my CCT back in?

A:  This rarely happens when you pull a CCT out, but what you are feeling is the insides to the CCT.  Apparently the cams have rotated slightly putting the slack to the front of the engine instead of the rear.  Do not, I repeat, do not try to rotate the engine with the CCT out.  The cam chain will jump.  Pull the coils and valve cover and inspect.  Can you see where the slack is?  Try to rotate gently the exhaust toward the rear.  Did you get slack in the cam chain across the top of the engine?  If yes then the slack was in front of the engine.  Now keeping the slack on top of the engine gently turn the intake cam toward the rear.  Now you can install the CCT.  Holding the slack to the rear of the engine let the push rod on the CCT take up the slack.  If everything works out right you will now be able to start and run the engine after putting the valve cover and coils back on. 

Do not let the chain jump over the teeth on the cams.  If you have any questions about the cams jumping time, then pull both cams keeping the cam chain tight on the lower shaft.  Pull the alternator. keeping the cam chain tight turn the crank clockwise from the alternator side of the engine (right side of the bike) till the T is exactly centered at the front of the engine on the upper and lower block mating surface.  Now install the exhaust cam with the dot (there are 2 dots I believe so use the farthest clockwise dot from the right side of the engine) at or just slightly below the mating surface where the valve cover and head mate.  Now install the intake cam with the dot at or just above the mating
surface at the rear side of the cam.  Double check.  Make no mistakes.  Do you have the book?  Look at the book pictures.  Now install the CCT and adjust tight.  Reassemble and run.  
Larry C.

Q:  I just bought an 81' KZ1300, and reading your recommendation I have a question with the chain tensioner.  Which year of ZX1100 should I buy and what do you think about the manual tensioner from Klasmo?  Thank you in advance and congrats on your website.  My best regards, JC 

A:  Don't know the year but the part #'s are posted -
http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/z1300-cam-chain-tensioner.html

ZX-11 tensioner - Part # 12048-1113, Tensioner gasket - Part # 11009-1858.  A manual tensioner will have to be adjusted by YOU!  A ZX-11 tensioner adjusts automatically as parts wear, it adjusts in real time and always by the correct amount of adjustment.  Even if there is some difference in price, you'll have to decide which you prefer.  However, consider this:

If you read my tech article on the ZX-11 Cam Chain Tensioner Mod, I mention that when you put these in you should count how many clicks it goes down before it stops.  If you use the ZX11 tensioner instead of a modified original tensioner or the APE manual style tensioner the added benefit is that you can get a pretty good idea of the condition of your CCT idler gear without having to take the valve cover off.

Just recently I installed a ZX11 tensioner on a motor that had a new idler gear on it and the tensioner only extended one click.  I had put one of these on another motor and it went all the way down 19 clicks.  When I pulled the valve cover on that motor the idler gear was down to the metal bearing.  If it had worn any more, it would of eventually split the bearing cover and spit out the needle bearings all inside the motor.  No telling what that would do but it's all bad!

Judging by the different motors I've put these ZX11 tensioners on I'd say if you put one in and it extends a couple of clicks your idler gear is like new.  If it goes 3 - 5 clicks you have minor wear, 5 - 8 clicks you should be right at what you should consider to be replacement time, 10 clicks for sure it's time, but you might can put a few more miles on it if you need to, and over 10 you're asking for trouble.  This is a best guess from my experience as I've test run quite a few of these engines and I always change the tensioner before I crank it up. 

If you have a ZX11 tensioner and it's been on awhile and you want to get a feel for what condition your idler gear is in now, this is simple.  Just pull the tensioner back out, compress the plunger, reinstall it and count the # of clicks as you reach in and depress the plunger.  Now you know approximately how much wear there is on it and you don't have to pull the valve cover to find out. 

However, if you're going to pull the valve cover and set your valves, this is the best time to look in and see what the idler gear looks like.  I have pictures of a new gear in the article and a moderately worn gear (probably 5 - 7 clicks at the stage of wear you see in that image) and if yours is much worse the head needs to come off to replace the gear. 

If you're setting your valves this is also the time to check your nylon water pump gear too.  The nylon water pump gear rides against a metal gear on the end of the water pump shaft and you can see it down below the idler gear.  The nylon water pump gear tends to crack between the teeth.  You slowly turn the crankshaft with a wrench while you shine a light on that gear and check it all the way around.  If your eyes aren't too good, here's a trick assuming you have a digital camera with a good LCD viewing screen.  I place a light on the gear and zoom in with the camera and I get a close up view of the gear on the screen.  I can take snapshots at short intervals or even a short digital movie while I slowly turn the crank (assuming yours will record a short movie).  Works like a charm.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Can anyone tell me which color wires feed which coils for the relevant cylinders?

Whatever you do with the coils the total resistance at the end of the day must be same as what you started out with.  If your total resistance (coils + ballast resistor) is 2.5 ohm then you should replace with 2.5 ohm coils and bypass the ballast resistor (which is approximately 1.7 Ohm and plenty WATTS).  The reason this gives better spark is that you lose almost half your voltage in the ballast resistor!  Replacing it with a 2.5 ohm coil means the coil get all the voltage your CDI is putting out and gives better spark.  The CDI is expecting approximately 2.7 to 3.0 ohms so make sure it doesn't change. 
 
: some calcs : 12v and 2.5ohm = 4.8 amps (Normal) 
: 12v and 3.5ohm = 3.4 amps (weak spark) 
: 12v and 1.5ohm = 8 amps = fried CDI unit, but good spark while it lasts ;-) 

There really is no risk because that CDI is still reacting to the same resistance it always has and doesn't really care whether it comes from a combination of resistors and coils or just one coil.  I cannot say for certain what may happen with a 3+ ohm coil, but suffice it to say the higher you get the less spark output.  Your other options are to buy aftermarket coils from Dyna, Nology coils, or some other high performance coil with the appropriate ohm rating.  The Accel coils are much more costly at about $80 to $120 apiece; the Dyna’s about $70 each, Nology's about $75+ each (posted prices on the net as of 11/2004).  You can check the Accel installation page for more info at -  http://accel.zn1300.com/  

Update!  Until 2005 I didn't have any problems with Accel coils, but read the Accel page for current info about Accel's ohm readings measuring too high!  Not a good coil for us anymore!

Q:  What is the replacement Accel coil part numbers for the 1980 KZ1300B2?

A:  Accel part #'s are 140403 (2 coils) & 140403S (Single coil).  The same coil for all year model KZ1300, Z1300, ZN1300, ZG1300 and Voyager 1300's.  All year 1300's use the same Accel coil.  On the older bikes (83' KZ1300's or older) with the original 1.5 ohm coils and ballast resistor, you simply pull the ballast off, toss it in the trash and install the coils without a ballast.  On the newer year model bikes that came with 2.5 ohm coils and without the ballast, you simply mount the coils and ride.  It's that simple.  I even have a page that shows you how at - accel.zn1300.com but here again, I do not recommend Accels at this time unless you can confirm that they do indeed measure 3.0 ohms when they're hot.

Measure them cold, then get them over some heat source and warm them up just like they would be cooking over a hot engine.  Test again.  If the ohm reading didn't change more than .1 or maybe .2 ohms, then it should be OK to use them.  I guess any coil may change a little bit when it's hot.  I'm not an expert on electronics.  david@kz1300.com

Q:   I have read the coil section on the FAQ and I have a manual.  I'm thinking of changing to DYNA coils, but in the UK, the only ones I can get are the DC4-1 coils rated at 2.2ohm.  The section states I have to have 2.5+ ohm total.  If I fit the 2.2ohm coils with the ballast resistor removed, will this fry my ignition system?  I have the 81' model with the one year only ignition system.  The reason I ask this is -

1. the coils are expensive and cannot be changed once I have bought them.
2. if I fry my ignition system, I wont be able to get a spare one.  Any thoughts on this before I purchase the Dyna's?  IAN

A: If you read the FAQ above then you saw this -

: some calcs : 12v and 2.5ohm = 4.8 amps (Normal) 
: 12v and 3.5ohm = 3.4 amps (weak spark) 
: 12v and 1.5ohm = 8 amps = fried CDI unit, but good spark while it lasts ;-) 

You can see that the higher the ohm coils you have the less amperage they pull through your igniter, so it appears that the 3 ohm coils put less load on it.  Dyna makes a 3 ohm coil as does Nology (2.7 ohm) and I've used the 3 ohm Accel's successfully for over 20 years as have many other members until 2005.  Why don't you buy the Nology or Dyna coils from the US and just have them shipped over there.  Wouldn't that be cheaper?  There's sources listed for Nology or Dyna coils below and on the links page - http://www.kz1300.com/linkspage.html 

If you want to use the Dyna coils, here's what Dyna recommended in an email to one member:

"Please note that we would recommend the DC4-1 coils, with a primary resistance of 2.2 and the secondary at 14K, this looks like a perfect fit for the specs you gave us.  The Plug wires we would recommend with them are the DW800 x 2.  They have a suggested retail price of $23."

http://www.dynaonline.com/english/coils.htm

So, they recommend 2.2 ohm coils instead of the 3.0 ohm in this email.  One reason I can guess at for this is because I've measured various coils and found that they tend to read a little higher than what they're rated at.  If you purchase their 2.2 ohm coils and measure them you might find that they measure somewhere between 2.5 - 2.7 ohms.  From experience, I'd say the same goes with the Accel so the decision is up to you, but if you look at the install sheets they provide with the Dyna 2000 Ignition I have on my site it says they provide the DC3-1 style 3.0 ohm coils with that kit.  Hard to say which is the better choice without measuring the resistance but 3 ohm would be better than 2.2 as 2.2 ohms is a little shy of what our bikes call for and could strain the igniter.

Though Accel's are still readily available from many sources, I've been informed that Accel quit making the 140403 coil a few years ago.  I've been measuring the ones I've gotten lately and some have been  measuring out over 4.0 ohms!  I'll be getting away from Accel's myself and switching to the Dyna coils as mentioned above, the Nology's, Screaming Eagles or the GM coil pack as mentioned next.  It would be better if we could find a coil pack for a V6 car with 2.5 ohm coils, but I've searched the internet and couldn't find any that have that high of resistance.  All of the one's I've found so far measure under 1.0 ohm.  However, if you measure them with the ballast in the circuit and end up with something around 2.7 - 3.0 ohms this is the preferred range to be in.  david@kz1300.com

You can purchase the Dyna's on the Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse website for $113.95 in pairs (2 coil sets as of 2004).  david@kz1300.com  

See -  http://www.mawonline.com/dyna.htm#Coils

or Motorcycle Performance Specialties- For $111.60

See -  http://www.mpsracing.com/products/Dyna/ig01aa.asp 

A:  I read about Bob's coil install on the Canada site.  I did some research and found the 1990 Buick Reatta and Regal and others have the coils he described.  Part # Niehoff  PT223, CSK Skucks auto # DR185.  This coil seems to work great and measures 1.2 ohms so you have to keep the original ballast resistor from your KZ or add a 1.5+ ohm ballast resistor to it if you're going to use it on a newer 1300 that came with 2.5 ohm coils.  I have about 200 miles on it now with Accel spiral race wires and my 82' KZ1300 runs better than it ever has with cleaner exhaust smell and sharper response.  James Inman in Alaska 

A:  I found an interchange list on ebay for the 1990-96 Buick Regal Coil (6-191) for all those 1300 owners that want to try this mod.  david@kz1300.com

Interchange Info: Brand / Part# / OEM or Aftermarket Type

AC / DELCO / GM - #12353801 - OEM
AC / DELCO / GM - #25518356 - OEM
AC / DELCO / GM - #25523221 - OEM
AC / DELCO / GM - #25526448 - OEM
AC / DELCO / GM - #25533542 - OEM
AC / DELCO / GM - #D538 - OEM
AC / DELCO / GM - #D543 - OEM
AC / DELCO / GM - #D552 - OEM
AIRTEX - #5C1061 - aftermarket
BIG A - #35-701 - aftermarket
BORG WARNER - #E45 - aftermarket
CARTER - #504-001 - aftermarket
COBRA - #DC-62B - aftermarket
ECHLIN - #IC28 - aftermarket
ETRON - #D543 - aftermarket
FILKO - #DC-62 - aftermarket
GP/SORENSEN - #GC412 - aftermarket
KEM - #342H - aftermarket
MIGHTY - #3-508 - aftermarket
NAPA - #IC28 - aftermarket
NIEHOFF - #DR185 - aftermarket
SIERRA - #18-5439 - aftermarket
SORENSEN - #DE-82 - aftermarket
STANDARD / HYGRADE - #DR-36 - aftermarket
WELLS - #C860 - aftermarket

Fits Cars:
6000 87-89 6-173 (2.8L)
6000 88-91 6-191 (3.1L)
ACHIEVA 94-98 6-191 (3.1L)
ALERO 99-02 3.4L
AZTEK 01-02 (3.4L)
BERETTA 87-89 6-173 (2.8L)
BERETTA 90-96 6-191 (3.1L)
CAMARO 93-95 6-207 (3.4L)
CAVALIER 87-89 6-173 (2.8L)
CAVALIER 90-94 6-191 (3.1L)
CELEBRITY 87-89 6-173 (2.8L)
CELEBRITY 90 6-191 (3.1L)
CENTURY 87-89 6-173 (2.8L)
CENTURY 94-96 6-191 (3.1L)
CENTURY 97-02 (6-191, 3.1L)
CIERA 87-89 6-173 (2.8L)
CIERA 94-96 6-191 (3.1L)
CIMARRON 87-88
CORSICA 87-89 6-173 (2.8L)
CORSICA 90-96 6-191 (3.1L)
CUTLASS 88 (6-173, 2.8L)
CUTLASS 89 6-173 (2.8L)
CUTLASS 89-92 6-191 (3.1L)
CUTLASS 91-96 6-207 (3.4L)
CUTLASS 93 6-191 (3.1L), eng VIN "M"
CUTLASS 93 6-191 (3.1L), eng VIN "T"
CUTLASS 94-96 6-191 (3.1L)
CUTLASS 97-99 (6-191, 3.1L)
FIREBIRD 93-95 6-207 (3.4L)
FIRENZA 87 6-173 (2.8L)
GRAND AM 94-98 6-191 (3.1L)
GRAND AM 99-02 3.4L
GRAND PRIX 88-89
GRAND PRIX 90-93 6-191 (3.1L)
GRAND PRIX 91-93 6-207 (3.4L)
GRAND PRIX 94-95
GRAND PRIX 96 6-207 (3.4L)
GRAND PRIX 96-02 6-191 (3.1L)
IMPALA 00-02 3.4L
LUMINA CAR 90 6-191 (3.1L)
LUMINA CAR 91-93 6-191 (3.1L)
w/o methanol fuel
LUMINA CAR 91-93 6-207 (3.4L)
LUMINA CAR 94-95
LUMINA CAR 96-97 6-207 (3.4L)
LUMINA CAR 96-99 6-191 (3.1L)
LUMINA CAR 00-01 (3.1L)
LUMINA VAN 96 (6-207, 3.4L)
MALIBU 97-99 6-191 (3.1L)
MALIBU 00-02 (3.1L)
MONTANA 99-02 (6-207, 3.4L)
MONTE CARLO 95
MONTE CARLO 96-97 6-207 (3.4L)
MONTE CARLO 96-99 6-191 (3.1L)
MONTE CARLO 00-02 3.4L
PASSPORT 94-95 3.2L (6 cyl)
REGAL 88-89
REGAL 90-96 6-191 (3.1L)
RENDEZVOUS 02 (3.4L)
ISUZU RODEO 93-95 3.2L (6 cyl)
SILHOUETTE 96-02 (6-207, 3.4L)
SKYLARK 94-98 6-191 (3.1L)
SUNBIRD 91-94 6-191 (3.1L)
TEMPEST 87-89 6-173 (2.8L)
TEMPEST 90-93 6-191 (3.1L)
TRANS SPORT 96-98 (6-207, 3.4L)
TRANS SPORT 99-00 (Canada, 6-207, 3.4L)
ISUZU TROOPER 92-95
VENTURE 97-02 (6-207, 3.4L)

Warning! As of 3/05, another member has purchased these coils and said they measure .9 ohms, not 1.2 as stated here!  Just make sure your total ohms with the ballast is between 2.7 - 3.2 ohms and preferably 2.7 - 3.0!

A:  Hi Dave, I have done the coil swap that Bob describes on my KZ and its right on, works great.  I did use the original ballast and my set measured .7 ohms but the only problem is the seat won't close.  Ended up putting the coils in the fairing.  Jim M.  5/05

Q:  If you look up the user name of  jm2564  on ebay he has or will list for you the Buick coil pack you have listed on the site for $25 plus shipping and they are brand new.  Here's the auction text:

"New GM / Magnavox Style 6-Tower Ignition Coil.  Authentic GM Replacement Coil In A Sealed Carton.  Fits Many GM Vehicles.  Fits Buick, Oldsmobile & Pontiac 1986-1992.  Unit is equal to (Wells Mfg C860).  Other matching part numbers include (12353801, 24502008, 24502371, 25518356, 25523221, 25526448, 25533542, D538, D543 & D552).  One Year Replacement Warranty. Priced to Sell!  Get Them While They Last!"    Kevin W.

A:  Yeah I've seen these, but .76 ohms at the high end plus the stock 1.7 ohm ballast only equals 2.45 ohms.  That's not enough.  We'd like to see 2.7 minimum because any less strains the igniter.  How many ohms did yours measure through the ballast and through the coil?  This is most important unless you don't care if you burn up your igniter.  I also see a seller with an AC-Delco part# D552 for $50 and $15 shipping and he says it retails new for "$115.00 IN YOUR DISCOUNT STORE".  He's listing this part specifically for the KZ1300 and Voyager and states: "If your KZ1300 has a ballast resistor, keep it connected to this coil or you will blow out the ignition system.  If you have a VOYAGER, then be sure to install a ballast resistor before using this coil."  His ID is z11pacer and I see others selling the same part on ebay (12/07) from about $40 to $60.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I get 3.4 ohms total on the primary measuring through the ballast.  Kevin W.

A:  We're shooting for 2.7 ohms - 3.0 ohms on the primary including the ballast if it's needed.  Any less than about 2.7 will overload the igniter, and too much will drop the spark output.  Although I doubt a slightly high ohm rating like that will give the igniter any problems.  The coil you're using is rated at 34,000 volts.  You're getting only 20KV maybe because the 3.4 ohms is too high on the primary side and the igniter is changing the dwell or something to compensate?  I'm just guessing.  If you can get a ballast that will drop that by one ohm into the 2.5 to 2.7 range I'm betting the output will jump some and it would be real nice to know by how much.  I noticed that most of these coil packs were in the .7 to .9 range on the primary.  If we can get a 1.7 - 1.9 ohm ballast we should be able to use any of these coil packs with good results since that should put us in the 2.5 - 2.8 range and that's right at the minimum of what our igniter was designed for.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  First let me say your site and info has been very helpful.  I recently purchased a 1980 KZ1300 I noticed in your articles on the site that you stated that someone used a GM coil from a 6cyl to run their bike.  I was wondering if there is a wiring diagram for this conversion as the bike I have has bad wires, and cracked coils.  The guy I bought the bike from gave me the GM coil new in the box, same part number as you have listed.  But was wondering what or how should I convert the coil feeds or wires over.  Any info would be greatly appreciated as I am looking forward to finally get to ride this bike.   Thanks Coy

A:  On the tech articles page - http://www.kz1300.com/tech.html  you'll see a tech article on it and that's all the info I have except what's posted above.  Make sure you have 2.7 - 3.0 ohms with the ballast, or without - whatever works.  I've heard all different ohm readings from different people, but I've looked at the listings on ebay and they typically say .7 to .9 ohms on these coil packs.  At .7 ohms your ballast would have to read 1.8 ohms to equal a minimum of 2.5 and I doubt it going to read that high.  2.5 ohms is the absolute bare minimum as 3.0 ohms is closer to stock, so the lower you go on the ohm readings the more chance you take in burning the igniter up.  There is some variance in the original parts and 2.7 - 3.0 ohms would be the preferred range to be in.   david@kz1300.com

Q: Why do you feel that it's better to use the Nology's or Dyna's over the newer model Kawasaki coils off a Voyager or other model Kawasaki that are a direct bolt-on?

A:  The 84' - 89' ZN1300's have what I would consider to be a better coil than the OEM KZ1300 since you can replace the wires on the Voyager coils, but the coils still crack with age the same as the older Kawasaki coils, they're just as likely to break down when they're hot as the older ones, and they don't have anywhere near the secondary spark output of the Nology or Dyna coil.  New high performance coils are the 2nd most important preventive maintenance / performance enhancement modification you can do to this bike.  They're very reasonable new either from Dyna or Nology and you can buy Nology's or Dyna's for a better price a lot of times when you can find them up for auction on ebay.  

And even if the original coils on your bike worked perfectly, I'd still toss them!  Why?  Because I can just about assure you you'll be able to tell right off that the bike responds much better and gets better gas mileage with the higher performance coils on it.  It's a high performance engine, but the original style coils and even the newer stock Kawasaki coils are marginal in my opinion.  If that's not true, then why do the Nology or Dyna coils make such a noticeable performance improvement over 'good' coils when I put them on, and improve the gas mileage too?  I don't even check the original coils anymore, I just trash them, period.  

That might not seem prudent for some of you, but I run my bike hard.  I'll get by with good coils as long as I have to, but the minute I get the money together for a set of coils I'm going to put them on.  I don't want to be sitting at a light somewhere for 30 minutes waiting to crank my bike because it stalled, or at a gas station after a fill-up and not being able to start it back up.  I can assure you my wife won't put up with that but once.  If the bike breaks and has to be hauled home she'll understand, but she's not going with me if the bike's just going to die whenever it feels like it.  She'd rather stay at home till it's fixed.  

If I was a bike mechanic and was use to taking my bike apart and knew just what to check when I had a problem, I might feel like I could live with regular coils on my bike.  I might feel confident I could isolate that problem the day it manifested itself, but I'm not, I don't, I just eliminate the problem and then I don't ever have that problem.  So when I have a problem, I know it's not coils, it's something else.  

When it comes to state of the art plug wires, I found some interesting technology available around the first of 2005 from Nology.  Here's what their website says - http://www.nology.com/hot.html

"Nology HotWires are the most technologically advanced ignition wires available.  HotWires create the most powerful spark possible.  HotWires are engineered with a special built-in capacitor, exclusive only to HotWires.  This revolutionary design allows energy from the ignition coil to accumulate in the capacitor until the voltage at the spark plug electrodes reaches the ionization point.  At that split second point the entire power of the stored spark is discharged at once, creating a spark 300 times more powerful.  The result is faster, more complete combustion, and most importantly, MORE HORSEPOWER that's 100%. Smog Legal.  US Patent #: 6,559,376.  Hotwires are available in Red, Black, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Purple & Silver.

Motorcycle - 2 Cylinder from $72, 4 Cylinder from $144" - I bought 6 individual wires since they don't sell a set for a 6 cylinder bike.  Nology part# 012-001-301.  I paid about $225 for 6 wires.  

They also have a neat diagnostic tool called a PDA-Dyno™.  They say the Nology Scan Tool Works On Everything: CAN, VPW, PWM, ISO, EU-OBD II and KWP2000 communication protocols.  I don't know if any of this applies to bikes, but it may work on some of the newer ones. 

They do sell a 3.0 ohm dual tower 'ProFire' coil that should be a good replacement for the Accel, part number: PFC-30-D or PFC 30D as it's shown on some sites, that claims a spark voltage in excess of 55,000 volts when used with their Hotwires!  They say with electronic ignition the actual output is 2.4 ohms.  It gives you all the information about their products in a pdf file including their Hotwires and silver electrode spark plugs.  The only issue with these is whether they can take the heat our motors put out.  Nology is not sure whether they can or not.  I've already installed the Nology coils and their Hotwires on a B2 model as of 3/05 and a ZN1300 Voyager as of 10/05 so if I have a problem I'll update the Nology page.  We could always relocate these coils but some people aren't going to want to do that and I understand.  I mounted these in the original locations so we'll give them the acid test.

I see JC Whitney sells Nology products and their 'ProFire' dual tower coils sell for $77 though they only show a fitment table for Harley motorcycles, the Hotwires sell for $180 typically for cars and the plugs list for $8 each.  Click this link to find a lot of ebay sellers offering Nology products also.  Here's the ebay seller I bought 3 from around Feb/2006 for $73 each and only $5 shipping, ebay ID = houseofpimps, MARKHIRSCH@COMCAST.NET,  their website twinthundermotors.com and phone (310) 558-8247.   david@kz1300.com

A:  To be fair, here is a comment posted on the Magnecor site about capacitor effect wires similar to what Nology sells:

"CAPACITOR" EFFECT WIRES with grounded metal braiding over jacket - 

The most notable of exaggerated claims for ignition wires are made by Nology, a recent manufacturer of ignition wires promoted as "the only spark plug wires with built-in capacitor."  Nology's "HotWires" (called "Plasma Leads" in the UK) consist of unsuppressed solid metal or spiral conductor ignition wires over which braided metal sleeves are partially fitted.  The braided metal sleeves are grounded via straps formed from part of the braiding.  Insulating covers are fitted over the braided metal sleeves.  These wires are well constructed.  For whatever reason, Nology specifies that non-resistor spark plugs need to be used with their "HotWires."  In a demonstration, the use of resistor plugs nullifies the visual effect of the brighter spark.

Ignition wires with grounded braided metal sleeves over the cable have come and gone all over the world for (at least) the last 30 years, and similar wires were used over 20 years ago by a few car makers to solve cross-firing problems on early fuel injected engines and RFI problems on fiberglass bodied cars — only to find other problems were created.  The recent Circle Track Magazine (USA, May, 1996 issue) test showed Nology "HotWires" produced no additional horsepower (the test actually showed a 10 horsepower decrease when compared to stock carbon conductor wires).

The perceived effect a brighter spark, conducted by an ignition wire, encased or partially encased in a braided metal sleeve (shield) grounded to the engine, jumping across a huge free-air gap (which bears no relationship to the spark needed to fire the variable air/fuel mixture under pressure in a combustion chamber) is continually being re-discovered and cleverly demonstrated by marketers who convince themselves there's monetary value in such a bright spark, and all sorts of wild, completely un-provable claims are made for this phenomena.

Like many in the past, Nology cleverly demonstrates a brighter free-air spark containing useless flash-over created by the crude 'capacitor' (effect) of this style of wire.  In reality, the bright spark has no more useful energy to fire a variable compressed air/fuel mixture than the clean spark you would see in a similar demonstration using any good carbon conductor wire.  What is happening in such a demonstration is the coil output is being unnecessarily boosted to additionally supply spark energy that is induced (and wasted) into the grounded braided metal sleeve around the ignition wire's jacket.  To test the validity of this statement, ask the demonstrator to disconnect the ground strap and observe just how much energy is sparking to ground.

Claims by Nology of their "HotWires" creating sparks that are "300 times more powerful," reaching temperatures of "100,000 to 150,000 degrees F" (more than enough to melt spark plug electrodes), spark durations of "4 billionths of a second" (spark duration is controlled by the ignition system itself) and currents of "1,000 amperes" magically evolving in "capacitors" allegedly "built-in" to the ignition wires are as ridiculous as the data and the depiction of sparks in photographs used in advertising material and the price asked for these wires!  Most stock ignition primaries are regulated to 6 amperes and the most powerful race ignition to no more than 40 amperes at 12,000 RPM.

It is common knowledge amongst automotive electrical engineers that it is unwise to use ignition wires fitted with grounded braided metal sleeves fitted over ignition cable jackets on an automobile engine.  This type of ignition wires forces its cable jackets to become an unsuitable dielectric for a crude capacitor (effect) between the conductor and the braided metal sleeves.  While the wires function normally when first fitted, the cable jackets soon break down as a dielectric, and progressively more spark energy is induced from the conductors (though the cable jackets) into the grounded metal sleeves, causing the ignition coil to unnecessarily output more energy to fire both the spark plug gaps and the additional energy lost via the braided metal sleeves.  Often this situation leads to ignition coil and control unit overload failures.  It should be noted that it is dangerous to use these wires if not grounded to the engine, as the grounding straps will be alive with thousands of volts wanting to ground-out to anything (or body) nearby.

Unless you are prepared to accept poorly suppressed ignition wires that fail sooner than any other type of ignition wires and stretch your ignition system to the limit, and have an engine with no electronic management system and/or exhaust emission controls, it's best not to be influenced by the exaggerated claims, and some vested-interest journalists', resellers' and installers' perception an engine has more power after Nology wires are fitted.  Often, after replacing deteriorated wires, any new ignition wires make an engine run better.

A:  As a coil heats up (and in a Voyager they really heat up) they break down a little.  What is the point that they breakdown too much?  Can you get the coils hot as in riding for 2 hours in 100 degree ambient temps and then connect them to a scope?  Then pull the wire off one of the plugs and 
gradually increase the distance to the plug and watch the scope to see if the coil is still firing the correct voltage (as in 15,000 volts, or even more).  I did this on a KZ1300 where I can get the tank off when it is very hot.  The stock KZ1300 new coils would only put out 7,000 volts.  I replaced them with Accel coils.  They now will put out over 40,000 volts.  

So if you have coils that only put out say 5000 volts they may work some times but not really have enough voltage to really burn the fuel.  On cars it takes 7,000 volts to run at idle.  And like running down the highway at say 70 mph it take like 11,000 to 12,000 volts.  When you force the accelerator to the floor it take up to like 40,000 volts to continue firing without any missing.  Our stock coils are not up to the task on the KZ or the Voyager.  Even when these bikes were brand new, the smart guys were taking the stock coils out and installing better performance coils.   Larry C.

Q:  I think I have found the ultimate answer to the replacement coil issue for the KZ1300.  I was getting parts for my friend's Buell at my local Harley shop and on a whim I asked to check out a few of their coils.  As it turns out most Harleys use a twin tower dual fire coil similar to what we use.  The coils we need come off of 1980 to 1999? Harley's without points ignition.  This is a two-tower two-wire coil with a primary resistance of 2.5 ohms!  And I saved the best news for last... brand new from the Harley shop these coils are $40 a piece!  If that is too expensive, I have found the exact same part number on Ebay for new coils for as low as $20 each with $4 shipping!  

I did some checking around and a lot of talking to several experienced Harley mechanics and riders that I know before I decided to go with these coils.  What they told me was this:

A:  The stock coil on the Harley is actually a high output coil to be able to deal with the higher compression and poor cold starting characteristics of the Harley.

B:  All those aftermarket coils that are available for Harleys are either almost identical in output and durability to the stock coil or are slightly higher output but not much.

C:  The reason that there are so many aftermarket coils available for Harleys is because people will buy performance parts for a Harley even if they don't need them because customizing Harleys has become more of a fad/fashion statement.

As far as how they work on our bikes, let me tell you, I can't believe how fast my 1300 JUMPS to life with these coils!  I put the coils on their own power circuit controlled by a relay that is triggered by the old coil power wire.  This new power wire is 12 gauge and it sends FULL battery voltage to the coils when the relay closes.  I put a 25 amp fuse on the new coil power circuit between the relay and the battery.  The Harley Davidson part number for the correct coil is: 31614-83A.  

As far as installation goes, I had to get a bit creative because they are a bit large but at the cheap price these things are I am willing to put in a bit of time.  I mounted one coil basically hanging from the back (rear) side of the existing coil tray under the tank.  To do this I took 2 long eye-bolts and opened up the eyes turning them into hooks, then I hooked them into two holes in the coil tray pointing them rearward.  I then slipped the bolt ends thru the mounting holes on the coil and using washers and nuts I pulled it up tight to the back side of the coil basket.  I know this puts the coil close to the cam cover but it does not hit and so far I have had no trouble with the heat.  These coils are made to mount BETWEEN the two cylinders of a large air-cooled V-twin after all.  

The second coil I mounted in the coil basket using a few bolts I had laying around.  The third coil I have not permanently mounted but I have it hanging securely from the left side upper horizontal frame tube as far forward as possible using a pair of THICK plastic cable ties.  I am planning on making a permanent mounting bracket there this winter.

I realize that this seems a bit cobbled but even with my lowers off you still can only see one coil just barely peaking out from under the tank.  I also recommend that you run a separate relay-activated power line straight from your battery to power these. (fused, of course!)  I triggered the relay with the normal coil power wire.  This will ensure that you have maximum voltage at the coils for start-up.  
I have had amazing starting performance using this system and a lot more power at higher RPM's because the coils are putting more spark to the plugs than the stock setup. and at under $20 a coil you can't beat the price!   Thanks again,  Brian S.

A:  I'm aware that some Harley coils are 2.5's,  but I wasn't aware that the output on these was that much better than our original Kawasaki coils.  There's a lot of stock Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda or Suzuki bikes that use a 2.5 ohm coil but we're looking for a performance coil because the original and probably most other stock 2.5 ohm coils don't really put out enough spark to do much more than to just make our bike run OK.  It appears to me that our coils just barely worked when new.  I did see one high output coil listed for a Harley on ebay with a 2.75 ohm primary which is fine though, and a high output 2.9 ohm Harley coil which will still work, as the Accel's we were using were 3.0 ohm and anything from 2.7 to 3.0 ohm is in the range we want to be.  

There is a Screamin' Eagle coil listed also which actually seems like the way to go as it's advertised as 2.5 ohms and a 30,000 volt output.  The Nology's are advertised at 45,000 volts+ if you use their Hotwires but most guys are consider their wires to be overkill at $225 a set!  I don't know about the availability of the Screamin' Eagle coils but I'll check on it soon.  The good part though is there's 2 of these listed for $40 each and that's pretty cheap for a high output coil.  david@kz1300.com

A:  By Harley Davidson's own documentation, a "good" Harley coil will put out up to 20,000 volts at 22ma to the plug.  Dyna up to 40,000 volts at 39ma to the plug, Accel super spark 65,000 volts and 50ma to the plug, and 40,000 volts and 46ma to the plug, Nology 50,000 volts and 52ma. to the plug.  I wonder which is the better coil and which will fire plugs better.  Nology also advises using the widest gap while Accel says stay close to stock for best performance.   Mejing

Q:  Do you still think Accel coils are the way to go if they measure 3.0 ohms or are Nology coils a better option?

A:  Dyna or Nology is what's available in the correct ohm rating but also I just bought some 30K output Screamin' Eagle coils for a points type ignition Harley that are 2.5 ohms and got them on ebay for $40 each.  Problem is they're too big to fit in the stock locations so we would have to mount them somewhere else.  They're pretty large coils and there's really no room to fit them on a KZ unless yours has a fairing and you can hide them in there.  Accel's are OK if they're 3 ohms but not if they're any higher and most of the ones I've checked lately have been closer to 4 ohms and sometimes more.  NOT GOOD!  Spark will be too weak and that high of an ohm rating may damage the igniter somehow, throw off the dwell, cause timing problems or other issues that hurt performance. 

Dyna makes a 2.2 ohm and 3 ohm, so make sure you get the 3.0 ohm.  Still, I've never used Dyna's myself, but they are good coils and as far as I know everyone is using their 3 ohm coil on their 1300 with no problems.  The Nology's are small, light, easy to mount and put out the most voltage, but there was some concern about how long they will last with the heat they're subjected to when mounted just above our motor.  If it really turns out to be a problem we could mount them somewhere else I guess, but no one has reported a problem yet and a lot of guys including myself are running them now as of Oct/2006.  I've been running them in the stock location to see what happens and as of 10/06 I've had them on for over a year and put about 15,000 miles on the bike with these coils and no problems have surfaced.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Hi Dave, I just bought the Harley coils and am starting the switch.  Do you know if there is a positive or negative to this coil?  The polarity is not marked at all.  Any help would be great!  Thanks, Mark W.

A:  If coils aren't marked then I have to assume the polarity doesn't matter.  Accel's are not marked and I had checked with Accel before on that, and they said because of the design of the coil polarity was not an issue.  I looked at my set of Harley coils and they aren't marked either.  The stock coils ARE marked and the Nology coils ARE marked + & - so those are specific which way the manufacturer wants them installed.  I never installed my Harley coils on a bike so I'd like to know for sure that they do in fact work OK for you, when installed and a follow up after 5000 miles or so.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I have been browsing for replacement coils for my 84 Z1300.  I purchased a set of Accel's some time ago but haven't had time to fit them.  I have read the articles on your site for a number of years and have read about the Accel's not being suitable like they use to be.  I recently stumbled upon a web site that has coils with 2.7 Ohm rated coils which seem like they are more suitable.  Are these coils OK for our bikes?  Have you heard anything before about BLUE STREAK COILS?  David R.

A:  Never heard of the Blue Streak brand, but they look pretty much like the Screaming Eagle Harley coils I bought in size and shape which I mention above.  Not all these aftermarket coils will work even though they're the correct ohm rating.  Has something to do with the type of igniter on the bike you're mounting them on and the ignition dwell time overheating the coils from what I was told.

Apparently none of us have had a problem with Nology as late as 8/08, so I can say at this point all is well.  Other issue is the physical size of the coil itself and the fact that that Blue Streak and the Screaming Eagle are much too big to fit them in the stock location.  The Nology is actually smaller than the stock coil and fits right back in with room to spare as I show in the tech article.  Accel and Dyna both fit in the stock location, but the Blue Streak and the Screaming Eagle will have to be mounted elsewhere, and exactly 'where elsewhere' is the problem.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Where did you come up with this 2.7 range?  My 81' has coils with a primary resistance of 1.2 to 1.9 ohms added to this is a ballast resistor with 1.7 ohms so I'm coming up with 3.2 ohms.  I got these numbers from the Kawasaki shop manual and confirmed them with my meter.  I've already fitted a .8 ohm coil pack and together with the stock 1.7 ohm ballast resistor I have 2.5 ohms.  I like your numbers as I'm already there, but I'm worried that I'll blow the igniter with too low of a resistance.  Page 240 of the official shop manual, table K6 gives the ballast resistance as 1.5 to 1.9 ohms, not the 1 ohm you have written about.  My ballast resistor is clearly marked as being 1.7 ohms.  Bill R. 

A:  I got that 2.5 reading from info originally supplied by Paul Bezilla and other members and it's posted on this FAQ page.  I think the point he was making is that 2.5 ohms is the minimum the CDI should have without taking substantial risks of burning it up and these newer automotive 6-pack coils that people have been asking about a lot lately are under 1 ohm.  Even with the ballast in the circuit, sometimes they just barely measure 2.5 ohms, but yes I think the ballast is supposed to be more like 1.5 to 1.9 ohms, so there is some variance.  I think 2.7 to 3.0 total ohms is perfect really but the 3.0 ohm rated coils that are available, generally read 3.5 and sometimes more as I've noted with the Accel's lately. 

The higher the ohms in the circuit the less secondary spark output and this spark output is what makes the bike run so much better.  So yes, there is some allowable variance as you note from the factory that should put us in the 2.7 to 3.5 ohm range on the coil input side of the igniter and even as low as 2.5 (at best guess) should still work for us. 

We have to have a cutoff point where we say 'no less than this' and 'best guess' is 2.5 ohms for a coil set or coils and ballast in combination whichever way you are going.  My Nology's measured 2.7 and Dyna's are supposed to be 3.0 ohm.  Either one of these 2.7 to 3.0 ohm coils should work perfect. 

Most of these GM coil packs made for a 6-cyl engine are rated at .7 to .9 ohms.  If you connect your ballast to that and measure 2.2 to 2.4 ohms I think I'd pass on that setup myself.  Might be a cheaper install, but it's not cheaper than buying a new igniter.  On the other hand if it measured 2.7 then I'd be tempted to use this setup except for one thing. 

I still want more than a 30k volt spark output, and the Nology, Dyna and Accel (Accel's at 3.0 ohms that is) should all qualify.  But I don't have an issue with guys out there running automotive coil packs on their 1300's.  I even made a page for them as I have a page for Accel, Nology and maybe Dyna in the future.  It's all about keeping the bike running and trying to give guidelines on what may or may not work.  I don't want a coil pack with a ballast in the circuit to make it work, because the ballast causes a voltage drop to the coils and that lowers your secondary output.  How much exactly I don't know.  Then you still have the issue of what if the ballast goes bad and shorts.  You have instant fried igniter for lunch.  These are things we're trying to avoid and we do avoid these issues using other types of coils.  

Yes, the coil packs are working as many owners that have done this conversion can attest, but looking at this setup I've decided to pass on it myself.  I'm all for saving money, but I don't see this as a great thing to save money on with this particular bike for the reasons stated above and that's just my opinion on the subject.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I was wondering if you have to go with special wires when you use the Nology coils?  My bike has new wires and caps on the newer style stock coils and I would like to reuse them since they are new.  Vance S.

A:  You could use any brand spark plug wire wire, but with Nology or Accel coils you need female to female ends on the wires so you have to make sure you get a set that has the correct style ends and you should use a really good high performance wire like Accel, MSD, Jacobs, etc., that will handle a 50,000 volt spark.  I wouldn't expect cheap wires to work well with high output coils whether they're Accel, Dyna, GM or Nology coils we're talking about.  I use the more expensive wires that have a spiral wound conductor.  Also, I myself use 90 degree ends on the spark plug side because of the close clearance issues between the spark plug and the bottom of the gas tank, and you need 90 degree ends on the coil side too if you look at the way I've installed them.  Dyna coils take a male end on the coil side and of course a female end on the plug side.  So look at how you want to mount them and go to your local performance shop and buy a wire that works. david@kz1300.com

Q:  I have a 80' model KZ1300 that runs great when it is cool, and on warm days it runs great at highway speed.  On warm days after I get off the highway and drive in town it will usually die as I try to pull away from a stop sign.  After 10 to 15 minutes of cool down time it starts up fine and runs great again until it gets warm again.  (Identical to Phil's problem dated 3/31/2002)  I have replaced the CCT, installed Accel coils, and added heat barrier to the bottom of the tank and on the fuel line.  I just want to get my KZ as dependable as possible.  I haven't removed the fuel shut off valve.  I will continue to read your kz1300.com, and would appreciate all the help I can get.  I do have a manual, but this isn't in the trouble shooting area.   Marcus

A:  You might of taken note about my warning on the Accel install page - http://accel.zn1300.com  about recent high ohm readings on the primary side of the coil.  When the coil is hot the reading gets worse so measure the primary ohms and let me know what they read.  If they're 3 ohms when cold they may jump to 3.5 - 4.5 ohms when hot, and who knows what problems that could cause long term, but it could definitely make it stall and then restart when cooler.  You could also have a fuel delivery problem.  I would install a Pingel petcock as shown in my tech articles, reroute the gas line as shown and if need be, and maybe insulate the fuel line in case of vapor lock.   All of these mod's are mentioned on the site.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I don't know what we would do without your great site here in OZ.  I have a problem with the ignition on the A3.  Just what the problem is has got me scratching my head.  The bike has only done something like 9000 miles since new in 1981 and has always been garaged.  The problem has only just started and is as follows.

Ignition only supplies one spark to each coil on starting.  One spark only then stops.  Battery is fine. All connections have been cleaned properly.  Igniter box has been tested on similar model and seems fine.  Coils are getting full 12 volts.  Ballast checks out at 1.9 ohms.  With ignition on, flicking on-off switch with clutch pulled in shows same one spark to coils.

Bike has shown symptoms of this problem over last 500 miles with motor cutting out and then re-starting after short break but now is a complete no-go.  There is mention of a "junction box" on the site but I am lost as to what exactly this item is and where it is located.  I have been over your site for clues and been through the manual but I am stumped.  Your assistance with this problem would be greatly appreciated.   Phil H.

A:  Junction boxes are on Voyager 1300's not the base models like yours.  Since you say that you checked the igniter on another bike and it worked OK then it seems reasonable to think that the igniter is probably OK.  81's did have a lot of ignition failures, as they are one year only parts and were upgraded to a better style ignition in 82'.  These days it's almost impossible to find 81' igniters or pickups, and there's no way to swap another year parts over as far as I can see as the 81' is unique. 

Another well known issue on these bikes were the ignition coils.  I've seen these with large cracks with as little as 7000 miles.  The # 2 issue I state on my site is change the coils and I'm betting that's your problem.  I've seen original coils that are still sparking but they weren't sparking hot enough to start the engine.  This engine responds well to a hot coil.  I'm using Nology coils myself as they're very reasonable on the price and the latest technology to boot.  Most are using Dyna coils or Accel or some other type. 

I've got lots of info and tech articles on replacing coils on my site.  I'd hate to see you spend the money and still have a problem, but I recommend you take the chance on new coils and just do it.  The people that have followed the recommendations on my site are the ones that are out riding their bikes.  No doubt you could still have a short in your wiring or something goofy like that going on there.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  I need a new igniter for my 81' KZ1300.  Do you have any info on the circuitry of the 81' igniter itself.  One would imagine that it would make sense to reproduce the igniter and sell it??  Lauri N.

A:  I'd love to have aftermarket igniters to sell, but aftermarket igniters don't exist to my knowledge.  Kawasaki is not going to share their igniter design with us and I don't know of another product that's available.  I'm going to use a module to control ignition on some custom DFI Kits I'm working on, but the module only works with the specific fuel injection computer I'm using.  I've contacted people in places like China, Argentina and so forth to make a replacement OEM style igniter box, but unless you're willing to buy at least 1000 - 10,000 units, forget it.  No one is willing to to make such a small run of 20 pieces, or 50 pieces which is all I could ever afford to buy.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  What type of wires and plugs do most guys use?

A:  I found the following notes on a website relative to using an aftermarket fuel injection on Harleys and I thought it was useful because he says "The biggest problem with spark plugs for Harley - Davidson engines is fouling", and that's typically our problem too: 

Three types of spark plug wires are commonly available: original equipment style carbon core suppression, low resistance spiral core, and solid core.  Carbon core suppression wires cause some energy loss due to their high resistance (about 5,000 ohms/foot).  Replacing carbon core suppression wires with low resistance spiral core wires only increases spark energy by about 10%.  Contrary to any claims, you will not see a performance improvement by changing spark plug wires.  On the other hand, carbon core wires can deteriorate over time and any wires more than a few years old are candidates for replacement.  If you are going to install new spark plug wires, buy a set of low resistance spiral core wires.  Most are less than 500 ohms/foot.  At that point, almost no energy is lost in the wire.  There are some new versions with very low resistance (50 ohms/foot), but the advantage is insignificant for the short lengths encountered in motorcycle applications.

Do not use solid core spark plug wires.  These radiate excessive electromagnetic noise that will cause radio interference and may even cause the processor in the ignition module to glitch.  We do not recommend Nology spark plug wires.  These have a partially shielded jacket that forms a energy storage capacitor.  When the spark plug fires, energy stored in this capacitor is rapidly discharged causing a short but intense arc discharge.  There may be some advantage if the spark plugs are fouled, but the Nology wires tend to radiate more electromagnetic noise.

How about spark plugs?  Contrary to much of the marketing hype, novel spark plug designs generally fail to show any measurable performance improvements.  Don't waste your money!  The biggest problem with spark plugs for Harley-Davidson engines is fouling.  The trick is to find a heat range that is a good compromise between fouling and pre-ignition.  A platinum tipped plug would also be a waste of money, since it would likely foul long before it eroded.  Stay with the recommended plug gap.

Use only resistor type spark plugs.  The non-resistor type radiate excessive electromagnetic noise that will cause radio interference and may even cause the processor in the ignition module to glitch.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Took my stator off and it checked out good.  I still am not charging.  I start out with 12.72 volts on my new gel battery, drive two miles and drops to 12.64.  I assume the voltage regulator is the next obvious solution.  Anybody know how to test the voltage regulator on a bench?

A:  Rectifier Inspection: With the ignition switch turned off, remove the right side cover, and disconnect the 4-pin connectors (2) from the regulator/rectifier.  Using the X-10 or X-100 ohm range, check the resistance in both directions between the white/red lead and each yellow lead (in the 4-pin connector which leads to the alternator), and between the black lead and each yellow lead.  There is a total of 12 measurements.  The resistance should be low in one direction and more than ten times as much in the other direction.  If any two leads are low or high in both directions, the rectifier is defective and must be replaced.

Q:  I have a 79' KZ1300 with 117,000 mi., it seems to fry a stator every 15,000 mi.  The plug from the stator to the rectifier keeps melting and shorting the stator.  Any suggestions?

A:  I think I would remove the connector and solder the connections up and in fact, there is a tech article on this site that shows how to do it.  The next thing I would check is the stator wiring in the stator cover.  I want you to check if the little metal bracket that keeps the wiring out of the way of the rotor is in place in the cover.  Also if it is the right one and not some home made job.  The correct one will have the finished look of something the factory put there and the not the crude piece of jagged metal produced with a pair of dull shears and a hammer.  There are pictures of this posted on the 79' or 80' image pages.  

What I want to know specifically: is the wiring shorting out on the bracket as it passes behind it?  If so, determine why.  The edges of the bracket HAVE to be smooth, so have a look when you get the stator off.  Also, the regulator of the 1300 is somewhat undersized for the task it has to do and I have often seen problems with them boiling the battery dry.  I use Yamaha Venture Royal regulators (two of them as I have installed a twin alternator setup).  They simply have a lot more capacity than the stock ones, and their twin output leads can deliver more amperage than the single 18 gauge wire of the stocker.  Another possible mod for the regulator is using one off an 82' KZ1100 or KZ1000 Police bike.  It's larger and won't bolt on exactly like the original but it wires up the same and is made for a larger stator.  paul@kz1300.com

A:  FYI, I found a cross reference posted on the web relevant to our stator that indicates all of the following stators may possibly interchange: '79 - '80 KZ1000, '81 - '83 KZ1000/1100, '83 - '85 ZX750, '83 - '85 ZX1100 and '79 - '82 KZ1300.  For sure, the 79' and 80' have a 'small' 19mm or 'large' 23mm stator which you can determine by measuring the thickness of the core when you pull it off.  I think the 81' and up all used a 23mm stator with the 82' having 2 stators, a left-hand and a right-hand.  The right should be 23mm but I don't know about the left as yet.  If it's a 19mm, then they probably just used the 79' stator as a left-hand stator on the 82' and up KZ and ZN1300 models I bet.

A:  I believe the 19mm stator is referred to as a G1.  I found a cross reference for the G1 type generator that shows it fits the: GSX 1100 / 1000 Katana, GS850, GSX750 ET, GS650, GS550, GSX400 / 250 GS450, Z1300 A1, Z1000ST, Z1000 MK2, GPZ750 A1-3, GT750 / 550.

A:  I just wanted to let you know on stator problems, if the stator cover is out of round this can burn out a stator as well.  Tell your fans to watch out on getting used ones and steer clear of ones that have heavy indentations or gouges.  A micrometer is handy on checking the roundness of a used cover.  Steve M.

A:  I cleaned all my connections with connector cleaner, then used spray white lithium to coat and protect.  We have a lot of salt air in this area.   Ken B.

Q:  Will an 84' right-hand rotor fit on the right side of an 82'?  I need one for my 82' but they're not available from Kawasaki so I was informed, but used 84' rotors are readily available.   Pascal K.

A:  The part number for the right hand rotor on an 82' is 21007-1048.  The part number for the right hand rotor on an 84' is 21007-1073.  They do look the same best I can tell from looking at the pictures in the manual, but there may be a difference in thickness as there was in the older KZ1300 rotors from year to year.  Still, it may work but there's no way to know without having both side by side to ascertain what's different.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I have a Voyager that doesn't charge.  How should I check it?

A:  Now if you have a 1300 Voyager with a no charge condition, this is a serious matter as you have two alternators to worry about.  They are on each end of the crankshaft and the test are the same for both.  Disconnect the 3 yellow wire plug coming from the alternator, and set your test meter to 250V AC.  Now with the engine running, and the engine speed held steady at 4000 rpm, connect the leads to any two of the 3 yellow leads coming from the stator.  You should get a reading of about 50 volts from any pair.  Check all the leads the same way.  If they are not very close, you have a problem.  If you get no reading at all, you have a problem.  You should also test for a short to the stator.  This is a simple continuity test done by simply testing each of the 3 leads to ground, with the engine NOT running.  You should have no connection to ground of any kind.  If any of these tests fails, you will have to replace the stator.  If you have voltage coming out of the stator, and no grounds, you will have to suspect the regulator). 

Q:  Will the 81' stator and rotor work on a 79' engine? 

A:  I have 79' and 81' engines which I measured for comparison and the rotors are different widths. Both have a diameter of 4.680 inches but the width on the 79' measuring on the outside best I can is approximately 1.630 inches and measuring up the inside 1.505".  The 81' measures approximately 1.930" outside and 1.830" inside.  If the 81' part will bolt on the 79' crankshaft and it looks like it will,  it's made wider to accommodate a larger stator and you should be able to swap the larger stator and cover over to a 79' engine using the 81' rotor, stator and engine cover all together.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Hi David, love your website, very informative!!  I have a question (that my Kaw tech, and the folks at Old Bike Barn cannot answer).  I recently purchased a new stator from Old Bike Barn, and it has the connector with 3 black wires, 1 male end lead, and halfway through the harness, 1 'C' slide connector.  My 84' ZN1300 has already had the 3 yellow connector eliminated, leaving 3 yellow leads.  My question, how can I wire this up?  Old Bike Barn says to tape/seal off the 'extra wires' just using the 3 in the connector, but nobody seems to know for sure which wires to solder where!!  Thanks so much, Mike C.

A:  So your new stator has 5 wires total?  The original had just 3 yellow, correct?  This is what I say on my Stator Repair tech article - 
http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/z1300-electrical-connection-repair.html

"Notice that I have colored tie-wraps of different colors on each wire set.  When I cut the plug out I matched up the wires with corresponding color wire ties to make sure I connect the right wires back together just as they were in the plug originally.  I don't even know if that matters on the stator or not as they're all yellow wires and it may not matter which one goes to which, but just to be on the safe side..."

So, I don't know if it matters which yellow wire goes to which yellow wire, or in your case black wire to yellow wire.  Doing the stock stator I just make sure I reconnect the same wires as I cut them apart since it's easy enough to do it that way.  Furthermore, if the new stator didn't come with a wiring diagram and Old Bike Barn sells them and doesn't know, then I'm still guessing it really doesn't matter because all it's doing is creating alternating current.  There are diodes in the system to convert it back to direct current, so hooking it one way or the other most likely makes no difference. 

If it even might make a difference on some bike how it was connected then they would provide an install sheet explaining how to install it correctly.  Solder the 3 wires up and before you go further just start the bike and check the volt meter on the dash and see what it shows.  If it's charging then put it back together and do a follow up with me in a few thousand miles so I can update the FAQ page accordingly.   david@kz1300.com

A:  I just recently replaced my "toasted" stator with one from RM Stator in Eastern Canada.  Of note is that their reg./rec. only uses 3 wires (red/black/yellow) to plug into the harness.  (I soldered all wires!)  A phone-call confirmed this is correct for the application as "new electronic technology" has eliminated the need for the brown "sensing" wire.  The guys name is Sean, gave great service and a good price.   Bob F.

Q:  I was told to never disconnect the battery on my 1300 while it's running.  Now I'm worried that I may have damaged some of the electricals.  What's the real issue on this and what happens when you pull the cable off?

A:  Most alternators will produce up to 18 volts, but the voltage regulator monitors the voltage level in the electrical system and usually limits it to around 14.7 volts.  A battery is like a sponge for electricity.  A discharged one will soak up a lot of electricity in the same way a dry sponge will soak up a lot of water.  When trying to saturate the sponge, initially you can turn a garden hose on wide open and as you do so, the water pressure in the hose drops.  Electrical voltage being nothing more than electrical pressure, it too drops.  When the sponge starts becoming saturated and to keep from causing water to leak from the sponge, you pinch the hose down to reduce the water flow which also increases the water pressure. 

Anyone who's stuck their thumb over the end of a hose to gain the distance necessary to squirt the wife's favorite cat halfway across the yard knows and understands the principle.  In the same way, as the battery approaches full charge (saturated), the voltage goes up and if not controlled, will exceed the optimum 14.7 volts which then boils water out of the battery, just like excess water leaking from the imaginary sponge.  Controlling the voltage is the job or the voltage regulator.

Say you have your car or bike running and disconnect one of the battery cables.  The voltage regulator immediately thinks the battery is dead in a big way and lets the alternator produce as much electricity as possible.  What you then have is 18 volts going through light bulbs, computers, CDI (capacitor discharge ignition) boxes and end up with a lot of fried components.  For example, on the Voyager the fuel injectors operate on around a maximum of 3 volts, that voltage being stepped down 80% by resistors from the max 14.7 volts.  With 18 volts, the resistor will still step down the voltage but the output is going to be higher than the 3 volts and could fry a few things.  I think some of the Voyager's digital instruments run on around 5 volts while many fuel tank sending units run on around 7 volts. 

Kawasaki has used two different types of alternators and voltage regulators.  On the older bikes, like the 1300 Voyager, KZ models and so on use a permanent magnet alternator.  This type of alternator 
produces electricity anytime the engine is turning since it is attached to the end of the crankshaft.  To limit the voltage, when the voltage in the system exceeds the predetermined maximum, the voltage regulator flips a switch (a transistor) and simply shunts electricity to the ground until the voltage drops, then flips back on the other way.  It repeats this very rapidly and the result is a constant (at least in human terms) voltage.  With these kinds of alternators, the battery can be dead as a mackerel but if you can kickstart or push the bike enough to turn the engine, the alternator will produce enough juice to ignite the ignition coils and get her going.

I'm not sure when Kawasaki started using excited field alternators, but I do know the 86' ZG1200 Voyager had it.  This type is more horsepower efficient than the previous because they only produce the amount of juice needed and aren't wasting engine power to create electricity that is then uselessly shunted to the ground.  The type of voltage regulator used on these send electricity to the field 
coils of the alternator which creates an electromagnet rather than having a permanent magnet.  If the battery is very low or a big demand arises like headlights being turned on, it sends a lot of 
juice to create a very strong magnet and if the battery is full, it sends just a tiny bit since very little electrical power is needed. 

The only bad thing about this type (it's universally used in cars, trucks, tractors and was also used on the first 750 Hondas) is that it uses brushes or slip rings to make electrical contact inside the alternator.  When these wear, they fail to make proper contact and the alternator quits working.  The other disadvantage when compared to the permanent field is if the battery is totally dead, turning the engine over forever or pushing to the next state isn't going to start the engine.  The excited field needs a source of electricity to produce electricity whereas the permanent field alternator only needs motion. Incidentally, no matter how much electricity the 1300 Voyager's system is needing, it's going to take about a maximum of 2 - 2.5 horsepower to turn the alternators.   John 

Carburetor

A:  One of the many mod's for the 1300 from 79-82 that makes it so much easier to start is the addition of an electric fuel pump.  It primes the carbs for you and you just have to blip the starter when its cold and away you go.  No cranking endlessly (assuming everything else is OK).  It also eliminates the vapor lock that so plagues the 1300.  I want to be very clear here though that the only type that should be even considered is a motorcycle fuel pump and not one for a fuel injected bike but rather, one for a carbureted bike that came with a fuel pump - preferably a large bike of 1000cc's or better.  

An automotive type simply moves too much fuel and the needles and seat cannot hold the fuel back resulting in flooding.  And almost any motorcycle fuel pump will work.  Motorcycle fuel pumps are both low pressure and low volume, just above atmospheric really.  The way it should work is when you turn on the key, you should hear it come on and then stop once it has built up pressure.  Period.  Then you hit the key and if everything else is in sync starting should be instant.  The pump will only come on when the fuel level in the carbs drops and more fuel is needed.  At idle you can observe it cycling on and off.  If this is not the case, you have other problems.   

When I make a reference about a modification to make our 1300's run better, it is NEVER without thoroughly testing it out on MY OWN machine first.  I can assure you that everything I have suggested has worked for a long time on my own high mileage 1300 that I regularly use for endurance rallies.  I have actually been pleasantly surprised by how well everything has worked considering I am often working with used stuff to work out the logistics of the modification.  I have noticed that a lot of motorcycles use the same pumps with different mounting brackets.  Whatever you choose, the critical thing is to mount it as far away from the engine heat as possible.   A great place is in the tail section behind the seat.  You will have to give up the little storage compartment there, but is well worth it.   

You also want this to be wired up to a circuit that is tied into the ignition switch and the best one is the old circuit from the solenoid fuel valve (which I am hoping anyone with a 1300 has removed by now and replaced the stock petcock with a vacuum type).   The vacuum petcock (fuel shut off) is to avoid having to turn the fuel off every time.  Turning the valve off so many times has an adverse affect on it, wearing it out!  Quickly I might add.  There are many types of vacuum shut offs from many types of bikes over the years.  Once you have it all hooked up you will have turn the petcock to prime and then the fuel pump can draw fuel before you try to start the engine.   Simply let it pump until it stops and then hit the starter.   If everything is right, you should be rewarded with immediate starting!  Don't forget to put the petcock back to the main tank position though so that it can shut off again once you shut the engine off.   paul@kz1300.com

Q:  I have an 1980 kz1300 that I have put a lot of work into and am trying to put a fuel pump on it like one of the tech articles suggested.  I have already tried this with some success but was later let down.  I tried an fuel pump off an 1980's Honda magna because of an experience with working on one for a friend.  It worked great for about two weeks then it stopped working.  I thought because I mounted it to close to the motor and the pump was old that it was no good anymore and also I did not listen to your suggestion of using an FZR or YZF Yamaha fuel pump.  

So now I'm back to trying exactly what you guys have said that works, so I bought an 1999 R6 fuel pump off of eBay, which looks similar to the magna fuel pump.  The first thing I did with the fuel pump was to bench test it to see if it works and to hear it shut off automatically like you guys have said should happen when it builds up pressure.  Well while testing it there are two wires coming off of the pump, one black and one black with a blue tracer, so I figured black to be ground and black/blue to be positive.  So I put 12 volts to it and it worked, but I had the fuel lines hooked up the wrong way, so I tried to see if the pump would run the other way and now the pump will not run at all even if I hook it up the right way.

The wiring diagram shows that the pump is wired with a relay and I'm thinking that this is what is required to correctly wire these fuel pumps to our older KZ1300's.  The problem I'm having is with cold starting.  I have checked the valve clearances, replaced the stock coils with Accel super coils, sonic cleaned my carburetors, etc.  I wired the pump to come on when I turned on my ignition, so the problem I had with the electric pump is that it would not shut off when the carbs were full.  It would keep pumping, slowly till a couple of times while at idle, it over came one of the float valves.  But when I was cruising on the highway or racing my buddy on his 1983 Honda 1100F it was great, and best of all cold starting I did not need any choke on warmer days. 

I've had the opportunity to look at a wiring diagram from an 1997 R6 Yamaha and its wired with a relay, probably to prevent the pump from over coming the float valve on the carburetors.  I guess until I figure how to make the electric pump work, I'll try the pulse pump, cause I just got one from my local lawn mower shop, but its not a John Deere, its for a Koler motor and still made by Mikuni.  I will let know how it goes with the pulse pump and thanks for the advise.   Dan M.

A:  As I said before, to me the pulse pump just sounds like a better idea.  The relay is for carrying more current, it doesn't turn the pump off when it's up to pressure.  From what I've been led to believe, that's supposed to be a function of the pump, but I can't comment on the specific pump you're using.  I have a page that explains the functionality of the relay in relation to how I'm using it on my DFI systems to power everything up - 

http://www.kz1300.com/81-kz1300-kentucky.html

Our pumps run all the time on the DFI because they bleed the excess pressure off with a fuel pressure regulator.  On those pumps for carb bikes, as I understand, that function should be built into the pump somehow.  Or at least that's what I thought, because if it wasn't, you'd have exactly the problem you describe with it.  It would pump gas past the needles and flood the engine, make it run rich, whatever.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I have a 1300 with only 20,000 miles on it.  I'm afraid it sits more than it should due to the fact that I travel a lot.  The RH exhaust is backfiring when I roll the throttle off to downshift.  I have noticed the exhaust noise is louder on the RH side as well.  The local dealers are no help.  Any suggestions?

A:  This "backfire" you are hearing most likely a product of a faulty air injection system.  This system is an emissions system that injects fresh air into the exhaust, so the machine emissions will be lowered.  If this system is malfunctioning the engine will make a slight "backfire" or "pop" under deceleration.  It consists of a hose from the air box that runs to a vacuum pot that sits under the tank.  Just above the engine it has two more hoses that go to the valve cover, and a smaller hose that runs to the intake.  Check all the hoses for cracks and make sure the hoses are all in place properly.  

If this does not solve the problem the vacuum pot might need to be replaced.  Alternatively, this system can be removed and all holes plugged and it will run normally as others and I have done.  The second possibility is the coaster enrichener circuit which is a little rubber diaphragm on the side of the carb.  This makes the fuel mix richer when you back off the throttle suddenly.  These are available on the links page from an ebay seller and from a dealer in Canada.

Q:  I have owned my 84' Voyager for about a month now.  I decided to change the oil to prevent a drip with a new filler plug gasket (filter too).  Upon recommendation from previous owner, I used one quart of Mobile 14w40 Synthetic and the remainder with Valvoline motorcycle oil.  It had a minor backfire before, but now it is horrible and it's getting worse!  Is it possible that the oil can cause backfire?  Shawn

A:  Under the tank is a cylindrical, metal vacuum valve with three larger hoses, two going to the reed valves on the top front of the valve cover and the rear one going back to the air cleaner.  There will also be a small vacuum hose from the valve to one of the throttle bodies.  Disconnect the small vacuum hose and you should be able to blow through it, but not suck air through it.  If you can suck through it, the throttle body it connects to is going to be sucking straight air and will lean out the mixture on that cylinder quite a bit, especially at small throttle openings. 

The vacuum valve allows exhaust pulses to pull fresh air from the air cleaner into the exhaust header thus allowing any unburned hydrocarbons to burn.  There are reed valves under the rectangular affairs bolted to the valve cover that have the hoses attached.  The reed valves keep positive exhaust pressure from flowing backward through the system and into the air cleaner, turning it into an EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). If memory serves me right, when you close the throttle, the increased vacuum causes the vacuum valve to close and restrict the flow of clean air into the exhaust. 

I suspect the valve is leaking and (1), allowing the one throttle body to suck straight air leaning out the mixture, (2) allow clean air to be pulled into the exhaust all of the time and burning overly rich or lean mixtures resulting from sudden throttle opening changes, (3) the small vacuum hose feeding the valve us damaged and leaking or (4), the reed valves are leaking and giving you the EGR effect.  When exhaust is introduced into the combustion charge, it slows the rate of burn and reduces the amount of nitric oxide emissions.  In your case, slowing the burn would allow the incompletely burned charge to finish burning in the exhaust system resulting in a backfire. 

That vacuum valve pooped out on my KZ1000 over 20 years ago.  I simply removed it and the associated hoses, plugged the small vacuum hose, screwed a bolt into the opening on the air cleaner and coated a large bolt with high temp silicone sealer and stuck it into the hole on each reed valve.  That was probably 60,000 or so miles back and absolutely no ill effects or engine damage will occur.  I also removed the whole affair from my Voyager when I put on the GM coils because I needed the room.  If carbon builds up on the reed valves, it will hold them open.  They are very delicate and cleaning them is pretty much an exercise in futility.  I'd try removing the whole works and I wouldn't be surprised if your problems go away.  You will probably want to hang the hose and valve assembly on the wall so the next time your buddies come over, you'll have something for show and tell. John 

A:  My bike used to backfire and miss terribly.  I found that the return valve on the fuel tank was stuck in the closed position.  Once I got that valve unstuck the bike has quit it problems.  Ben

Q: My bike bogs off the line but runs good at higher RPM.  What should I look for?

A: If your 1300 won't get-up and go off the line (stoplight) until you rev it and inch it to get it going the solution is simple and found by my good friend and bike mechanic of 35 years - Manny Subida in Chicago.  The low end misfire on my newly purchased 1980 with only 2523 original miles on it was driving me crazy being an X-mechanic too.  So I submitted to a higher power and requested the help of my friend and x-bike mentor.  I had worked on it for a week straight, pulling and cleaning the carbs 3 times with no success.  Manny took it for a ride after I limped it down to him at his house.  He came back and said it was running LEAN on the bottom end causing it to pop and backfire.  OK, I'll buy that.  But why, on a completely stock bike?????  After checking all my work cleaning, and re-setting the float heights and making a tappet to check the fuel level in the float bowls and then synching the butterflies he finally put into action his solution.

ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS SHIM THE JET NEEDLES UP WITH 2 SHIMS THAT COME IN ANY DYNO-JET KIT.

He of course has many of these laying around after doing countless mod's on sport bikes.  For those of you who like me have a '80 to '82 with the non-adjustable Jet Needles, the shims did the trick.  I couldn't even make it bog down when I tried to at VERY LOW RPM's.   Alan W.

Q:  I was wondering if you can answer a question for me based on your experience with the KZ 1300.  My 1980 (A2) has been getting around 20 MPG for the last several months, and just today calculated 17.9 mpg over the last 100 miles.  I was wondering if this is considered normal for this bike.  I’ve only had it for about a year so I don’t have much history to go on.  I do 50/50 local vs. highway riding with some hard acceleration.  The bike has a 6-into-1 DG exhaust and I don’t know if the carb jetting was changed, but there is no black smoke and it seems to run well.  I also put in a GM 6 cyl hi-energy coil so the spark is pretty strong.  Just wondering what you think based on your extensive experience with these beasts. Thanks,  Scott W.

A:  I think you should be getting 32 mpg + at 50/50 riding and 36 - 38 on the road.  You need to lean out the jets a couple of sizes, maybe more and probably raise the needles as you read about in this FAQ.  Stock jet size is 105 I believe and adding a DG makes it run rich, besides the fact that it is jetted pretty rich from the factory to begin with.  Learn how to read your plugs and you don't say what kind you have, but plugs and coils are a big part of gas mileage.  

I use the Nology coils because of the high spark output, but yours may be adequate, I don't know.  I use the Splitfire plugs as I state on the site because I think they handle my high output coils better.  On my Voyager I can get a high of 46 mpg on the road (usually 38 - 42 mpg on weekend rides), but the carb bikes won't get within 10 mpg of what the ZN's will with our Fuel Injection system even though the Voyager is actually carrying quite a bit more weight.  Maybe the design of our fairings help gas mileage too.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  I've done some searching in the archives on the DG exhaust, but can someone give me a quick rundown of the positives and negatives of this exhaust system.  For example, sound, jetting changes, fitment, etc.?  Are these systems made anymore or am I just going to find used ones for sale?   Pete

A:  I have DG systems on both of my 1300's and David still has some for sale on the kz1300.com website.  Despite the fact that they are not compatible with the centerstand I like them fine.  Actually, any time I'm really going to work on the bike, I just bolt on the stand and use it.  When I'm done, I just unbolt it and ride away.  I've found that the fiber glass packing eventually wears away, and as it does, the system gets progressively noisier.  When I finally decided that I needed to repack the baffle I found that I couldn't get it out.  In the end I ended up ripping the back closure off of the baffle.  Guess that the front closure had rusted in place.  

It turned out not to be a big deal as I just jammed some regular house insulation around the center pipe and screwed the, now repaired, back closure in place.  I've learned that the packing of the fiber glass really effects the flow of the system.  No packing equals much sharper power and a commensurately sharper noise.

One thing that I can tell you FOR SURE, is that a 1300 with a DG pipe sounds like a Formula One race car.  I've had several members of the Cascade Range Riders agree that it's the sweetest sound they have ever heard.

Jetting is an issue.  But I found the DynaJet folks have a great kit for the 1300 for $125.00.  Larry is right, you will need smaller main jets not larger.  I'm running 96's and still have the 100's that came
in the kit should I need them.   Bill

Q:  Dave, I have a 1300 A2 and can't seem to find the valve that the manual calls out to be threaded into the bowl drains in order to set the float bowl level.  I have called around and looked on many web sites including ebay.  Do you have a source for these?  Another method?  I saw lots of dry set gauges for sale but the needles on my bike have spring-loaded ends and also there isn't a dry set procedure.   Steve W.

A:  There are different types of float bowls installed that I have seen.  One type had drains on the very bottom which might facilitate a valve like they mention.  All our needles have spring-loaded ends as far as I know and I've always guessed at the setting dry when they were off the bike.  I don't know why we can't make a fitting, valve or nipple that will screw into our bowls and put some clear hose on it and hold it up next to the carbs and set it similar to what they show in the manual.  All we need to know is the height that the fuel rises to in reference to the side of the bowl on the outside.  

This could still be done with the carbs off the bike and I'll try it this way next time I need to set one.  If the carbs are level side to side and we get them at the same angle front to back as they are on the bike then all we have to do is feed it some gas and see how far up the tube the gas goes.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  When you change to a non-stock exhaust, do you have to rejet the carb's?  My bike is running rich after changing to a DG 6 into 1.

A:  When you change the exhaust to open it up as in a DG 6-1 you will usually have to re-jet the carbs.  If you do nothing you will normally start running rich.  With a dynojet kit I have the 95 (as I recall) or maybe the 100 jets.  With the needle in slot 4 or second from the top.  I believe that with the stock needles you might be ok with 105 jets.  More air flow through the engine causes greater vacuum and greater vacuum will pull more fuel through the same size jet.  So you have to go smaller to make up for it.  You do still end up at the same air / fuel ratio.  14.7 is the air / fuel ratio you are trying to get.  I have the Accel coils on my bike.  The stock coils when new are capable of putting out only 7-10K volts. That is enough to run the engine under light load in warm weather, but it takes usually around 15K volts to fire correctly under a heavy load accelerating.  The Accel coils put out around 30-35K volts.  That is more than enough to keep firing.  The engine starts much better, pulls better, and in general just plain run better, with better fuel economy.  Larry C.

Q:  When I put on a DG pipe last fall I jetted it with 105 on the mains which is what I read on this site from a couple people who said that is what seemed to work good.  I have a 1980 KZ1300 with a D & G exhaust, Nology coils, K&N #KA1350 air filter for the stock air box, Pingel petcock and filter, and I put a Dyno Jet stage 1 kit in the carb’s.  I checked the timing and made sure that my advancer is functioning properly, float levels, cleaned the carbs when I put the kit in etc.  What my problem is that I can get everything to test out according to the instructions sent with the dyno jet kit but if I ease on the throttle and bring up the rpm slowly it gets choppy between around 4500 to aprox 6000 rpm and no matter what I do I can’t seem to get it worked out of it.  I’ve tried adjusting the needles and the idle screws but it doesn’t seem to come out of it. 

The question that I have about the stock needles is that the ones that are in mine are not adjustable and the height is set from the top.  So to raise the needles what do you do with the plastic spacer that is suppose to be on the top?  From what I can see in the instructions the 100 dyno jet jets that they sent would be equal to 95's in the mic jet sizes.  I'm about ready to just put everything back stock and see where its at.  I did try and put in the 105 mic jets that I had and it seemed better at least I think now that I can get the needle adjustment to work for me on the dyno jet needles.   Mark F.

A:  I think you should try the 105 or the next size smaller mains which is a 100 I guess.  I'm sure the book shows how to get the needles out.  There's a spring clip on the top of the plastic spacer.  To raise the needles if they're the non-adjustable type, you use small shims under the needle which should of come in your kit.  If not, you can find small shims like this at a bike shop.  I don't recall the exact distance between the notches on the original needles but it's probably about .020" or so.

I would start with one size smaller mains and a .020" raise on the needles, or one notch higher if they have adjustment notches in them.  How do you know the ones that are in yours now are not the adjustable type if you haven't had the needles out yet?  1979 models had the adjustable needle type and Kawasaki dropped that in 80', but a lot of mechanics that worked on these back then bought the 79' needles and swapped them out so they could adjust the carbs properly.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Rode my 1300 for the 3rd time this year and all of a sudden it wants to idle at 2000-2300 rpm. Seems to run fine otherwise.  May be unrelated but it did foul one plug (far left #1 cyl.) on the ride previous to the sudden high idle problem.  Any ideas?

A:  In no particular order - stuck, kinked, or too tight throttle cables.  Sticking timing advancer mechanism.  Leaking boot between the carb and engine.  Loose screw on the throttle plungers that allow you to change relationship between butterfly throttle plates.  Sticking enrichener valve piston.  Screw on fast idle cam moved or has a chunk of crud under it.  Dirty or stuck needle valve.

My experience says the #1 (left cylinder) is most likely to experience low compression, oil fouling from constant fuel flooding from malfunctioning needle valves wearing the rings prematurely.  This cylinder is low dog when the bike is on the side stand.  And we all use the center stand a lot, right?

If you do have to resynch the carb's I have found you can get very close just by eyeballing the light under the throttle plates and adjusting to them to match.  Look in one side and put a bright light shining at the throttle plates on the other side.  After a round of this I have seen vacuum readings within 2 or 3 inches or so.   Gary G.

A:  If they are gummed up then pulling them off and apart is the only way to really get the job done correctly.  The emulsion tubes that the main jets screw into get clogged up and must be pushed out from the bottom to the top.  You will notice several very small holes in the emulsion tubes.  Do not, I repeat, Do NOT change the size of these little holes but make sure they are clean and open.  Larry C.

Q:  I need some new exhaust gaskets Kawasaki Part# 11009-1666 that fit the muffler to the exhaust box underneath.  Do you know what other bikes use the same gaskets?

A:  The cross reference I found shows same gasket fits the following Kawasaki models:

1991-1994 EL250
1984-2005 KL600
1984-2005 KL650
1993-1996 KLX650
1996-1999 VN1500
1979-1982 KZ1300
1988-1995 VN1500 Vulcan 88
1999-2005 VN1500 Drifter
1994-2005 Vulcan 750
All years ZG1000 Concourse
1984-1986 ZX9
1986-2003 Voyager

david@kz1300.com

Q:  I need some new round copper exhaust gaskets that fit the exhaust down-pipes to the engine head.  Do you know what other bikes use the same gaskets?

A:  The cross reference I found shows same gasket fits the following Kawasaki models:

79-82 KZ1300 A1/A2/A3/A4
1980 KZ1300 B2
83-88 ZN1300 A1-A6 VOYAGER
01-02 BN125 A4/A5 ELIMINATOR 125
78-79 KZ200 A1/A2
88-89 EL250 B2/B3 ELIMINATOR
91-94 EL250 E1-E4 250HS ELIMINATOR
86-87 EX250 E1/E2 NINJA 250R
88-03 EX250 F2-F17 NINJA 250R
80-81 KZ250 D1/D2 LTD & CSR
1982 KZ250 LT CSR
1983 KZ250 W1 LTD BELT
1983 KZ305 B1 GPZ BELT
81-82 KZ305 A1/A2 CSR
1982 KZ305 B1 CSR BELT
87-88 KZ305 B2/B3 LTD BELT
80-83 KZ550 A1-A4
80-83 KZ550 C1-C4 LTD
1981 KZ550 D1 GPz
1983 KZ550 F1 SPECTRE
1984 KZ550 F2 LTD
82-83 KZ550 H1/H2 GPz
1983 KZ550 M1 LTD SHAFT
91-92 ZR550 B1/B2
84-85 ZX550 A1/A2 GPz
86-87 ZL600 A1/A2 ELIMINATOR
96-97 ZL600 B2/B3 ELINATOR 600
85-87 ZX600 A1-A3 NINJA 600R
1987 ZX600 B1 NINJA 600RX
88-97 ZX600 C1-C10 NINJA 600R
77-79 KZ650 B1/B2/B2A/B3
77-79 KZ650 C1-C3 CUSTOM
78-79 KZ650 D1/D1A/D2 SR
1980 KZ650 E1 LTD
1980 KZ650 F1
81-83 KZ650 H1/H2/H3 CSR
80-82 KZ750 E1/E2/E3
1983 KZ750 F1 LTD
80-83 KZ750 H1/H2/H3/H4 LTD
1983 KZ750 L3
82-83 KZ750 N1/N2 SPECTRE
1982 KZ750 R1 GPz
91-93 ZR750 C1/C2/C3 ZEPHYR
2000 ZR750 F2 ZR7
01-03 ZR750 H1/H2/H3 ZR7S
83-85 ZX750 A1/A2/A3 GPz
84-85 ZX750 E1/E2 GPz TURBO

david@kz1300.com

Q:  I've been cleaning up my carbs and cannot get the pilot jets out.  I've removed the threaded brass plug that conceals them and unscrewed the pilot jets as far as they can be, but I just can't get them out.  I've tried compressed air in both of the small holes at the airbox side of the carb.  I'm now considering glue or something very tacky on the end of a matchstick but I'm worried that I wont be able to clean it up if I still cant get them out.  David

A:  Been there! The prime directive (too late) is to be very careful with your screwdriver size and avoid letting it slip, as the slightest burring of the jet head will cause binding in the hole.  Unfortunately I do not have a magic bullet to remove them.  And it is really important to blow these passages as
getting an even idle and roll on response can depend on this.  One possibility I have not tried is an old time electricians screw driver.  It is a flat blade srewdriver with a angled split shank.  It has a collar on the shank and when you push it down it spreads the two sides of the srewdriver's head to lock it to the screw.  I would sure try this before the glue.  The Ideal electrical tool company sells one, 35-404 Ideal Screw-Holding Screwdriver - 3/16 In. x 4 In. $8.75 I found one online at - 

mytoolstore.com/ideal/ide12-18.html, but it's too big as it needs to be only about 4mm.  I had to give up on a set of GIXXER carbs because of this problem.  The slot had just been too mutilated to get it out of the bore.  Menards carries Ideal but I don't know if they stock this screw driver.  I would check a hardware store because this is just the type of unusual tool they like to stock.  Gary G.

Q:  Has anyone tried different size pilot jets in these carbs?

A:  On setting up the carbs, I've done a LOT of research.  Mikuni states that the 'normal' setting of the mixture screw is 1/4 to 3 1/2 turns.  Most of my settings are greater than that!  The information states that if its less than 1/4 turn open either the pilot jet is too big or the air jet is too small.  If its over the 3 1/2 turns either the pilot is too small or the air jet is too big.  Being that the air jets are not replaceable in the carbs, our only choice is to increase the pilot jets.  

Another interesting point is that increasing the pilot jet causes it to run richer at zero + throttle position.  Reducing the air jet causes it to run richer at the 1/8 - throttle position.  I just ordered some #45 pilot jets, the Mikuni part number is N100.606-(size) eg 45.  I located these at dalesjetsports.com The phone # to place an order (no on line ) 972-530-6768.  They were $3.65 each $21.90 plus .39 S&H (USPS) for a total of $22.90.  They list pilot size from #30 through #160 so there should be a size that will work for our bikes!

They were VERY pleasant to do business with as well.  I'll let you know how this works out when I get them installed and the carbs set up.  I'll list engine running, temp, fuel economy, detonation etc, etc.  Bought my A4 new in in 82' and still love it!!  Just turned 77,000 miles.   Nick D.

Q: Is there an upgraded fan blade than I can use to replace my stock fan?

Q: Are there any mod's to get my motorcycle to run cooler?

Q:  I'm seriously considering adding a toggle switch to turn on my radiator fan 'earlier' and was wondering how to wire it on a KZ1300.  I don't really want to disable the current harness, I just want to do a second power harness that bypasses the temp sensor without taking it out of the circuit.

Q:  I'm in search of a few parts and I thought I would try asking you first.  I had a coolant leak on my ZN1300 all summer and now that winter is here I have taken my bike apart to fix the leak.  I have removed the housing for the water pump and thermostat and need the O-rings for the water pump housing and for the supply tube between the pump and thermostat as well I need a gasket for the thermostat housing and a thermostat.  Please let me know if you can help.  Jeff F. 

A:  You could probably order these from your local Kawasaki dealer easy enough and you'd have to get the thermostat from them anyway.  O-rings you can buy in all sizes from a local gasket supplier, or at least you can in your larger cities.  The gasket you could trace and cut out from raw gasket material if you had to.  All these items come in the Kawasaki overhaul gasket set but that's probably about $350 - $400 assuming you can still buy it these days.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I tried to get new hoses from Kawasaki and they do not have them anymore.  Do you have any or any ideas what I can replace these hoses with?  Kenton H.

Q:  When starting, I engage the choke (as recommended), and sometimes some starting fluid is necessary.  As it is warming up (about four minutes), the rpm's start to drop and it acts as if it is flooding out.  I have tried disengaging the choke as soon as possible without any success.  After it finally bogs out, I can sometimes re-start it after about ten to fifteen minutes without further problems.  Sometimes it just won't re-start.

Q: Cannot find problem, changed all filters, plugs, will run great after plugs are cleaned then it starts to back fire again, fire comes out the pipes?

Q:  Hi, I had had a bit of trouble getting my Z13 to start - when the battery is full charged up - she starts great but after while really stubborn.  I have been told to put a capacitor in front of the coils to ensure they get the full 12volts.  Can anyone tell is this a solution and what size cap and how exactly do I hook this up? 

Q:  Someone suggested using a horn relay wired to the coils to help with low voltage problems causing a hard start situation.  Is this a good idea?  I had the same thing. It would crank great but wouldn't fire if the battery was down even a little.  I disassembled and cleaned the main switch by the battery, the ignition switch and the kill switch and the available voltage increased greatly and I've never had the problem again.  What about using a horn relay though?  I wouldn't think that they were rated for continuous duty.   One ride to the store would keep the relay closed more than a lifetime of horn honks.  I haven't used one on my GoldWing fan circuit (they run the power right through the thermal switch) for the same reason.

Q:  Are there cheaper headlight bulbs available than the 'H4' bulb Kawasaki sells like maybe an automotive bulb that can be used on our bikes?

Q:  I'm having a problem with my turn signal canceller not canceling.  Does anybody know how I might fix it?

Q:  How can I fix my start switch in the right handlebar switch assembly?

Q:  Replacing the float needle valves and adjusting the float levels in the carbs the bike wouldn't start.  I had plenty of fuel so I checked the spark which looked very weak.  Checking all the ignition system the only irregularity was a low voltage out of the CDI.  So looking at that I saw someone had cut all the rubber sealant out of the back.  I replaced the CDI with another that checks out fine except that the manual says all 6 wires in the small connector should read 1.5 volts but only half do the other half have no potential.  I do get a spark at the plugs but it still looks very weak?

Q:  Ok, filled up with petrol did cut out once but think it was me knocking the kill switch, started no problem, ok was riding and decided to open up a bit, great fun but then noticed a bit of a rumble come in backed off was fine ( tach stopped working maybe it was the cable that made the noise?  Anyway started to clean it up the next day started bike no problems to turn around in the garden. Turned on ignition, hosed it down, bike was only running for about a minute to turn around but when I hosed it down loads of steam coming off motor and pipes where red hot. Anyway kept trying starter button nothing, no click, after about a few hrs of trying worked burst into life run for 30 secs but cut out! Charged battery, no joy, so shorted out starter motor ( by putting pliers on the two nuts ( next to battery with rubber cover on, so bike was constantly turning over but refused to start?

Q:  KZ1300 Touring turns over but there is no spark to the plugs.  Is there a test I can do to find out if it is the igniter or the stator?

A:  If you read my site as you mentioned, then you should of seen #7 at -
http://www.kz1300.com/tech.html

... since all the pages from the site map go to this page first.  I did that so that everyone would be sure to read this page first.  Also, just because you see a spark doesn't mean there's enough spark to start the engine.  I bought a nice low mileage 79' recently for cheap because the previous owner didn't heed this advice about the coils.  He figured since he could see good spark it should at least run even if it didn't run good.  He was wrong and his father who advised him about his coils was a professional motorcycle mechanic for 20 years at a sport bike shop here locally.  

Still, your coils may be OK; that's for you to determine.  It's real easy to determine the year of the bike by the ignition it has.  I have a comparison of ignitions listed here -
http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles

Judging by your description of the problem I would do 3 things.

1)  Toss the fuel solenoid and reroute the line as shown -
http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/z1300-carb.html

Pull the drain plug on the right side carb, make something to catch and feed the gas out into a pan so it doesn't pour all over the engine and open the petcock.  If you get a quart of gas out in a steady flow then your gas feed is good.  If it stops running then you have a fuel delivery problem you need to look into.  A new Pingel petcock may be worth doing and check the tank vent too as discussed elsewhere on this site.

2)  Check the compression on all 6 cylinders.  You're looking for 120lbs or more.  If you're below 100 on more than 2 cylinders then you might not have enough suction through the carbs to pull fuel into the cylinders good.  If you could spin the motor to 1000 RPM to get it started it would probably stay running with 70lbs of compression on all 6, but to get it started, 90lbs is about the absolute minimum to start and run if everything else is OK and 140-160lbs is where it should be if the motor is in good shape.

3)  If the first 2 items are good and you're getting suction through the carbs then you need to look closer at your coils.  You should be using 1.5 ohm coils with the ballast or 2.5 ohm without.  Every issue about coils are talked about extensively on this site.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Hi Dave, the bike has now started but only firing on #3 #4 #5 #6.  I took the solenoid off and routed the pipe as you say opened up the float bowl to the right hand side as you sit on the bike and the fuel flowed through fine.  I then took the float bowl of the left hand carb again as you sit on the bike and the fuel dribbled and then stopped, (the bike was never on the side stand ), and I put my hand on the back of the carbs and felt suction so hoping that it is just a fuel delivery problem and not low compression.  I also swapped number 1 HT lead over to number 6 and vice versa just to make sure there was no fault in the HT lead but again #3 #4 #5 #6 fired up but not #1 & #2.  

The reason for the bike not firing up at the start was that I had my engine painted but not stripped and the guy who had done must have had the auto timing advancer off but put back the wrong way because when the T mark on the flywheel is at the join in the crankcases the projection on the timing rotor should be in line with the pick-up coil core #1& #6.  This was not the case when the projection was in line with the pick-coil for #1 & #6. #3 & #4 were TDC so of with the ATA and the housing of course lined it up and hay presto the bike fired up straight away.  What do you think Dave please tell me you think it is a fuel problem.  What is the reason for ditching the fuel solenoid is it because of the high temp of the engine?  Over hear in Edinburgh the temp is so cold that I am told the engines very rarely over heat, we only get 2 to 3 months of sunshine and even then it still rains.  Many thanks Neil in Edinburgh Scotland.

A:  All the gas in the tank should run out of any of the carbs that you open up.  If it stops running then you have a bad petcock, screen or vent.  If you leave the cap open then that will tell you if the vent is bad as a bad vent will cause a vacuum in the tank. When gas comes out of the tank, air has to go in, right?  I talk about how I clean the vent on the tech tip page - http://www.kz1300.com/techtips.html

The gas screen is in the tank and keeps junk from coming through the petcock.  You can run a hose directly from the gas tank to a container of sufficient size, open the petcock and let a couple of gallons run out.  The gas should run out pretty quick.  If it doesn't then you need to take a look and find out why.  These stock petcocks are usually leaking as they're 25 years old now, so the best thing is a new Pingel petcock.  You'll find a picture and purchase info on the links page.  Next time I put one on I'll do a tech page with pictures on the install, but it's very easy. 

The fuel solenoid is a restriction in the fuel line and caused fuel delivery problems from day one from what I hear. Better to take it off and put a good fuel filter in it's place and route the line as I said before. At least, that's the way I've been doing it for some years now and I haven't had any problems yet. If you run a fuel pump on a bike with carb's as some guys like to do then you'll route the line differently to accommodate that setup, but you should still have a external filter.  The carb's don't like trash of any kind.  Even with the screen on the petcock and a filter you'll still get some sediment in the bowls. 

My guess is that under full throttle, this motor sucks enough gas through those carb's that all the gas that can flow through our gas line from the tank is just enough to keep fuel in the bowls.  I doubt I'm far off about that all things considered.  The Pingel seems to flow more fuel than the stock petcock did and it should.  Loose the solenoid, add a filter and the fuel flow should be as good or better than what it was when new.  For those of us in slightly warmer climates, you've still got the issues of insulating the gas tank and possibly the lines also to prevent vapor lock from the intense heat this motor puts out.  This can be a problem in Texas where I live at least.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Dave, I replaced my coils with the Harley style on my 87' Voyager 1300.  When done, I hit the key waited for the fuel filter to fill, then hit the button.  The motor started like never before.  I ran it for five minutes and I shut it down.  I went back to it to try again and it started right up, but then started to run funny, almost like running out of gas.  It would idle but would not take any throttle.  Now it is back to what I had before the coils.  Although while turning over it will fire but not start.  Any ideas to look at?  I did change to a smaller fuel filter, and put into the same location.  Thanks for any info.   Mark W

A:  I have a number of tech articles posted that might be relevant for you including some new ones I just posted - http://www.kz1300.com/tech.html

On this one - http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/zn1300-fuel-injector-service.html

you can see how I spliced a fuel pressure gauge into the return line and in front of the regulator so I could check my pressure.  If the pressure is too low the injectors won't fire.  My pressure was good but 4 of my injectors were clogged and it acted like it was running out of fuel.

On this one - http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/zn1300-fuel-pump.html

take note of the fuel pump inlet restriction I mention -

"There's a very small 'sock' in the inlet or small nylon screen to trap small particles in the fuel and keep them out of the pump. Yours may or may not have one as these usually got plugged up and people pulled them out as I do.  I install 2 filters before the pump instead of the original 1 filter."

I doubt the "smaller fuel filter" you mention is a problem but knowing what your pressure is will tell a story.  If it's sparking good and your pressure is good then you're most likely looking at cleaning your injectors.  I've seen bad fuel lines where the inside were degrading and pieces were coming off.  It's an old bike.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I just acquired an 80 model KZ1300.  I found out that the bozo that sold it to me not only jumped it with a car battery but grounded the solenoid to the frame totally melting the harness.  I have fixed all the problems.  It still won't start.  It only backfires.  I suspected cam timing was out.  Bingo.  The exhaust cam was about 20 degrees advanced.  My question, is it possible that the valves could be slightly warped?  I am getting about 115-120 pounds of compression per cylinder.  Is that normal?   The compression test was done while cranking,... not running.  Chris A.

A:  150-160lbs is more normal if the motor is in first class condition, but low compression doesn't automatically mean the valves are bent.  As I state on my site, guys ride these bikes and never adjust the valves.  The valves wear tight on our bikes which mean they start holding the valves open and the intakes usually wear tight much faster than the exhaust valves do.  That's probably the cause of the backfire. 

Adjust the valves per FAQ page and then check compression again.  Hopefully it will jump 20 lbs or so.  Still, depending on how long the engine has been sitting compression usually comes back up quite a bit after the first 200-300 miles of riding.  The rings have to re-seat and so forth and sometimes they are just stuck after sitting for years. 

My procedure on a motor that's been sitting more than one year is to pull the plugs; liberally spray penetrating oil down in each cylinder; spin the motor a few times to get the cylinder walls covered with penetrating oil in case there's any surface rust; liberally spray more penetrating oil down in each cylinder and let sit overnight.  This will lubricate the cylinder walls, help free up the rings and help keep you from scratching up the walls more than you have to if there's surface rust. 

When I'm ready to try to start the motor and before I put the plugs back in I take a small oiler like a little squirt bottle with a long flexible plastic tube end on it you can get at the auto parts and fill it with synthetic oil.  I use synthetic oil in this because the oil spreads out better and I reach down in the cylinder with the 'extension tip' and squirt a line of oil all the way around the cylinder wall in each cylinder. 

No need to overdo it here but if you're loosing compression around the rings because they're not seated good for example, this will artificially help build some compression in the motor.  Once it starts it will burn this excess oil off pretty fast and also help lubricate the valve seats a little but you need to run the motor outside or it will fill up your garage with smoke real quick though only temporarily.

Once you get the motor started and run it for a few minutes then you need to change the oil because the penetrating oil will contaminate your engine oil.  Since I work on these engines quite frequently and I use Amsoil synthetic oil in my bike I keep a lot of my oil oil just for the purpose of using in in engines I need to test run.  Once I get the bike running, I drain out my used oil and put fresh oil in but this allows me to put oil in the engine that I know where it came from and what it is.  If I've got a bike I bought from someone and especially if it's been sitting, there's no telling what's in the crankcase.  No point in destroying the engine over 6 quarts of something you assumed was oil.  Let me know how it works out.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Will a 1981 gas tank fit on a 1980?  They look different.  Stan D.

A:  There are actually 3 different size gas tanks excluding the Voyager 1300 tank as it's entirely different from any others and only fits the Voyager ZN1300.  Our Z1300 or KZ1300 style tanks all interchange from year to year but the sending units are slightly different I guess so the fuel level will read correctly depending on which size tank you have.  If you look at the pictures on my site of bikes by year you can see what looks like just 2 different styles. 

The reason is, the 80' B2 'Touring' tank looks basically identical to the standard 79' / 80' tank but it's actually a little wider and holds more fuel.  It's the largest tank we got on US spec bikes.  Even the bases that hold the emblems won't interchange to other tanks because the B2 emblem base is curved more than the others.  The 80' B2 tank is the same tank they used on bikes sold overseas.  Keep in mind that they all interchange physically, so regardless of the year bike you have your bike could have any one of the 3 tanks mounted as people tend to swap parts between models a lot.

One other issue is the later model ZG1300 tanks.  Technically they should interchange with any other as I stated above but it has a fuel return connection or bung welded on because that bike has fuel injection.  Those tanks weren't sold in the USA because over here we only got the ZN1300 Voyager and except for the motor, it's an entirely different 1300 in most respects.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Where would you put the switch to turn off the lighting to ease starting?

Q:  What is the best way to bypass the reserve lighting system on my bike?

Q:  I was able to jump start the bike a couple of times with no battery in it.  The last time I did it was running great and then the main fuse blew.  Now whenever I have the main switch in the ON position and I turn the ignition switch to ON the main fuse blows.  No other position blows the fuse.  I used an ohm meter to check both the main and ignition switches per the manuals instructions and both check out good.  I understand the bike can also be started in the park position, do I turn the ignition to the park position also to start it.  The bike would not crank over with the main in the park position.  Why am I blowing this fuse?  Any suggestion?

Q:  Are there any other square headlight assemblies that will fit our bikes?

Q:  What's the purpose for the diodes I find wired into different circuits?

Q:  I think water got into my Voyager ignition key switch and shorted it out.  Is there a quick and/or cheap fix? 

A:  If it's an intermittent electrical shut down sometimes I've seen broken wires on the back of the ignition switch.  Usually this will show up when you turn the handlebars as everything can shut down and come back on.  Make sure the wires are soldered good. david@kz1300.com

Q:  Can I find alternative replacement relays for my Voyager rather than buying them from Kawasaki at $30-$35 apiece?

Q:  How do I match up or cross-reference another relay to replace my Voyager relays. 

Q:  I'm having an electrical problem on my Voyager that causes the control panel display fuse to blow.  I replaced that, went through a few 'start sequences' again and about 50% of the time the motor will turn off when I turn the key to "off", but the display on the control panel doesn't turn off. There is also a 'buzzing' noise coming from the right hand side that I do not think is the fuel pump. The other 50% of the time it works normally.  I'm thinking a connection/bad ground.  I'm looking for other clues.  Does anyone have an idea or opinion?

A:  The bad ground idea may be a good one to follow up on.  I had a problem with buzzing relays and happened to pull the ground wires apart where they all come together by the battery on the left side.  What I found was that there's about 6 or 7 ground wires that all come together and connect to one wire that goes to the battery.  There had been previous repairs to this bunch of wires where they had used crimp connections to splice them back together.  Needless to say there were a number of corroded and bad connections in this bunch that I repaired by soldering everything back together and taping it up.  At the time, I was having a problem with the fuel pump relay and it fixed that issue. david@kz1300.com

Q:  I'm having intermittent electrical problems that I suspect could be in the junction box.  Are these prone to failure?

Q:  My ZN1300 with 13,000 miles started and was running great, then it suddenly shut down.  I lost everything.  I've started to check everything.  Main fuse is OK.  I have checked all fuses and breakers that I can find.  I have current to the solenoid but haven't checked the ignition switch yet.  Any suggestions?

A: One of the things most ZN1300 owners probably haven't run into yet is junction box problems. Since I've bought and sold a number of these ZN's over the years I've noticed one disturbing problem with the junction box on our bikes and I've got a theory on the cause.  A few years back I bought a ZN for cheap that had 'electrical problems'.  The book is kind of confusing trying to follow those electrical diagnostic flow charts, but I eventually narrowed it down to a bad connection at the junction box, or so I thought. 

The box is real easy to pull out and you have a few connectors on the backside.  I pulled those connectors and found corroded connections and cleaned them up assuming everything was going to work fine.  It did, for 500 miles.  Then I was riding and my headlight just went out.  It wasn't the bulb. Using the wiring diagram in the manual I started tracing the power back and ended up back at the junction box.  So I thought gee, I wonder what's inside.  I've got no continuity between the prong at the connector on the back and the fuse on the front that the book says is connected to that prong.  At this point it was time to buy a junction box but I wanted to see the inside so I'd know what the issue was. 

I don't scare easily but man... that thing's like an electrical maze!  It's got copper traces that run from every pin on the back side to every pin on the front where the fuses and relays plug but there's 3 layers of traces with insulators in-between.  The problem inside was corrosion big time.  My theory on this problem is that if you wash your bike and spray water on the right side-cover, it can spill over the top and drip down right on top of the junction box.  Apparently it's not sealed good enough to keep the water out.  This is good for the manufacturers of the box I guess, but not so good for us. 

I was able to repair my bad box, but I spent more time dickering with it than it was really worth.  I don't think I'll ever do it again and if you're the unlucky soul that has to fix yours, all it really takes is a lot of time, but it wouldn't hurt if you were one of those people that could play 3 dimensional chess like you use to see them play on Star Trek.  All those electrical traces look similar, but each one is uniquely shaped.  If you lose track of which one goes where you might as well throw it in the trash because there's literally a million different ways all those pieces could go back together. 

When I went back together with mine I put silicone all around the outside and sealed it up for good. My advice would be if the box is in question, it would be smart at that point to pry it apart and look inside.  If there's no problem, think of it as preventive maintenance and seal it up so no water gets in it in the future.  If it's corroded inside, you just found a real problem that can leave you stranded at any moment in time. 

I imagine you can get this part from Kawasaki still as it fits a number of bikes besides the ZN1300 including the ZN700, ZX750, ZL900, ZX900, ZX1000 and ZN1100.  The part number is 59416-1056.  I always have used boxes for sale if you want to go the cheaper route and I do guarantee my parts.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  How do I set the clock on my ZN1300 Voyager?

Q:  What is the functionality of the switches on the Voyager 1300?

Q:  My 83' Voyager's FM band of the stereo quit working, one ride everything worked fine the next ride (next day) nothing, no reception, just static over the speaker's, AM works fine.  What happened?  Bob

Q:  My 1984 Voyager does not have a radio antenna, and I finally got the radio working.  I talked to a local parts dealer and they are telling me the antenna is no longer available from their suppliers.  Does anybody know where I can get one, or if there is another part that will replace the original?  Terry S.

Q:  Is there anyway to fix sticking buttons on my radio head unit?  John D.

Q:  My ZN1300's air suspension gauge mounting bracket seems to be disintegrating.  Is this common and what can we do to fix it?  Glenn E.

Personally I've been using the SF6C on all my 1300's with very good success.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I have read in the tech messages that the correct plug for this beast is a BPR5ES.  My question is this...are you using the 5kohm NGK plug caps?  The resistance lengthens spark duration...the caps are 5k ohms and R plugs are 5k ohms... I think... so I guess what I'm asking is will I overload my system?  Is anybody using R plugs and NGK plug caps?   Mark Brusato

Q: I hear a hum in my ZN1300 stereo.  Any ideas how to stop it? 

This would be another place where I would suggest shooting the Radio Shack Electrical Contact Cleaner.  Shoot both the pins and connectors liberally, then use a little dielectric grease when you plug it back together.  This particular contact cleaner is the only one currently available to the "general public" because some idiot in Washington D.C. doesn't think we can handle a small can of Freon, the true residue free contact cleaner.  The dielectric grease will help minimize corrosion in the future by blocking moisture buildup.

If the corrosion is very evident, i.e. green everywhere, you'll want to spray the cleaner in, then hit it with a small file to help the cleaner bust through the buildup.  Pete F.

Q:  I am finally finishing repairing all the wiring hack jobs my bike's previous owner did.  I have come to the horn, the diagram in my bible says one brown one black wire, I have two of each coming from harness.  Can anyone tell me why ?

Q:  I have an 82' KZ1300 A4 and the main fuse gets hot and then blows after about 100 miles have checked main power wires but cant find anything wrong.  What would be the problem?

Q:  My ZN1300 cuts out intermittently while riding or won't start sometimes.  Any ideas on what to check for?

A:  Check your junction box as mentioned elsewhere in the FAQ.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Anyone have any suggestions on an inexpensive headset for the intercom?

Q:  I have a ZN1300 Voyager and have had a lot of electrical problems with it.  Seems like every time I pull different plugs apart I find corrosion.  Is this common on this bike?  It seems like things may be draining the battery when the key is off and if it sits overnight sometimes it may not start in the morning.  Jumping it off is a hassle because the battery is hard to get at with jumper cables.  

Q:  Black and yellow wire that comes out the igniter box, with power on the box, it's live.  What is it's purpose ?

Q:  Old faithful has weak spark, and rough running below 3000 rpm - after that, the motor appears to come together, and runs smoother.  It does not appear to be carbs, as the plugs burn tan if I can keep her above 3000 rpm.  I have replaced the coils, soldered the connectors, cleaned the carbs etc. Thought it to be the timing advancer which is sticky, but she is an 81' A3 model without the mechanical advance mechanism.  The only other suspect might be the igniter - how do I know if this is ready for the scrap heap - can I test this some how?

Q:  Do you know were I can get a schematic diagram for a Kawasaki 1981 Z1300 A3 model ignition box?

Q:  Hi David.  I am working on a friends 1981 KZ1300 A3.  This bike lost the CCT in New Hampshire at bike week 2003.  Dealer quoted over $2200.00 to repair (bent valves).  As I figured it sounded like a fun job to repair, I volunteered.  (REALLY REALLY BAD MOVE!!)  I am a licensed technician and have had my own business over 25 years.

We initially sent the head out for repair and reassembled as per the manual.  All appeared to go well. Upon start up we had intermittent spark at times, no spark at others and the bike barely ran.  After reading your articles we changed up the coils for gm coil pack, had 5 electrical connections repaired in the control box, (water had penetrated the ICU an after sitting 1.5 years became a problem.  We then located poor connections at the ICU plug, pick up signal plug and the main plug by the battery (I no longer have any hair left).  Also disassembled starter and repaired the brush contacts.

After all this I still had popping back through the carb on # 5 cylinder.  Removed head again and rechecked.  Bent valves says the machine shop!! although I am fairly certain I did not bend them. Reassembled and runs nice, original idle speed, crisp throttle response, but under load it feels like #5 is not firing.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Dave S.

A:  I found the problem Saturday night!  The main fuel jet on #5 carb had fallen out!!!  This was probably the original cause almost two years ago!!  Thanks, Dave S.

Q:  Will a ZN1300 igniter fit a ZG1300 since it has what looks like basically the same fuel injection system the Voyager does.  It also has a 3 harness type igniter that looks just like the Voyager unit.

A:  One of my members overseas Paul M. bought a ZN1300 igniter from me and reported back that it did in fact work OK on his 85' ZG1300.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  How do you set the ignition timing on a 82' kz1300?  The 82' supplement doesn't show a procedure for this. 

A:  If it's an 82', the pickups are under the right engine cover.  You can pull the cover off and have a look but I don't think there is any adjustment on it as the 82' supplement in my book on page 358 says if either the low speed or high speed timing is off you either have a bad pickup or a bad igniter. The whole assembly is held on with 3 screws but you can't get at them without pulling the rotor.   Theoretically, you could use a small file and elongate these mounting holes to give you a little adjustment, but having to pull the rotor each time to make that timing adjustment puts a huge damper on that idea.

Q:  I am just checking through a new 1300 that I bought.  It wasn't running and had no battery.  I just bought a battery and hooked it up with great care.  However, there seems to be no electrical power. No lights horn and starter wont crank.  Fuse block fuses look OK?  Any ideas what might be the possible gremlin?  John S.

A:  There are a lot of possible answers to this problem, but I have one thought that wasn't mentioned in other Q&A's.  The wire that feeds all those fuses comes directly from the battery positive terminal.  It's a white/red wire that should be connected along with your battery cable to the positive battery terminal.  Is it connected? 

If so, if you look at the wiring diagram you'll notice that the white/red wire feeds all of the other fuses.  A simple 12v test light is a big help to see where you have power and where you don't.  Other answers have mentioned that the main switch can go bad and you have power in and not out.  However, power to the main switch comes originally from the white/red wire, through a connector you can see right there off the end of your fuse block, through the 30 amp fuse, and through the white/black wire coming back out of the fuse block and over to the main switch.

The idea of the main switch is that if you have an electrical problem you can cut all power on the bike by simply shutting the switch off.  As noted, it also functions as a hazard light if you're broken down on the side of the road.  It still keeps all the power off, except to the rear tail lights when you turn it all the way to the right.

So from the main switch that white/red wire comes out the other side as a white wire, and feeds the ignition switch which then feeds other circuits.  Looking closer, you'll see that the brown wire is your main power feed from the ignition switch to most circuits.  So that 30 amp fuse runs a lot of stuff in this manner.  The white/red wire from the battery, through the 30 amp fuse, through the white/black wire coming back out of the fuse block and over to the main switch, and through the white wire coming back out of the main switch and up to the ignition switch.

Not too complicated really, and should only take you a few minutes with a test light to narrow down where the power stops.  I've found many bad connections right there on the plug going into the fuse block.  I usually clip that white/red wire on both sides of that plug and simply solder them together if that's the issue.  Sometimes I see bad connections on the little clips that hold the fuses in place.  Not normal, but I've had to polish them up with a wire brush or sandpaper.

Less normal is a bad connection under the fuse block with a broken solder joint, and the white/red wire is just hanging there.  The white/black wire coming back out of the fuse block and over to the main switch also has a connector in the middle.  People tend to wash their bikes even under the seat and get water all over those connections.  Not a good idea, but I've seen too many bikes with a bunch of corroded connectors.  I'm guessing that's how they got so bad when all of them are like that.

Take your test light and start at the 30 amp fuse.  If you have power, make sure the main switch is on and jump to the white wire coming back out of the main switch.  If no power there then back up.  See if there's power going in through the white/black wire by stabbing that wire as close as you can.  No power, then back to the connector on the white/black wire and check both sides.

You should of discovered the problem by now and it only took you maybe 5 minutes.  Good luck.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  What would be your assessment of being able to accelerate without problem, yet when you get into high gear when you try to accelerate my Voyager boggs down.  Steady throttle on flat land is fine, if you start an incline it starts to bogg out and will not take throttle.  Down shift and is better but not perfect.  Mike S.

A:  Mine started that after I adjusted the valves, and I found out the igniter was going bad, anything over 1800 RPM, cylinder 1&6 would start dropping off, new igniter fixed it all up.  Try this, get a timing light that will handle rpms over 3000.  In neutral, clip onto the #1 cyl plug wire, and watch the light as you increase RPM's. up to 3500.  Then do the same for cyl # 2 & 3, and if the timing light starts with intermittent flashing, then you know the igniter is starting to fail.  If the flashes stay evenly spaced and faster as the rpm goes up, then you are OK there.  Mine were easy, Cyl 2&3 the flashes was consistent, on Cyl #1, the flashes started getting erratic after 1800 rpm.  On the road, the bike would bog down and the exhaust smelled of unburnt gas.  Ken B.

A:  There's another thing to look into here and that's fuel pressure.  Check my other posts on adding an adjustable fuel pressure regulator.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Has anyone attempted to put a stator/ flywheel / regulator in a KZ1300 from another bike to have more output?

Q:  How do you rig an early KZ1300 for twin alternators -- specifically a 1980?

Q:  The lights seem dim on my KZ1300 and the battery goes dead.

A:  Start with the battery.  The surest way to determine if there is current available from the charging system to charge the battery is with an amperage test right at the battery.  With the engine running, put your amp meter in series with the battery (positive lead to negative battery terminal, negative lead to negative battery cable).  CAUTION: DO NOT operate the starter motor with your meter connected this way or you will burn out your meter or other electronics.

At idle, the meter will indicate a negative (discharge) current flow even with a good charging system. As you raise the engine RPM, the meter needle should move in the positive direction.  Most of our vehicles will pass the zero amp (break even) point and begin putting positive (charging) amperage into the battery somewhere between 1500-2500 RPM.  Keep in mind that all add-on electrical accessories use current when ON and will raise the break even RPM point.

If the charging rate rises to at least 1 positive amp by 3000-4000 RPM with all normal systems (such as headlight) running, there is probably nothing wrong with the charging system.  If there is no charging current, check the voltage output from the alternator.  With the alternator leads connected, probe the connectors of any two alternator wires and you should get 110-114 VAC depending on the model.  If there is no charging current at the battery and the in-circuit alternator voltage is good, the problem is most likely in the regulator/rectifier or it's wiring.  You can check total charging system output with an amperage test (amp meter is series) at the red/white wire coming out of the regulator/rectifier.  The total amperage will vary depending on the load provided by the electrical systems on the vehicle and the condition of the battery.  From AVA Archives

Q: Where can I get a battery for my 1300?

A universal substitute for the Hawker is the STX 680 available from batteryweb.com although I haven't tried it and don't know how the quality of the battery compares.  Also someone mentioned that a better Odyssey to buy for the Voyager 1300 is the PC925L because it fits and has more amp hours.  Whether it will fit the KZ chassis or not I don't know.    david@kz1300.com

A:  I just bought a PowerSonic AGM battery from BatteryStuff.com.  The stock number is PTX20L.  It is cross referenced to the Odyssey PC680.  The price was $69 and shipping was free.   Jim Z.

Q:  I am having a problem with my KZ1300.  The bike seems to run very rich.  The exhaust smell very rich. The plugs get charcoal black very quickly.  I have checked compression, cleaned the carbs, cleaned the pcv system.  What is the Float height suppose to be at?   How many turns are the pilot screws suppose to be at?   I thought maybe the ignition system is faulty.  I actually have the carbs set too lean and its causing the engine to misfire, and run very lean during cold starts where I have to leave the choke on for a long-time.   But the Spark Plugs are still very black.

Q:  What jetting do I need to do when changing to an aftermarket pipe like a DG 6 into 1?

Q:  Is there a way to find out what jets I have in my bike?

Q:  How do you initially set the Pilot Jets after a carb rebuild? 

Q: Anybody know if the K&N oval filter setup will fit the 2 barrel carbs on my bike?  I would love to free up the cubic foot of space the air box takes up now.

A:  Focusing on carb issues when using K&N style pod filters I'd like to mention the fact that if you look at the bikes in Japan, South Africa, Australia, Germany and so forth you'll notice that there's quite a few examples of carb bikes running velocity stacks or other types of custom made filter media.  On the SA site you can see a number of bikes running these and they even sell them - http://1300-kawasaki.com

For some reason the site doesn't appear to be available right now, but check it later if it doesn't come up for you.  I have a couple very bad images on the Japan page - 

http://japan.zn1300.com/z1300-japan-bito-6carb-mod.jpg

http://japan.zn1300.com/z1300-velocity-stacks.gif

...and one good image - 
http://japan.zn1300.com/japan-bito-fcr-carbs1s.jpg

...but you might have to go to the Japan site first - 
http://japan.zn1300.com

...and then put those links in to see it, or just scroll down the page and you'll see the images I'm referring to.  If you look through all the links on my links page to the other club sites around the world and look through what images of bikes they have on their site you'll see a number of bikes using something similar to these velocity stacks.  I don't like the idea of using velocity stacks or whatever some of these guys are using.  I'd rather have a washable pod type filter that will fit right to the back of the carbs or TB's.  

There's some other issues relative to using pod filters and taking off your stock airbox.  All these 1300's have a crankcase overflow vent that comes out of the transmission basically down next to the cam chain tensioner.  It's a 1/2" tube sticking up and it runs through a rubber hose into the bottom of the airbox.  All 4-stroke engines have some type of crankcase vent I suppose to keep pressure out of the bottom end of the motors.  Cars seem to use a PCV valve and actually use a certain amount of engine vacuum to evacuate any engine blow-by pressure that may build up and they feed that back into the intake.  Ours isn't that dramatic but you can't just cap that vent hole off, so I'm using a small round washable K&N style filter that just clamps on this fitting. 

Same thing at the top, if your bike still has the original reed valve emission system fitted coming off the valve covers.  This feeds through a vacuum operated valve and fits to the top of the airbox cover so it can draw clean air in.  Some of us have pulled this emission system off our bikes and just capped it off at the valve cover, but most of us haven't and I've always retained them myself.  If this system helps the bike get a little better emissions I'm all for that.  So you just pull the hose off on the back of the valve and clamp one of these small crankcase filters in its place.

The 3rd issue will be on the fuel injected bikes whether stock FI or converted from carbs to FI.  Your original air temp sensor was mounted inside a little hole on the left front of your stock airbox.  What I figure here will be to drill a small hole in the end of one of the pod filters, probably the center one and just mount it right there.  These filters will look very much like this one - http://tinyurl.com/ubszh

...but I chose the blue filter oil rather than red because I thought that would look better.  If you want to be in my database for updates on things like this send me an email to that effect with your name and what model bike you have.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Has anybody seen any test data that shows what kind of air filter may be good for our bikes like whether the K&N is really better than an OEM style filter?

Q:  Has anyone installed your new pod filters without removing their carbs?

Q:  Does any body know if there are other bikes that use the same needle and seat as the 1300?

Q:  I have sync'ed the carbs, but she is still running to rich, although she's smooth - However, if someone could help?.... 1.For those whom have gone through this - my vacuum gauges (similar to that shown in the manual) read in kg/cm - what would be an acceptable reading be - I have currently set the carbs to be the same (needle points to about "25 to" as a clock would read - approx 300 on the gauge)
2.  Does turning out the Pilot Jet set the mixture richer or leaner
3.  Generally, does one adjust for more or less vacuum reading?

Q:  Bike has been running fine.....until tonight.  I have developed a "pop" kind of backfire on one of the right hand side cylinders (as you sit on the bike).  This does not affect the running above 2000 rpm at all, but tick-over has became lumpy, and the "pop" can be heard on tick-over occasionally.  I have eliminated plugs, checked mixture screws, pick ups, drained and flushed float bowls.  Any ideas?

Q:  I have changed needle and seat and cleaned the carbs three times.  I don't understand why when I step on gas quickly and let it go the engine continues to turn fast even when I drop off the throttle.  I mean for around 5 sec the rpm still high.  I have checked for vacuum leaks, near the intake and everything is ok.

Q:  I am looking for the o-ring that goes on the Needle & Seat valve assembly in the carburetor.

Q:  1980 1300 will start and run on choke, but when choke is shut off the engine dies unless throttle is opened to keep it running.  If idle adjust screw is turned to increase idle speed then engine speed will not decrease between gear changes, it actually increases.  Have tried all adjustments that I know of. One other thing, swapped carbs off of 79' model and the bike ran fine idle and everything.  Please advise me of anything that I might try to fix this problem.

Q:  I'm looking for diaphragms for the KZ-1300 carbs.  Any idea who might have them...or what other bike might use them?

A:  As of 3/06 they are regularly being sold on ebay for about $50 for a set of 6.  These are aftermarket pieces that are coming out of Argentina.  I have some posted for sale on my custom parts page.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I have a flooding problem and suspect my needles and seats.  Can you give me your opinion on these parts?

Q:  My fuel cap (lockable on top of tank) lets petrol leak past it when running the bike around town.  It literally floods past the rubber seal and pours down the sides of the tank.  This does only happen when using the bike around the streets, and not on a long run using motorways.  I have renewed the main rubber seal, which is the only spare part available for the cap itself, but this has made no difference, and to be honest was no better in texture or appearance to the old one anyway.  Is this due to the engine temperature expanding the tank at low speeds, or due to a lack of pressure release?

Q:  When I park my bike and leave it on the side stand the engine floods with gas.  If I leave it on the center stand, it doesn’t seem to flood.  I read where someone else got so much gas in one of the cylinders that he bent a rod when he fired it up.  Others have complained of the gas leaking past the rings and contaminating their oil.  Others complain of hard starting when hot, or overheating while sitting in traffic, even vapor lock.  What’s the best solution for these problems?

WARNING!!!  Keep in mind that if enough gas boils off and runs into one of the cylinders, when you go to start the engine you can get a hydraulic lock situation that can severely damage your engine - usually bending the connecting rod(s).  Fuel does not compress much and if enough raw fuel is sitting on top of your piston... watch out!  This is one reason not to leave your bike on the side-stand as it's much less likely to boil fuel out when it's on the center-stand and sitting level.

Q:  Hi Dave, I bought a 1979 KZ1300 about a year ago from the original owner with 15K miles.  It was running on 4 cylinders.  After I got it home, and with the help of the factory shop manual  I discovered it had one bad pick-up coil.  Found one at a local junk yard and did it ever run great then. It's my favorite bike I've ever owned or ridden.  Also replaced the coils and put in a vacuum petcock over the winter.  Changed oil this spring and have been riding it this spring; it runs like new!  I was just about to replace the CCT and I realized I had a new problem; fuel in the oil.  I noticed the oil level has risen slightly and you can smell gas in the oil.  Do you think it's just flooding or have you heard of any similar problems specific to this bike?  I also wondered if maybe gas could be getting by the vacuum side of the petcock, but you can't smell or see any gas in the vacuum line.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions?  Any response appreciated.  Love your web site.  Ron T.

A:  I've never used a vacuum petcock or even seen one before, but if it's connected to vacuum then it could conceivable leak gas back through and into the intake port.  More than likely it's letting gas run into the carbs when in fact the fuel is supposed to be shut off.  Ergo, a bad vacuum petcock.  Then the gas slowly leaks past the rings and into the bottom end while it's sitting still.  This is very dangerous as it can cause the hydraulic lock situation we have the huge WARNING!!! about on the FAQ page in huge red letters and another reason I use the Pingel petcock.

Q:  Is there anyway to fix the stock petcock so it turns easier?

Q:  My bike is overheating, what can I do?

Q:  Hi, I live in South Africa, and have a question about unleaded fuel.  We are changing over to unleaded fuel starting in Jan 2006.  Are there any mods or tune-ups necessary for the Z1300 to run on unleaded fuel?  I've been running mine on 97 octane leaded fuel since new.  Please let us know.  PS: We've got approx 70 members in the Big Six Club here in Cape Town alone, all waiting on your suggestions.  Thanks,  Richard M. 

A:  Have no fear, 1300's were designed to run on unleaded fuel.  Actually even older cars seem to be doing fine leading most to wonder who thought they needed it for seat lubrication in the first place?  Best Regards, Paul Bezilla
Patron Saint to all 1300's  paul@kz1300.com

As you crank open the throttle, the throttle position sensor reduces the resistance on the current flowing through it, thus allowing the voltage to increase which tells the computer to keep the injectors open longer.  As the engine coolant temperature increases, the temperature sensor increases the resistance, thus lowering the voltage and reducing the amount of fuel delivered.  However, there are 3 wires from the DFI box that go to the ground side of the coils and I'm pretty sure that this is used as a RPM signal.

Q:  My ZN1300 is hard to start and is running rich across the board.  Any ideas what to look at?

Q:  Does you know where I can get my Voyager fuel injectors cleaned?

Q:  I have a ZN1300 with fuel injection and my idle speeds up as my motor warms up.  Also my bike tends to stall after riding at highway speeds and slowing down at a light.  Any ideas how to fix this?

Q:   I have an 1984 Kawasaki 1300 Voyager full dress bike.  When I try to start it at a cold start up, if it does not start the first crank it floods and will not start until next day.  Can you help me with this problem.  Kawasaki tells me they would start with the fuel pressure regulator.  Ron E.

A:   Looking over your original emails you said:

"When it finally start it runs very well and it starts quite good when the motor is warm.  There was little humidity inside the DFI box and some parts were oxidized."

You had also mentioned it would only try to start if the petcock was closed, but the bike can't start with the fuel petcock closed, because it has to have fuel pressure for the injectors to fire.  If the petcock is closed, there is basically little or no pressure to the injectors.  Proper procedure on these DFI bikes best I can see from experience, is to give it full throttle when starting cold.  Since there's no choke to enrichen the mixture, only a fast idle lever which allows you to set your idle speed AFTER it's started, to get it to meter more fuel for cold start, I simply open the throttle all the way and crank on it.

Doing that tells the computer to meter more fuel, and that procedure has always worked for me.  Still, you have to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL TO NOT OVER-REV THE MOTOR when you first start it like that.  So you have to be quick on the throttle as soon as it starts, to back off the throttle and keep the RPM's down reasonably.  If it starts up cold and rev's high right off the bat, you can strip the nylon oil pump gear.  The thicker 'cold' oil puts too much strain on the gear, and these have been known to strip when guys try to rev their engine too high when it's still cold.

You never did say what ignition coils you have on your bike.  If you read my site you, surely you saw all my repeated statements concerning bad ignition coils.  Bad ignition coils are the #1 hard start / cold start issue on these bikes, and that thought is reiterated many times in many places on my site.  I have multiple tech articles on replacing coils, so there's no excuse to overlook this issue.  As I state elsewhere, it doesn't matter whether you see a spark coming off your stock coils or not.  That doesn't mean they put out a hot enough spark to start your motor properly!

Yes, after you get the motor running they make keep it running, but you don't realize that the engine was just 'barely' running until you put a set of Dyna or Nology coils on and the RPM at idle jumps 500 RPM!  What does that tell you?  Yeah, the bike was still running, but there was a lot of raw unburned fuel going out the tailpipe because the spark was too weak.

2nd issue on cold start problems is correct valve adjustment.  You don't say how long it's been since the valves were adjusted.  I've heard of compression readings in the cylinders going up by 30lbs or more after a valve adjustment.  What does that tell you?  Yeah, the bike was still running, but there was a lot of damage being done to the motor for no good reason, and it was way down on power because of the lack of proper maintenance.

Almost anyone with minimal mechanical skills can adjust the valves on this bike.  Very easy to do and you can still get the tool from Motion-Pro for about $12.  I also see these tools on ebay from time to time.  If I was you I'd hold on to the extra computer you bought until you figure out the cold start issues and get the bike running right.  david@kz1300.com

A:  There was an article in Motorcycle Consumer News in the May 2005 issue.  I don't know if it will work on injectors or not but I think it is worth considering.

Carb Bugs

Mechanical questions to MCN and to other magazines often relate to lousy running whenever a bike has been laid up for some time.  The usual advice is to carefully clean the carburetors, a real chore when multiple, hard-to-reach pots are involved.

My first experience with this malady was when I bought a two-year-old, used '85 Yamaha V-Max that had languished on a dealer's floor for some months.  This beast ran well when I rode out on it, because he'd gone through it to help the seller.  Before long, however, it started to stumble badly.  But I was lucky, because this dealer also sold lawn mowers.  He declined to pull my carb's apart because he knew better.

Since the introduction of unleaded gas, carb-fouling bugs have become a common problem.  Microbes that feed on hydrocarbons have the untidy habit of congregating in and depositing their excretions in the tiny passages of our carburetors or fuel injectors unless they are discouraged from doing so.  This seldom was a problem with leaded gas because its toxicity did not allow these microbes to inhabit the carb's.  Current unleaded fuels have additives that combat the little critters, but extended idleness, such as winter storage-allows them to recover.

Fortunately, the cure is at hand.  Lawn mowers run less often than most motorcycles do, so they commonly crud up between uses.  Landscape crews know they'll have starting and running problems unless they use the gas treatment products offered by lawn service dealers.  These are small plastic bottles of ghastly petroleum distillates that would never be tolerated by the EPA for regular automotive use.  Microbes gag on a single capful of this stuff, the standard prescription for the usual one-gallon mower tank.  Bikes call for a few capfuls, possibly repeated.

A:  The specs on that sensor show a ranger from 1.4k to 7.6k, the colder the outside temp, the higher the resistance.  I by-passed the sensor with a 5k volume switch.  The first one I got from Radio Shack didn't work well because 75% of the resistance was in the top 25% of the dial range.  So I went to a TV repair shop and checked the resistance with an ohm meter before I bought it, so I knew it was more gradual.  I brought this bike from Colorado, and it always ran too rich.  Now I'm in Florida, and it ran better, but it was still too rich.  Now I run it as lean as it will go, it runs great, and I'm getting better mileage!  Try it, you'll like it!!  Mike

A:  If you see an Air Temperature Sensor on ebay, the Kawasaki Part Number is: 21176-1003.  It fits the Following Bikes:

83-88 ZN1300 Voyager
83-84 ZX1100 GPz
81-82 KZ1100 GP

Q:  I think my Throttle Position Sensor 'TPS' needs adjustment but the manual seems to suggest that this is too difficult to adjust without the proper 'Kawasaki' tools.  Is there an easier way to get the mixture set correctly?

A:  The TPS just has 2 screws that hold it in place.  If you loosen the screws and turn it one way it will richen the mixture and the other way it will lean out.  Obviously you don't want to mess up here and get the mixture too lean and maybe burn a piston.  Instead of just trial and error, try using a "Colortune" spark plug to set the mixture.  Here's some info I found on it at -  http://www.carbtune.com/colortune.html:

"The Colortune has a clear spark plug that lets you look into the combustion chamber while the engine is firing.  The color of the combustion flame tells you if the mixture is correct.  With the carburetor mixture screw you can then adjust the flame color to get the correct mixture.

The Colortune has color charts and comprehensive instructions to carry out the job effectively.  An effective flame color - diagnosis section is included in the booklet.  Comes complete with periscope for recessed plugs.  Take the guesswork out of engine tuning with the Colortune.

The world famous glass topped spark plug that gives you a window into the combustion chamber so you can see the flame.  Why is this important?  The flame's color tells you the richness of the air/fuel ratio.  A yellow flame means a rich mixture and a blueish white flame a weaker mixture.  Usually a bunsen blue flame is spot on.

The Colortune is so simple that anyone can use it.  It works on the principle that certain fuel mixtures burn with a certain color.  The Colortune will work on both motorcycles and cars with carburetors. Just adjust the mixture screw to get the correct flame color.  Also works on injection systems that have a mixture adjuster.  Mainly older injection systems.  The Colortune comes in 3 spark plug thread sizes.  10mm, 12mm and 14mm. (Most cars are 14mm)."

and here - http://www.eastwoodco.com:

Engine hesitation, misfire, difficulty starting and poor fuel economy are all common symptoms of an incorrect fuel mixture.  An improper air / fuel ratio has historically been one of the most difficult-to-resolve diagnostic issues due to the complexity of the various fuel control circuits and the related "dynamics" of ignition timing, exhaust backpressure and intake restriction.  Resolving these performance problems through guesswork and exchange of parts is an expensive proposition that generally results in great frustration without a successful solution.

The key to simplifying the mixture setting puzzle is to first understand that the combustion cycle produces heat, and that the amount of heat concentrated around the spark plug changes proportionately and quickly with changes in the air / fuel ratio.  Therefore, the best way to know the mixture is to be able to "see" the mixture!  This may sound a little strange, but the color of the flame produced around the spark plug during combustion changes as the mixture changes.  Typically, if you could see the flame color it would be a hot blue when the mixture is just right, a yellow when it is too rich (more fuel than required for any given amount of air) and a white/blue when the mixture is too lean (less fuel than required).  Interestingly these changes in flame color occur very quickly as the engine operating condition is altered, such as when the throttle is opened, when load is applied or during deceleration.

Conventional wisdom leads most to believe that proper mixture adjustment is simply a matter of setting the number of turns on an idle mixture screw, but unfortunately carburetors and fuel injection systems need to adapt constantly to changes in operating condition and therefore have a number of operating circuits and components in an attempt to target the proper mixture under all operating conditions.  Having the ability to see the combustion process would allow the tuner to both pinpoint problem areas during a diagnosis as well as to experiment with changes in settings and components to optimize performance.

The Colortune product line is structured around the concept of tuning by "reading" the combustion flame color during actual engine operation.  The Motorcycle Colortune is simple to use, and works with single or multiple carburetor and fuel injected bikes, ATV's, snowmobiles and personal watercraft.

You can even "balance" the mixture correctly between cylinders on multi-carburetor engines!  The kit includes a special view-through sprark plug, high tension lead adapter, 2-piece viewerscope with mirror, copper seal washer, cleaning brush and complete instructions.

Procedures for setup and use are simple.  After warming up the engine, remove the spark plug in the cylinder that is to be checked and replace it with the Colortune plug.  Now attach the included high tension lead between the plug and the boot end of the spark plug wire (it will work with either terminal nut ends or plain threaded terminal configurations).  Run the engine and observe the color through the insulator area of the special plug while performing your adjustments.  For difficult-to-access spark plugs, the kit includes a 2-piece viewerscope with an attached mirror.  The viewerscope is placed over the Colortune plug and lead, such that the combustion color can be observed at practically any angle!  Colortune is the essential tool for fast and effective tuning!"

So it appears that this may work well for tuning any of our 1300's.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Is there any way to repair a bad throttle position sensor on a ZN1300?

A:  I found out that there was way too much resistance on the voltage in connection of the throttle position sensor on my Voyager.  Instead of the 3300 to 6800 ohms I was finding 75000 ohms.  For a while it looked like I needed to buy a new one for $430.00.  I decided to take a chance and washout the position sensor with denatured alcohol.  I soaked it and operated it twenty or so times and then blew it out with compressed air and Voila the resistance came down to right within specs.  So much for it being a sealed unit.   Bill

Q:  How do I check the air temperature sensor on my ZN1300 Voyager?

A:  To test the air temperature sensor follow this procedure:  There should be a connector at the temp sensor that has 2 wires in it.  One is a blue wire with a red tracer and the other is a blue wire.  The wire with the red tracer should have 0 volts in any ignition switch position.  This is the ground wire to the sensor.  The other solid blue wire should have 0 volts with the ignition switch off.  The blue wire should have 2.0 to 3.1 volts with the ignition switch on with the connector hooked up.  There should be 3.4 to 4.6 volts with the connector disconnected with the ignition on.  This reading is at 68 deg F.

Then at 32 deg F there should be 2.6 to 3.8 volts and at 86 deg F there should be from 1.7 to 2.5 volts with the connector hooked up.  The higher the voltage reading is the leaner the engine will run.  If you are getting readings at the higher end of the scale you can add a large value resistor from the solid blue wire to the white with the red tracer to bring the voltage to the high end.

Next disconnect the connector.  Now hook the two leads of the ohm meter to the two leads.  At 68 degrees F you should read 2-3K ohms.  Then at 32 deg F you should get 4.7 to 7.6K ohms and at 86 deg F you should get 1.4 to 2.2K ohms.  It is my guess that the higher the ohms reading the richer the fuel mixture so you can add resistance across the blue wire to the wire with the red tracer to get a leaner mixture.  I could be wrong.  If your readings are not these then you could try a resistor of
say like 1K or maybe .7 K ohms in the blue wire to add resistance.   Larry C.

Q:  How do I check the engine temperature sensor on my ZN1300 Voyager?

A:  To test the engine temp sensor here is the procedure:  There is only one wire to the engine temp sensor.  This sensor is going to the right rear top side of the engine.  This wire is gray.  Disconnect this wire.  Connect the two leads of the ohm meter from the engine block to the terminal on the sensor. You should have a reading of 2.0 to 3.0K ohms at 68 deg F, from 4.7 to 7.6 at 32 deg F, and from 1.4 to 2.2K ohms at 86 deg F.  

I am only guessing here but I suspect that a lower resistance is a higher voltage to the computer which is leaner.  If you get toward the high end of the range you can add resistance from the connector to ground to get the correct range.  If I am wrong and it is higher resistance and lower voltage then you can add resistance in the gray wire.  If this is the case I would add like about 1k to about .7 K ohms.  Remember that resistance (ohms) is inverse to the volts.  Larry C.

Q:  Think I have read about every article posted on your web site, and still have a question.  I recently purchased an '88 ZN1300 with now 31,000 miles.  I purchased it in Chicago and rode it to Arizona. Prior to departing I changed the oil, spark plugs, changed to K&N air filter, changed the fuel lines from the pump, filter, tank, injector rail.  Sometimes when I take off the motor will miss, backfire, and fall on its face.  Other times it runs immediately on all 6 cylinders.  Sometimes when stopping for gas it will miss etc for a 1/2 mile or maybe two or more.  Backing off the throttle helps some at times.  Other times it takes off normal.  Will be running fine and stop at stop light in traffic and it will start doing it again although for a shorter period.  What do you think I should look at?   Ben I.

A:  Change the CCT - http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/z1300-cam-chain-tensioner.html
as they're no better on the ZN's as they were on the KZ's in my opinion.  Then change the coils with Dyna, Nology, or try the Harley coils I mention on this page and then you can decide whether the injectors need to be removed.  Probably not, but you may try some Seafoam in the fuel system which you can buy at most any auto parts.  A tank of gas or 2 with Seafoam and that should clear up any injector problem and with a lot less work on your end.  Electrical connections are a more likely problem, but I also offer injectors on an exchange basis now.  This service is well worth the money if the injectors aren't working right.

There's another issue with fuel pressure we all need to be aware of.  Mike Chestnut of Horsepower Unlimited was the one that clued me in on this.  He said the problem with the bike is that it was lean from the factory to meet US emissions when new.  Pump gas in this country has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.  Today's fuels are highly oxygenated, and burn 10 - 15 % leaner than they did now, which makes the bike incredibly lean.  You compensate for this by turning up the fuel pressure.  The regulator that I sell at Horsepower Unlimited is an exact replacement for the factory unit.

The bike will actually run better than it did when it was brand new.  All of the early Kawasaki fuel injected bikes suffer from the same problem.  Plus you can also use the regulator to tune the bike for mod's, such as exhaust pipe, piston kit, and so on.  I have sold 100's of them over the years.  The price is $95.00 exchange.  I need your stock regulator as a core.  I am so sure that it will make your bike run much better, that I will give you a money back guarantee.

So the options are you can get your stock unit modified by Mike or you could find a good quality aftermarket adjustable fuel pressure regulator.  I just did a search on ebay and there were 443 items found for the terms 'fuel pressure regulator'.  There are some nice looking ones as high as $200 range and some as low as $23.  The benefit of these is that they come with a gauge so you can see what you're setting your pressure at.  Somewhere between $23 and $200 we ought to be able to find a good quality unit that fits right in where our stock one was.  We certainly don't want something cheap that will crack and leak gas, but why go to all the trouble of modifying a used part (or even if you bought a new one from Kawasaki as ours cost $125) when you can just buy a good quality B&M or some such thing in the $100 range and fit it in there with a quality liquid filled gauge?

You can go down to your local speed shop and buy these.  I actually put a gauge inline on mine when I was trying to diagnose a fuel delivery problem and thought my pump was going bad.  Had I known it was better to go this route I would of done so.  Most of the ones I've seen have a 0-100 psi gauge on them.  Our fuel injection system says in the book that it should be in the 33-36 psi range.  Our pump may put out 50 psi with an adjustable fuel pressure regulator I don't know.  I'll do some experimentation and see what works best, but I think if we could find one with a 0-60 psi gauge we could see a more accurate reading.  They use to make 0-60 psi gauges for fuel pressure but you may not find that these days.

All it should take to install this is to pull out the stock fuel pressure regulator and block off the vacuum line that went to it.  The new one should come with some kind of generic bracket and the old bracket is still hanging there so you'll have to figure out how to get it mounted preferably where the gauge is facing outward.  Make sure you don't confuse the inlet and outlet.  If you get it backwards you'll have a real problem.  

This would be a good time to check the return valve in your gas tank to make sure it's not restricted.  You can pull the return line hose off and slip a long small allen wrench or something similar up inside and push lightly on the valve.  This may dump some gas out if your tank is full.  You should feel the valve go up and down with a light spring load tension on it.  If there's a problem, this whole valve comes out easily enough by just unscrewing it.  Clean it up with Seafoam or carb cleaner or whatever and be sure to use some nylon thread tape on the threads when you re-install it so there's no gas seepage around the threads.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  I'm looking for a new fuel pressure regulator part#16162-1002 for my ZN1300 Voyager.  Are there any other fuel injected bikes this part fits on?

A:  Our fuel pressure regulator also fits the 80' model Kawasaki KZ1000 Z1 Classic, the 81' KZ1100 or '1000 GP', the 82' GPZ 1000 or 1100 (not sure which) and the 83' & 84' GPZ 1100.  Take note of the recommendation above about increasing the fuel pressure by using an aftermarket adjustable fuel pressure regulator.  david@kz1300.com 

Q:  I've been struggling with a fuel injection system that consistently runs too rich.  I've been through every part of it, I've talked to several pros who have helped me understand what seems to trouble fuel injection systems.  I finally got fed up and decided that If I couldn't find the problem I'd work around it.  To that end I sent my fuel pressure regulator off to have it modified so that I can just dial the fuel down till it was LEANER.  Of course right after I sent off the regulator I noticed that my plug caps were in poor shape so I replaced the wires and caps.  I just got the regulator back so I'm going to set it at the same 36 PSI it was already at to see, first, if it was the ignition before I start changing the fuel pressure.  Even if the plug caps were the problem, which I doubt, I still needed the adjustable regulator because I recently purchased the LAST DG six into one exhaust system available and I'm going to have to be able to adjust the mixture to tune the system once I modify the exhaust.  Bill

A:  Looking through previous questions to remember what issues you had before, I see you had a TPS problem and thought you fixed that.  Adjusting this sensor very slowly one way or another tends to lean or richen your mixture across the range so maybe you need to lean it with the TPS.  You then  suspected your injectors were gummed up and you were still having the rich mixture problem.  Then you suspected your injectors were staying open too long and causing a rich mixture.  Did you have them professionally cleaned and flowed?  Later you stated - "I was just hoping that I could just run some cleaner through the tank and solve the problem but that doesn't seem to want to work."  So you recognized the fact that maybe you need to have them professionally cleaned and flowed?  A month later you stated - "The only thing that I'm left with is that the injectors are not closing cleanly.  I'll be pulling them this evening."

I don't see any more about what you did with the injectors after or if you took them off, but other questions indicate your compression was pretty good and your fuel pressure is good, etc.  I looked through every questions with your name on it.  If there was mention of ignition coils I missed it.  Bad ignition coils will cause the problem you describe because you're possibly not running rich but rather you're not burning the fuel that's there. 

So my first question is what kind of coils, wires and plugs are you running?  If you want it to burn the fuel put a hot coil on it like the Accel's, Dyna's or Nology's recommended on this site.  That's #2 on my list of things to do once you buy a 1300 of any year. 

Personally I've installed the Nology coils, I've got over 10,000 miles on a set now, they're mounted in the original positions and they're holding up fine.  Even Nology themselves were concerned they may not handle the heat from our engines but I've put a set to the test and it seems so far they're good.  I know at least 5 other members now that are running them.  I told everybody that went with Nology's to report back with any problems.  I think everyone but one person installed them as I did in the stock locations and no problems have been reported. 

Take that for what it's worth, but make sure you get a hot coil on the bike and a premium wire. Nology sells a special wire with a capacitor made on to it that's supposed to dramatically increase the spark energy.  I paid approximately $225 for a set of these but never got around to putting them on as I was on a deadline for making a ride the next day and already had a set of Accel spiral coil wires made up to fit.  Accel, MSD, Jacobs and many others all sell a premium wire that should work just fine though I doubt any can hold a candle to the Nology wires if you were inclined to go that route. 

That professional mechanic you mentioned that told you he didn't think clogged injectors could make a bike run rich was just giving his opinion, because I'm NOT a professional mechanic and I know that they absolutely can make a bike or a car run rich.  Has he ever seen the spray pattern on a clogged fuel injector and done or seen a flow test on a set of injectors before?  Instead of a fine mist spray in a proper pattern you get a partial spray and big drops of fuel dribbling out.  One bad injector can flow twice as much gas in the same amount of time as a good one does.  What does he think that will burn like?  I'm not trying to start an argument but I've seen injectors being flowed and they can look pretty bad.  We're over 20 years old now on these Voyagers and I would bet that 90% of them or more have never had the injectors professionally cleaned and flowed. 

My Voyager was running rich, spitting and sputtering at lower RPM's but seemed to run just fine over 3000 RPM or so I thought.  After having the injectors professionally cleaned and flowed I started wondering why I waited so long to do it.  It idles perfect now, the bike runs better, gets better gas mileage and the plugs burn cleaner and that was long after the coil enhancement.  I was so impressed I went out and bought extra used injectors, had them professionally cleaned and flowed and started offering them on my site on an exchange basis.  You'll find them on my Custom Parts Page at - http://www.kz1300.com/parts/custom-kz1300-parts.html

This isn't a sales pitch for buying my injectors.  Call any speed shop in your town and find out who has the equipment to do this kind of work for your local street racers.  They can do yours just as easy and you can save a few bucks over my price.  You mentioned you just bought the last DG 6 into 1 exhaust?  I have 4 in stock and there's a guy on ebay selling them too, but I don't think they're going to fit on a Voyager even if it's stripped down as you mention. 

While we're talking about coils and injectors spark plugs are an issue too.  I've tried many different ones and keep coming back to the Splitfire #SF6C or SF426C.  I can't explain why for sure, but these seem to burn cleaner than anything else I've used.  I even tried the Nology S7 pure silver plugs and now I'm switching back to Splitfires again.  Splitfire makes a platinum too but I've never tried it.  I can buy the SF6C at the local auto parts or speed shop for $5 a plug and you'll see them on ebay on occasion for less.

You mentioned you were going to try to lower your fuel pressure with an adjustable pressure regulator so it wouldn't run so rich.  My guess is this is a recipe for disaster.  I made a page to help members service their injectors - 
http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/zn1300-fuel-injector-service.html

As I stated above, you might take note about what Mike Chestnut with Horsepower Unlimited said in relation to fuel pressure on the older Kawasaki FI bikes - 

"The problem with the bike is that it was lean from the factory to meet US emissions when new. Pump gas in this country has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.  Today's fuels are highly oxygenated, and burn 10 - 15 % leaner than they did now, which makes the bike incredibly lean.  You compensate for this by turning up the fuel pressure.  The regulator that I sell is an exact replacement for the factory one.  The bike will actually run better than it did when it was brand new.  All of the early Kawasaki fuel injected bikes suffer from the same problem.  Plus you can also use the regulator to tune the bike for mod's, such as exhaust pipe, piston kit, and so on.  I have sold 100's of them over the years.  The price is $95.00 exchange.  I need your stock regulator as a core.  I am so sure that it will make your bike run much better, that I will give you a money back guarantee."

I'd take his money back guarantee if I was you or his advice and crank the pressure UP 5 to 10 lbs, not down.  But first get your coils, wires, plugs and injectors right.  If people think we're just throwing money at a problem that's unjustified keep in mind that these are just tune up items.  I don't even have an adjustable pressure regulator on my bike yet and it's running just fine.  The reason I'm going to add this part asap is because I want to see if it runs better as he guarantees it will.  I'm satisfied the guy knows what he's talking about because you learn from experience and he's the expert. 

There's one other thing I didn't make a big deal about on my site yet and should of.  Don't use cheap fuel line on your bike!  Make sure you get some pressure rated hose for these 2 pressure hoses; from the pump to the distribution block inlet and the distribution block outlet to the pressure regulator at minimum.  Stock pressure is 36 lbs.  If we crank it up to 46 lbs and you're using fuel line that's only rated for 30 lbs what's going to happen when it bursts?  Imagine gas spraying out on your leg..., now there's a fire maybe..., if someone just happens to have their video camera rolling and captures the footage I can just about guarantee it will win the $100,000 grand prize on Max X or one of those other crash and burn shows on prime time TV!

The guy that cleans your injectors can supply the hose.  Even your auto parts store should have pressure rated fuel line or can order some.  The price per foot might come as a surprise to you, but it's better than going down in flames. Thanks,   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I have an 83' Voyager 1300 and whenever I try to ride after about 20 to 30 minutes the DFI warning light starts flashing and I lose power.  When ever I try to accelerate the bike bogs down when I let up off the throttle I regain traveling speed.  Also the bike will not idle unless the choke is in the full on position.  What can I do to resolve this problem?  My mechanic has already resolved an electrical issue and replaced the TPS.  I told the mechanic about the issues with bad coils on these old bikes but he does not believe that is the problem.  He is going to try removing the electronic fuel shut off.  He checked the coils when they were hot and the bike was acting up and they seemed to be fine.  What else should be looked at?   Micheal

A:  There is no "electronic fuel shut off" on a Voyager.  Probably what he's looking at is the fuel pressure regulator and that has to stay.  I am aware that most mechanics poo-poo the idea of bad coils, but I can tell you from experience many mechanics have spend many hours working on these bikes to find out the primary issue was bad coils all along.  It wouldn't be the #2 issue we discuss with our bikes if it wasn't the #2 problem found with our bikes.

Still, your immediate problem could be a fuel pump going bad or more likely, trash on the inlet side.  I mention somewhere about pulling the small screen out of the inlet if the pump runs but pressure is low.  These screens get clogged up.  There's a lot of useful information on this FAQ page pertaining to Voyagers.  

I put an inline adjustable fuel pressure regulator on my return line so I could see that the pressure was correct and adjust it if necessary.  And actually I am now telling owners of DFI bikes to go ahead and do this.  The reason is because I found out through experimentation with my DFI kits that the injectors shut off below about 30-31 lbs of fuel pressure!  The OEM regulator is set to provide 33-36 lbs, but what happens under full throttle, if your fuel pump is a little weak, or if the OEM regulator is off a few lbs?  When you install an adjustable fuel pressure regulator you can up the pressure to about 45psi cold.  Once the bike warms up and assuming you installed a fuel pressure gauge with that, you'll notice that the fuel pressure drops about 5lbs when hot and goes down to 40lbs!

If that's the case, what happens when you're running an OEM regulator?  Yeah, you guessed it, you're idling right at the pressure range where the injectors shut off!  Not good!  Another reason for this I hear, is that the gas we use today is formulated differently than it was in 1984.  It has more oxygenation in it and so that drops the fuel pressure some.  Our OEM regulator is not adjustable and does not automatically compensate.  There's only one choice remaining.  All I can say is that I've confirmed this thought on many bikes now, so just make the changeover and save yourself a lot of headaches.

On my "ZN1300 Voyager Fuel Injector Service" tech article you can see how I did it - 
http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/zn1300-fuel-injector-service.html

Also, did you look in the service manual to see what code the DFI is flashing?  There's a chart in the manual that shows what the code means, and I don't recall you mentioning what code you were getting.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  What other bikes use our Cylinder head temp sensor part #21176-1002?

A:  Part #21176-1002 cylinder head temp sensor interchanges with Kawasaki ZX750 1984-85, KZ1100 1983-84, ZX1100 or (GPZ1100) 1981-83, ZN1300 Voyager 1983-88

Q:  What other bikes use our Air temp sensor part #21176-1003?

A:  Part #21176-1003 Air temp sensor interchanges with Kawasaki KZ1100 1983-84, ZX1100 or (GPZ1100) 1981-83, ZN1300 Voyager 1983-88

Q:  There's a vacuum sensor that comes off the intake on my Voyager 1300 and converts the vacuum reading to an electrical signal that according to the manual feeds a signal to the igniter.  Someone indicated this is a MAP sensor that connects to the DFI.  What does it really do?

A:  Looking at the electrical troubleshooting manual I agree.  In fact, it's really not a MAP sensor but rather a vacuum sensor that according the electrical troubleshooting manual appears work with the the timing advance circuit in the igniter and may have some action on the dwell too.  Our DFI really is old school.  I've been mulling over this idea of a new FI system for our bikes that would be state of the art but the biggest hurdle as I see it is coming up with a 6 into 1 intake manifold so we can run a single throttle body to feed all 6 cylinders.

We could make an aftermarket FI system easily enough that would replace our existing DFI 'black box' and work with our existing throttle bodies but that wouldn't be a solution for the KZ owners that have carb's and want to switch over to an FI system.  Each of our cylinders is about 217cc so I was thinking that there wouldn't be a small individual throttle body of that size on any motorcycle I know of and then I was reading this article the other day on a new Aprilia RXV / SXV 450cc Supermoto or Enduro that's coming out - www.apriliausa.com

...that has a 450cc V-Twin engine, so that's like 225cc's on each throttle body / injector!  They're going to have a 550cc version of this motor too so it looks like from the specs they'll have a 38 & 40mm throttle body, one of which should be perfect for our engine if we do a setup with one throttle body per cylinder.  Granted, that would be even more hassle trying to synchronize 6 throttle bodies versus the 3 we have now but it should perform better than the single intake idea and it should be much easier to fabricate a mounting for the individual throttle bodies.  That Aprilia is a neat bike when you start looking at it.  I'd like to have one just to run around town on.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Since there is such a wealth of knowledge amongst the members of this group, I want to ask if anyone has ideas of the causes of my intermittent problems.  I had just rebuilt the engine which included new rings and gaskets.  I also had a complete valve job done which included replacing the intake valves and adjusting the clearances.

1st problem: When accelerating in any gear, sometimes it bogs down and, according to the trip computer, the mpg goes down which I think is because I have to give it more throttle to get up to speed.  It seems fine when idling and if the engine is revved when sitting still.  I suspect that it might be the fuel pressure regulator not allowing pressure to build up so the engine is starving for fuel.  The mechanic at my local shop says that the K&N filter allows extra air so it would need more fuel.  Does this sound logical and should I maybe install an adjustable regulator?

2nd problem: Sometimes the headlight does not come on.  I do not think that it is the bulb because the headlight warning light does not light up.  If I turn the bike off then restart, the headlight will work.  Sometimes I have to do that a couple of times.  I have noticed a couple of times that if the bike does not start right away, after releasing the starter button the headlight will be on, but after pressing the button again and the bike starts, the headlight will not be on.  I think that there might be a problem in that circuit but I have trouble tracing things on the wiring diagram.  I need to get myself a magnifying glass.  Any ideas where and/or what to check? Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Scott.

A:  As far as the headlight problem goes, the "here today, gone tomorrow" sounds like a relay getting ready to give up the ghost.  That's pretty much how my fuel pump relay acted before it fizzled out.  The headlight relay is under the junction box cover behind the right side cover.  Two screws hold the cover on and the headlight relay is the top left of the three relays forming a triad.  After the bike has been run and the light should be on, the relay may feel hot or warm, if so that's the problem.

As far as the no get up and go problem, yes it could be a defective regulator, weak fuel pump, dirty fuel filter or malfunctioning throttle position sensor.  If a dirty fuel filter, usually the engine will run fine when first started and run, but performance gets worse the longer you run it.  That's because crud has a tendency to fall off the filter media after not being run for a while.  When running, the crud is stirred up and reattaches itself to the filter.  To check the regulator and pump, you'll need a gauge, pipe union and a barbed hose fitting with pipe threads.  Put all that stuff together and you should then be able to disconnect a fuel line before and after the regulator and check the pressure.  Connect the gauge, use hose clamps on the hose ends and turn on the ignition.  I think the manual says 36 psi although the pump itself may actually read higher before the regulator than after.  

If everything else checks out, the TPS can be checked with a multi meter but that's the last thing I'd check.  I have a K&N filter myself. I have adjusted the TPS by hand and without the special checker.  To richen up the mixture a bit, you need to remove the cover that says "DFI", loosen the two screws marked with paint and rotate the sensor clockwise just a TINY bit.  Before you twist around on anything, scribe lines on both sides of the ear the screw goes into and on both ears.  It's best to use something to actually scribe the metal and not just a pencil mark.  Moving the sensor just the width of a scribe line will be noticable, so it doesn't take much.  By rotating it clockwise, it fools the DFI box into thinking the throttle is open wider than it really is and thus more fuel is injected.  Having the scribe lines gives you an accurate position to return the sensor to if you get things all out of whack.  However, I wouldn't go dinking with the TPS until after all the other checks have been made.  John

A:  There are at least 2 things that were missed by other replies to your question. 

#1 - The possible bad pump relay was mentioned, but even more likely is the junction box itself.  I've talked about the junction box issue multiple times now on this site.  It appears maybe water falls down on it when you wash your bike.  It is not sealed from moisture.  You can prevent this by splitting it apart now, before it goes bad and sealing it with silicone and putting it back together.

It would be good to see inside your junction box anyway, so you can determine what condition yours is in right now.  You do have to be very careful when you separate the halves as you don't want to split it too far where pieces can fall out.  But this junction box will leave you on the side of the road in a heartbeat with NO WARNING and it can cause any type of electrical problem you can imagine since so many circuits run through it!

#2 - On the 'weak fuel pump' thought.  We should of all of pulled the little nylon screen out of the fuel pump inlet by now.  When it clogs up, and it will clog eventually, it lowers fuel pressure.

#3 - Speaking of fuel pressure.  I've covered this issue in detail on my FAQ page and elsewhere, but we must install an adjustable fuel pressure regulator on our bikes.  If you don't, you're missing the boat on this fuel problem.  I can absolutely confirm this thought from the number of experimentations I've done on this DFI fuel system at this point.  Basic thought is this.  OEM regulator was set at 33 - 36 psi from the factory.  Injectors WILL SHUT OFF below about 30 - 31 psi.  They have a minimum specified operating pressure, and when you drop below that they start shutting down.  How many times do I have to repeat myself?

Just do it.  The gas formulations have changed since 1984.  Whatever point you want to bring up about exactly what was changed in the formulations is not the issue.  The issue today is that we need to be running at about 45 psi cold.  When the bike is hot the pressure drops to about 40 psi.  I've also  confirmed this observation at least 10 times now on different bikes.  Question is, what does the fuel pressure drop to on your bike when it's hot?

Well, you don't know for sure because you don't have a gauge on it, but I can tell you because I put a gauge on my Voyager with the OEM regulator installed just to test it.  It dropped to 31 psi hot!  Explain to me, how is that going to work?  IT DOESN'T!  It causes stumbling, bad idle, surging at speeds, bad throttle response, and the list goes on.  Yes, I will do a tech article at some point.

#4 - Ignition switch.  Seen plenty of bad ignition switches on these bikes for whatever reason.  You can just jiggle the wires going in to the switch and if things start working or quit working then that's not a good sign.  Of course the ignition switch only powers up certain things, and you can check your manual to see what combinations of things it will affect to eliminate that as a primary cause.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Is it normal after the bike sets over night for the fuel pump to run???  I can see there fuel has gone out of the filter.  The bike starts RIGHT UP at all times now.  But the pump just runs till I start the bike and the vacuum fuel shut off on the tank opens it gets fuel builds pressure and goes to stand by. Then you do not hear it. It's only after the bike sets over night is this some thing to worry about?

Q:  I've heard mention about using an electric fuel pump on my KZ1300. What problems will it solve?

Q:  I need a new fuel pump for my ZN1300 Voyager.  I've read the info on using a fuel pump on a KZ1300, but that's a low pressure pump (2 - 6 psi) and the Voyager pump puts out around 33 - 36 psi since our bike is fuel injected.  Is there a replacement pump we can use off another bike or car that's less expensive than the $600 or so Kawasaki wants for a new one?

A:  Best I can determine, this info from George is false.  Honda did not put a 1.8 in this car during these years, in fact, they never put a 1.8 in a Civic.  They did however put this motor in Accords during those years, and even then the pump is completely different.  And the stock fuel pressure is only 2-3 psi .  The only pump I see that will work from a Honda is a universal inline rotary vane pump that sells for $86 dollars at NAPA stores.  The NAPA part number is 1512001.  Pete D.

david@kz1300.com

Q:  Do you where I can get the fuel line which goes between the fuel pump and fuel filter?  It has two different diameters on each end and is shaped like a U.  Or do I have to get creative again like I do with the throttle pull cable and make it?  Ron M.

Also take note of what I say about high pressure fuel line versus low pressure fuel line.  Our bikes use some of both types, but YOU CANNOT USE LOW PRESSURE FUEL LINE ON THE HIGH PRESSURE SIDE!  That's from the pump to the fuel rail, the little short hoses on the individual injectors, and from the fuel rail back to the fuel pressure regulator.  From the fuel pressure regulator to the gas tank you're fine with low pressure, and all the lines coming in from the petcock TO the fuel pump are suction lines.  So low pressure hose is OK here too.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  What other bikes does our fuel filter fit on or is it totally unique to the ZN like many other parts?  John D.

A:  Kawasaki p/n 49019-1001 fuel filter shows fitment for the (KZ1000-G1, 1980), (KZ1100-B1, GPz, 1981 - 1984), (ZN1300-A1 Voyager, 1983 - 1988), (ZX750, GPz 750 Turbo, 1984 - 1985).  david@kz1300.com

Q:  I recently purchased a 85' ZN1300 for next to nothing and got the old girl running more or less.  It has about 17,000 miles on it.  Before you ask, I did replace the CCT.  Here is my problem.  I am burning rich, very rich, plugs will last only about 15min at the most before they get black and sooty.  I pulled the injectors and had them cleaned and flow tested, they are working great.  I did replace the fuel pump out of a car that puts out more pressure, about 55lbs is what the book says for that car and I  thought the fuel pressure regulator could handle the extra pressure, but maybe  I am wrong.  She does well for a bit but starts to backfire and shoot some flame out the exhaust then the plugs give out.  I did a compression check and I get bout 155 psi compression per cylinder.  Any suggestions would be great.  Thank you - Jason G.

A:  My book says 33 - 36 psi was stock fuel pressure for the Voyager.  Do you see the adjustable fuel pressure regulator I'm using in my DFI conversions - 

http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/z1300-dfi-conversion.html

I imagine any good adjustable fuel pressure regulator will work, but I've experimented with the pressure on these and I'd say about 40-43 psi (hot) or 45psi (cold) is where we should be.  I'd bet your pump is putting 70 psi through the lines because the stock regulator was not designed to regulate the pressure your pump is capable of producing.  It was 'regulated' to 55psi which means the max it's capable of producing is probably more like 90 psi probably.  A good adjustable fuel pressure regulator may be able to limit it to 45 psi, but even if it does, that means the return line back to the tank will have the other 45 psi blowing into your gas tank and that will probably blow the gas tank up.  It's really just sheet-metal you know, and actually there's a check valve on the return line and it may not be able to handle that much pressure.  Right now all that excess pressure is in your fuel system and I guess the flames coming out the exhaust is a clue.  I'm amazed the fuel lines didn't explode.

Before we read about you on the nightly news you need to get rid of that pump and get something more compatible with what the bike is supposed to have.  If you read on this FAQ page you'll see one post of someone who claims a Civic pump of a particular year will work, but I have so many used stock pumps laying around that I've never needed to try that option.  There's also some other part numbers listed on this page that may work but I think their flow rate might be an issue.  There's always stock used pumps on ebay from time to time.  Take note of what I say about the different 5/16" fuel lines and be sure you're using new high pressure fuel line when you put it back together.

This ZG1300 pump will work, but this one is 5/16" in / 5/16" out where yours is 1/2" in / 5/16" out. That's the only difference between a ZG1300 pump and a ZN1300 pump that I can tell.  To use the ZG pump you just change the hose from the fuel filter since it's a goofy 5/16" to 1/2" step-up design anyway.   david@kz1300.com

A:  OK, Thanks  david@kz1300.com

Q:  I bought my 1979 A1 KZ1300, with the bigger (6.2ltr) capacity oil pan / sump already fitted, from the later model. What I do NOT know is if the "pickup" pipe is also from the later model, or the original.  How do I physically tell which pickup my bike has?

Q:  How can you VISIBLY tell the difference between the KZ1300A1 shallow oil pan (4.5Liter) and the KZ1300B2 and newer model deep oil pans (6.3Liter)?

Q:  How can I fix the oil starvation problems I’ve heard about on the early model 1300’s?  Are oil sumps and oil pick-ups interchangeable between model years?

Q:  What kind of oil is best in my 1300?

Q:  What aftermarket oil filters are good for the 1300?

Q:  The 1300 has got a slow drip of oil from the water pump weep hole.  Is it possible to replace the water pump shaft oil seal without pulling the head and removing the pump shaft?   Dale S.

Q:  What is the procedure for correct valve timing?

Q:  Does anyone know a source of new inlet valves?

A: http://www.cyclewareables.com  They have valves for most of the older bikes and Klasmo in Germany is listed on the links page and they should have them too.  I am also working on reproduction valves intake and exhaust for the KZ1300 and the ZN1300.  Believe it or not, they are different valves.   david@kz1300.com

Q: What about shimming the valves?  Can I use the tools from my KZ1000?

A:  Well the technique for changing the shims is the same, ergo the tools will work.  The 29mm shims fit all the bikes shown in the chart below, so I've been told.  Be aware that there are 29.5mm shims in some makes/models of motorcycles, and they look just like our 29mm shims, but they won't work because they're .5mm too large!

KAWASAKI STREET
Model	Year
Z1/A/B-900cc	73-75
KZ900A4/A5	76-77
KZ900B1 LTD	1976
KZ1000A1/A2	77-78
KZ1000A3/A3A/A4 MKII	79-80
KZ1000B1/B2/B3/B4 LTD	77-80
KZ1000C1/C1A/C2/C3/C4 Police	78-81
KZ1000D1 Z1R	1978
KZ1000D3 Z1R	1980
KZ1000E1/E2 Shaft ST	79-80
KZ1000G1 LTD Classic	1980
KZ1000J1/J2/J3	81-83
KZ1000K1/K2 LTD	81-82
KZ1000M1/M2 CSR	81-82
KZ1000P1-P21 Police	82-02
KZ1000P24 Police	2005
KZ1000R1/R2 Replica	82-83
KZ1100A1/A2/A3 Shaft	81-83
KZ1100B1/B2 GPz	81-82
KZ1100D1/D2 Spectre	82-83
KZ1100L1 LTD	1983
ZN1100B1/B2 LTD	84-85
KZ1300A1/A2/A3/A4	79-82
KZ1300B2 Touring	1980
ZN1300A1-A6 Voyager	83-87

KAWASAKI DUAL SPORT & OFFROAD
Model
KL600A1/B1/B2 KLR600	84-86
KL650A1-A19 KLR650	87-05
KL650A6F KLR650	2006
KL650B2/B3 Tengai KLR650	90-91
KLX650A1/A2/A3/D1 Offroad	93-96
KLX650C1/C2/C3/C4 Dual Sport	93-96

 

YAMAHA STREET
Model	Year
XS400J/K Maxim	82-83
XS400RJ/RK Seca	82-83
XJ550H/J/K Maxim	81-83
XJ550RH/RJ/RK Seca	81-83
FJ600L/LC/N/NC	84-85
FZ600S/SC/T/TC/U/UC	86-88
YX600S/SC-A/AC Radian	86-90
XJ650G/H/J/K Maxim	80-83
XJ650LH Midnight Maxim	1981
XJ650RJ Seca	1982
XJ650LJ/LK Seca Turbo	82-83
XJ700N/NC/S/SC Maxim	85-86
XJ750J/K Maxim	82-83
XJ750MK Midnight Maxim	1983
XJ750RH/RJ/RK Seca	81-83
XS750D/2D/E/F	77-79
XS750SE/SF Special	78-79
XS850G/H	80-81
XS850LG/LG Midnight Special	80-81
XS850SG/SH Special	80-81
XJ900RK Seca	1982
XJ1100J Maxim	1982
XS1100E/F/G/H	78-81
XS1100LG/LH Midnight Special	80-81
XS1100SF/SG/SH Special	79-81

Q: What are the valve clearance spec's for the Voyager 1300?  My bike is hard to start and I read that this was a possible issue.

A: The original specifications for the CLEARANCES on the valves are from .05mm - .15mm for the intake valves, and from .15mm to .25mm for the exhaust - (that is .002 to .006 inches for the intake and .006 to .010 for the exhaust).  Chances are that if you have driven the bike long with the clearances to low, you have already burnt some of the valves to the point where adjusting them will not fix the problem, and you will need to do a valve job.

I always set my valves to the looser end of the range.  For the valves that give a .002 to .006, I try to set them about .005-.006.  For the valves that should be from .006 to .010, I try to set them about .009 to .010.  The valves wear to a tighter setting.  With a shim and bucket with an overhead cam, the only thing that will wear is the valve face and the seat.  These 2 items make the valves tighter.  I could always go in at say 3k and make an adjustment someplace.  Would it be better than it was?  Probably not.  But by my opinion, it was needed so that I could keep you coming back for another needed adjustment.  With .004 range between min and max there is always someplace I could change something but not really necessary.  These valves are really forgiving.  I guess it is good to at least have a good starting point but then just leave them alone.  If you do have to remove any shims, make sure that that valve is not over a piston that is on top.  By pushing the bucket down (and valve) to remove the shim, if the piston is TDC (top dead center) then there is a chance you could damage (bend) a valve.  Larry C.

Q:  Has anyone done the valve seals without pulling the head?  Can it be done, is it fun?  How about a good source for valve seals?  I have the old smoking on start up after sitting for a while and figure it's mostly stiff, brittle valve seals letting the oil run down the valve stems.  Gary G.

A:  Well Gary, I have done it.  It is not real fun.  But it is not real fun to take the head off either.  Remove the cams, tie the cam chain up so it does not come off the bottom sprocket.  Remove the lifter cups.  Remove the spark plugs.  Put a spark plug adapter into the spark plug hole on the cylinder you are working on.  Apply air pressure to the adapter.  This holds the valves up.  Then tap on the side of the valve spring retainer to break it loose from the keeper.  Rig up a valve spring compressor and push that valve spring down from the keeper.  Remove the keepers. let the valve spring up.  Remove the valve spring.  Remove the old seal.  Place the new seal onto the valve making sure you do not damage the seal.  Then replace all the spring and keeper.  Go to the next valve and do the same.  I believe the inner 2 cylinders may be the hardest due to lack of room.  Remember the head gasket is $100 so you can save a bunch of money here.  Also the seals are much easier than complete removal of the head.  Word of caution here, MAKE SURE THE CAMS ARE IN TIME BEFORE TIGHTENING THE CAM BEARING CAPS.  Not sure of good source of seals though they do come with a Kawasaki overhaul gasket set which was around $360 last I priced it.  Larry C.

A:  Seal part # 92049-016 shows fitment for these Kawasaki models:

KZ 900 - A4 - 1976
Z1 - A / B - 1973 thru 1975
KZ 900 - B1 / Limited - 1976
KZ 1000 - A1 / A2 / A3 / A4 - 1977 thru 1980
KZ 1000 - B1 / B2 / B3 / B4 - 1977 thru 1980
KZ 1000 - C1 / C2 / C3 / C4 - 1978 thru 1981
KZ 1000 - E1 / E2 - 1979 thru 1980
KZ 1000 - P1 / P2 / P3 / P4 / P5 / P6 / P7 - 1982 thru 1988
KZ 1000 - D3 - 1980
KZ 1000 - G1 - 1980
KZ 1300 / ZN1300 models (12 seals are needed)

david@kz1300.com

Q:  Anyone know of a source for new valve shims?

A:  Z-1 Enterprises had valve shims for $5.28 as of 3/09, and fast shipping.  Richard S.

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Clutch

Q: Has anyone adapted a hydraulic clutch to their 1300?

A: I have done a hydraulic clutch conversion on my 1300 by replacing the plate that normally covers the actuator arm (where the cable attaches to), with a flat plate.  Then I bored a hole through it to accept the slave piston from a ZX10.  Throwing away the gimpy actuator arm (which has a tendency to break at the most inopportune moment - Harlem for me), the slave now presses directly on the clutch pushrod.  Works lovely.  No cable to break, or arm to pull apart.   Check the tech articles.  paul@kz1300.com

Q:  Dave, I'm keen to try the hydraulic clutch conversion I've seen on your website.  I have mocked up a cover plate, and have the ZX11 slave location mounted.  Just not sure of what has to be done on the existing twisting 'cam' motion system to accommodate the hydraulic unit?  Dale S.

A:  If you remove the cam mechanism you will see that the cam motion is just a device to convert the motion from the pulling of the clutch cable through a 90 degree angle to a 'push' movement on the clutch push rod.  That push rod goes through the motor to the other side and releases the clutch discs to disengage the clutch.  My recollection was that I simply made a threaded tube to go onto the shaft that ultimately pushes on the clutch push rod on one end, and the back of the slave push rod on the other.  The threading gave me fine adjustment, and once I had the length adjusted just right, I never had to touch it again.  paul@kz1300.com

Q: Where can I get an aftermarket clutch or heavier clutch springs for my 1300 Voyager?  The clutch seems much weaker than the KZ models.  George S.

A:  Kawasaki took some plates out of the clutch on the 1300 Voyager models to make the right side of the engine a little narrower.  Add that to the fact that the bikes are much heavier than the older KZ models and you can understand why slipping clutches are fairly common on the 1300 model Voyagers.  Barnett sells a carbon fiber replacement clutch which may be of some help although they don't list heavy duty springs.  As I understand they use to make part# MT-56 which was a heavy duty spring for the 1300, but they probably dropped it from lack of interest.  I don't think you'd need it except on the Voyager as the KZ models seemed pretty bulletproof as is. Vesrah shows their replacement clutch as being a cork material and I assume the original Kawasaki is too.  A link to Barnett is on the links page and ebay is always a good place to watch for these items. 

A:  Just a tip for all you 1300 riders out there.  My clutch had been slipping a bit since I bought the bike (an '84) about 3 years ago.  At first, I had to do a high-speed power shift to get it to slip, then less and less power was needed to induce slippage.  Finally, one day on the way to work, I only twisted the throttle to pass a car and the clutch slipped without disengaging it with the handle!

Went to my local dealer to see if the fiber discs could still be ordered, and SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE.  He had a bunch of them in stock!  Seems that they are the same ones used in the Vulcan 1500.  The springs are also the same, only the quantities are different for the respective bikes.  If memory serves (and it seldom does, any more), the Vulcan uses 5 disks and 10 springs. The Voyager 1300 uses 9 disks and 5 springs.  Prices weren't too bad, either.  About $12 each for the disks, $7 each for the springs, $10 for the gasket.

One thing the dealer neglected to mention was that these are the new, improved disks with the Viagra inserts.  Now I can get the front end of the bike up when leaving the stoplight!  Yes, old habits die hard, and the kid in me REFUSES to grow up!  Steve W.

Q:  I just picked up a 1300 that has been sitting for years.  I got it started and running good but the clutch just won't disengage.  What's the best way to solve this problem?  George S.

A:  I buy 1300's and many times they've been sitting for 10 years or more so I run into this problem a lot.  After you've changed the oil and filter and took care of the cam chain tensioner issue and you're ready to ride, just get the bike started and moving, hold the clutch in and give it gas suddenly, back off the throttle in the same way all the while holding the clutch lever in.  After a few times of back and forth on and off the throttle it I've always found they will break loose.

Getting the bike moving to begin with is usually the big issue, so there's a couple of ways you can do that, depends on what you feel comfortable with being that it's a big bike and easy to drop.  You can put the bike on the center-stand, start it, hold the clutch in, put it in first gear if you can get it in gear, get on, give it a little gas, pop it off the center-stand and off you go.  That's exciting, but usually you'll just stall the motor though most of the time the shock will break the clutch loose right at that point and you don't need to go farther.

The other way is to get out on the road, put it in 1st gear and start it and take off, pull the clutch and do the on off throttle rock till it breaks loose.  To start it in gear on a Voyager you have to bypass the neutral switch.  Look at your wiring diagram, I think you jumper it, then it will start in gear.  This is the way I usually do it.  Those wires come out on the left and up over the radiator surge tank down by your left foot.  The other item that's there that gets bypassed a lot is the kickstand switch.  Those all come up together along with the left side alternator wires and starter cable.  Since I pull the alternator wires apart and solder them as I mention on this FAQ page, it's no big deal working with the kickstand switch or the neutral switch if I have the clutch problem.

You'll find this same sticking clutch problems on all the 1300's whether it's a Voyager or an older KZ1300.  Don't really know why, but the bigger issue on the Voyager is actually clutch slippage problems.  They changed the clutch on the Voyager and took a few plates out so they could put a smaller clutch cover on I suppose to give more foot room on the right side.  So they added more weight to the bike but put a smaller clutch in it..., go figure.  I've never had to actually replace the clutch plates except on one bike and I think that was because they rode the bike with the clutch slipping on it and smoked the clutch.  The easy way to deal with the slippage problem is to install heavier clutch springs.  I detail all of that stuff on this site and I even have an article on swapping the larger KZ clutch into the Voyager if you're so inclined.

Clutch slippage can also be caused by using the wrong oil in your bike so be sure you get the right stuff here.  I use Amsoil and I know a number of others do but you can get by with Belray or some other motorcycle oil synthetic or otherwise.  Your choice of oil I think is the single most important decision when it comes to engine longevity though.  I pay twice as much for Amsoil as I did for Belray but I also ride twice as long between oil changes and I get the benefit of what I consider to be the better oil.  It's a no-brainer if you want to ride your bike for 100 - 200k miles before rebuilding the engine like some guys have.  david@kz1300.com

A:  I took your info and it worked great.  I was not wild about trying to control this heavy machine while it was moving so I got into first and burped the engine a few times and used the rear brake.  Third try and it is working great.  I did not take it off the center stand.  George S.

Q:  I am in dire need of a clutch cable for an 84' ZN1300.  Ma Kaw no longer has them.  Does anybody know where a person can get a clutch cable for the "Beast"?   Dale K.

A:  PartsUnlimited makes a kit that enables the user to make all manner of cables.  Since almost all motorcycle shops use PartsUnlimited as their major supplier, you should be able to order a kit and "make your own".  Colin C.

A:  Barnett.com and MotionPro.com (both motorcycle cable companies).  I know that on the Barnett site, there is where you can kind of create your custom cable on line.  I am sure that Motion Pro can create a custom cable for you also if they don't already have it.  Mike J.

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Cooling

Q: Are there any quick fixes I can try to get my bike to stop overheating?

A: Burp the system after any removal of the cap or hoses.  This is outlined in the service manual but mainly consists of getting the bike hot enough to pop the cap and let off the excess water into the overflow tank, then get the fan on and cool it down.  The system seems to run hotter until you go through this process.

There's an easier way to bleed the air out of the system.  What I've done is to buy & install a lever type radiator cap of the right size & pressure (16lbs as I recall); after you get it to the normal operating temp, turn it off, wait a minute or so & then reach down & pull the lever slightly until a little water goes into the overflow tank.  Be sure to have the bike on the CENTERSTAND at least, or better yet, lean it to the right some, but not to the left!  david@kz1300.com

A:  Well, I gave it the summer to make sure of my conclusion about the thermostat and its effect to the engine temperature.  Remember that my 1980 B2 model did not have a T-stat nor the spring that holds it in place.  I put both items in and placed a ZN1300 switch in the system.  Without the T-stat, the bike overheated all the time, even with the manual fan switch (added to the bike) in the "on" position.  Now, you might not know that we have some hot summers here in La, CA. 

July and Aug are always in the 100s and it starts getting hot about 7 am in the morning.  With the T-stat missing, I could not ride the bike because it would overheat.  With the T-stat in, I have no problem with overheating.  Now, I also changed the fan switch from the KZ model to the ZN model.  The KZ model fan switch must have a larger cut-in to cut-out range than the ZN model fan switch.  I notice that the ZN fan switch starts the fan at the "P" on the temp gauge, but it stops the fan earlier (at the "m") than the KZ fan switch (KZ model stops the fan at the "e").  Maybe that is for a more consistence temperature control or it may be just an engineer's way of keeping his job. 

To sum up the overheating problem, I would recommend that the T-stat and spring always be in the bike, for it may redirect the coolant to the radiator instead of the by-pass tube allowing the coolant to by-pass the radiator cooling fins.  When the old 60s and 70s cars use to overheat, people would just take the T-stat out to solve their summer overheating problems.  Apparently, the previous owner must have tried to solve the overheating problem by removing the T-stat and spring.  This mod does not work on the KZ1300.   Joe B.

A:  As of 11/05 there are various members working to get a custom radiator made so maybe this will be offered soon on the Custom Parts Page.  There's a tech article on the Muzzy fan install so you can consider doing that mod to push more air through the radiator and hopefully with these 2 mod's we can solve the problem.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  What is the best antifreeze?  Has anyone used ICE?  Garry F.

A:  I tried several before I discovered Evans Waterless Coolant NPG+.  Very pricey at about $26 a gallon.  And you have to fill it, drain it, discard and fill a second time.  I think they now offer a sort of engine flush that I think was unavailable at the time (2005) I made the change.  Boiling point 370 degrees.  My mechanic (mentioned earlier) poured some in a pan, put a propane torch to it, and tried to get it to boil and was well over 300 degrees with no boil when he stopped.

I put a mechanical water temp gauge on the beast and put the probe in the drain opening of the stock radiator.  The aux radiator has the drain for the cooling system.  And it gets plenty warm so I know the coolant is going thru it.  Even though my gauge has never topped 250 degrees, the stock gauge still hits the warning light.  I had heard about the the nut on the thermostat and I think that is one of the 1300 tips in the fine manual put together by Charlotte Ash.  I have not tried it myself and have not talked with anyone who has.

I think Larry Colin put a Griffin radiator on his beast and I believe it worked for him.  I think I recall he spent around $400.  I've toyed with the idea of doing the same or checking for a local dealer.  Technology has improved and since we've already done most of the hard work of moving horns and making the space available.  And it certainly seems like the stock water pump has the capacity to move a couple quarts more than the stock 3.7 quarts.

Duane Ash has the ICE in his XII and is quite happy with it, although the XII doesn't have the cooling challenges of the beast.  I am unaware of anyone who has put it in the beast.  Brian K.

---

Starter

Q: Where can I find a cheap starter?

A:  Junk yards are an invaluable source for parts. 78-79 twin cam 750cc Honda bolts on but an 83' and up KZ1100, GPZ1100, KZ1000 police and a few others have a 4-pole starter which also bolts on to our 1300 and spins the motor faster/better than the original.  Our original starter is a 2 pole.  The starter doesn't have to come from a Kawasaki as Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda can interchange depending on the model.  I'm guessing, but probably the 1300 Voyager starters may be 4 pole.   david@kz1300.com

A:  Here is something I found on the web relevant to 4 pole starters on a Yamaha Venture -

The increased torque in the 4 brush (or 4 pole) starter is due to the fact that each segment of the armature is being used every 90 degrees of starter rotation, as opposed to every 180 degrees with the 2 brush starter. 

To cure the hot start problems with the 2 pole starter ---

1) Take the starter apart and make sure that the shunts (the leads to the brushes) haven't burnt off. When you try to start the bike hot and it won't crank over, the leads would probably get red hot, and could burn apart.  This would decrease starter torque (one of mine did burn in two).  While you have it apart, check the bearings also.

2) Make certain you have a good, fully charged battery.  Putting a battery on a trickle charger occasionally helps equalize all the cells, and optimize it's condition.

3) Install 4 gauge ground and solenoid to starter cables.  This lowers the resistance in the starter circuit, which will increase the starters peak torque.  This helps it get over the hurdle of getting the motor to turn over from a dead stop.  Then when the starter is turning over freely, it draws a lot less current, and creates a lot less heat.  It works harder for a split second, and then finds it a lot easier to continue it's job.

4) In hot weather use higher octane fuel.  My bike can usually get by on 87 octane, but in hot weather it's borderline.  The reason this helps is the (Yamaha Venture) motor has a relatively high compression ratio and it's 4 valve head with center spark plug create fast combustion.  That means that the fuel charge will burn properly before pre-detonation can start.  When we are starting the bike, this doesn't quite happen, so higher octane fuel helps considerably.

Q:  My 79' KZ1300 starter clutch is slipping or not engaging sometimes.  Can I fix this issue or do I have to replace the starter clutch?

A:  The following is referencing a Honda starter but ours is made the same and has the same problems:

The starting system of the V-4s consists of a starter and a one way starter clutch.  The starter clutch is a geared assembly which is connected directly to the crankshaft by a gear mounted on the clutch. The starter clutch is always connected to both the starter and the clutch gear, and its one way operation prevents engagement when the engine is running.  Numerous Magna and Sabre owners have experienced a difficulty with the starter clutch.  It first starts as a 'slipping' or grinding every once and a while, then it happens more often, and eventually it leads to failure. 

This is a classic (chronic) problem with the Magnas and Sabres, and it has happened to me twice. The problem originates in the one-way starter clutch.  This one way operation is controlled by three little 'flattened' balls (stubby cylinders, really), which are pressed against the round starter clutch surface with springs and contact 'brushes.'  What happens is that the springs are about the quality of ballpoint pen springs, and after a while lose their resiliency.  This causes a lessening of the pressure on the 'balls' and clutch, which causes it to slip.  Once it starts slipping, it scores the inside surface of the gear assembly, forcing replacement of the gear as well as the brushes, balls and springs.  If it is only slipping once and a while, you can assume that it hasn't done too much damage yet.  Replacing those crappy springs will probably cure it.  You can order the springs separately from a dealer, but that will only solve the problem for a short while.  Better springs are the answer.  The springs are a little bigger than those you would find in a pen, and about the same quality.  The springs are about 11/64" diameter and when at 'rest' are .825" long. 

Now, back to the Kawasaki design.  I've usually pulled the clutch and took some emory cloth to the slip ring surface where this clutch grabs and polished it up some.  Then I take the springs out and try to match up something at the hardware store just slightly stronger.  So far I've gotten by with this and never had to buy a clutch.  david@kz1300.com

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Timing

Q: The factory manual says to" insert the exhaust cam so that the bottom of the small dot lines up the best with the cam cover face. Does that mean if the bottom of your dot goes past the cam cover face even by a small amount that its not acceptable?? My dot is either right on the cam cover face or a couple thousandths below on one tooth or about 100 thousandths above the face on the next tooth up.  And if it doesn't really matter which would make it run the best??  If I have the Ex cam dot right on the line and I install the Inlet cam on the 17th tooth like the manual says then the inlet cam dots are about 100 thousandths above the face on the opposite side!!  I did check the cam chain for service length as by the book 128.9 max for twenty links and mine is only 121.2.  So I don't think that that is the problem but who knows??

A:  I admire your attention to detail.  I've never measured the timing mark positions that precisely. With that said, do NOT deviate from the 17 link spacing between the two cams.  The difference in alignment is probably due to variances in production when stamping the alignment dot onto the cam gear.  Double check that the crank is at TDC.  However, on the remote chance that the cams are, in fact, slightly off, set the intake cam even with the cover face.  Should the cams be off, this will cause the exhaust to close very slightly late.  This is more acceptable considering that the exhaust cam has .5mm less lift than the intake cam.  All things considered, the 100 thousands (.1 inch) would have a negligible, if even measurable, effect on valve timing either way.

Q:  I've read the manual; it talks about removal an installation, but not servicing the 79'-80' timing advancer mechanism.  It does caution you not to bust the plastic gear.  Re: servicing; what do you do?  Take it completely apart, oil it and put it back together.  Where does it get hung up?  Can you swap one in from a later bike; plug and play.  Would it make some kind of a difference if you did?

A:  You remove the advancer and lubricate the shaft the cam runs on with a light film of synthetic grease once in awhile.  Follow the instructions in the manual for how to get it off without breaking the nylon gear.

Q:  Don't the Voyager 1300's require a higher octane fuel than the KZ1300's?

A:  Somewhere, I think I've seen a fuel specification of 88 octane for the Voyager, but I've not been able to find it in the manuals.  I did, however, stumble across some interesting information that is relative.

Base manual lists compression on KZ as 9.9
Supplement lists compression on ZN as 9.3

Yet both engines have identical bore, stroke and displacement; 62x71 mm and 1286 mL.

The valve timing, however is entirely different on the two engines, indicating that the cam must be cut different, and the dwell (or duration, as the manual calls it) must account for the difference in compression.  That would indicate that the KZ should really need higher octane than the ZN.

Former owner who sold me my bike claimed that he had always run regular in it, but I very quickly noted pinging on regular and switched to mid-grade, and the extra rattle stopped.  Been using it ever since.  Have also found that turning off the 'cruise' button gives better performance and lower temps at high altitudes.   Ike K.

A:  I found it on page 53 of the Voyager Motorcycle Owner's Manual.  It gives the "Octane Rating Method" and the resulting "Minimum Rating."  The Antiknock Index method is, (RON + MON)/2 = 87 Minimum Rating.  Research Octane No, (RON) = 91 Minimum Rating.  It then says that the "Antiknock Index is an average of the Research Octane No.  (RON) and the Motor Octane No. (MON).  The Antiknock Index is posted on service station pumps in the U.S.A.  Research Octane No. is a commonly used term describing a gasoline's octane rating."

So that's what Mother KAW says.  In my case, I have found that my beast (when it is running properly) runs best and "cooler" on 91 octane.  Also as to mileage, when we were stuck with 55 MPH I got 42 to 44 MPG @ 60 MPH.  Now that we have 70 MPH speed limit, I run around 37 to 39 MPG @ 70 to 75 MPH. That is as close to actual MPH as I can come.  My bike indicates 64/65 at an actual 60.   Al M.

Q:  What are the differences in the cams (exhaust or intake) between the KZ motors and the ZN motors?  I understand the cams are different, but why?  John D.

A:  I'm sure most of you know the ZN camshafts are different than those used on the KZ 1300.  I did a little research into the differences in the camshafts and power characteristics of the two bikes.  The two engines look nearly identical on the outside, and while I'm sure the KZ could be swapped for the ZN, the power characteristics would be quite different.  Considering the extra weight and increased frontal area of the ZN, I imagine a KZ engine swap into a ZN would be a disappointment.

One thing I haven't figured out is the difference in stated compression ratio, 9.9:1 for the KZ and 9.3:1 for the ZN.  I believe one time I checked and the part numbers for the cylinder heads, blocks and pistons were the same between the two engines, so there shouldn't any difference.

However, the camshafts are quite different between the two engines.  On the ZN, the intake valves open and close sooner  The exhaust valves open later and close sooner than on the KZ.  There is a considerable difference in the camshafts for the duration of overlap, 50 degrees for the KZ and 10 degrees for the ZN.  Overlap is the period of time when both the intake and exhaust valves are open at the same time.  Without going into extreme detail, let me just say that the old physical law about an object in motion wanting to stay in motion applies to the intake and exhaust charge.

At high rpms, a long duration overlap is good for building power.  The exhaust gas rushing out of the cylinder has a tendency to pull the intake charge into the cylinder.  Once the intake charge is traveling at a high speed, it continues to travel into the cylinder even after the piston is starting to move upward.  You wouldn't think this should happen, but it does so because the moving intake keeps 
going like a freight train after the brakes have been applied, and the inertia keeps stuffing more into the cylinder.

At low rpms, the intake charge doesn't have as much velocity and without inertia forcing it down into the cylinder, some gets pushed out the exhaust valve, reducing low rpm power.  In comparison, short duration overlap increases low-end power because the slower moving intake charge doesn't have time to escape out the exhaust.  All other things being equal, short duration cams usually give better fuel mileage as well. 

As far as power output goes, the KZ is rated 120 hp @ 8,000 rpm while the ZN is rated 117 hp @ 7,500 rpm.  At 7,500 rpm, the KZ makes about 118 hp, not really that much difference.  However, the altered camshaft grind makes itself very apparent at 6,000 rpm, where the high rpm oriented camshaft in the KZ makes 97 hp and the ZN 109 hp.  According to the factory dyno chart, the KZ produces 54 hp @ 4,000 rpm and 38 hp @ 3,000 rpm. 

I don't have a dyno chart for the ZN, but with some interpolation and a lot of head scratching, I estimate the ZN produces in the neighborhood of 65 hp @ 4,000 rpm and 45 hp @ 3000.  On the flip side, the ZN cam isn't very good at making high rpm horsepower because at 8,500 rpm, I estimate it is 10-12 hp down from the KZ.  In terms a farm boy like myself can understand, suffice to say the KZ motor is like a spirited racehorse that excels at the track while the ZN is a hard working plow horse that can pull out stumps.

According to my research, the overseas ZG 1300 model (made at the same time as the Voyager but not sold in the USA), was the more like the standard KZ engine except with fuel injection and a camshaft with a very slightly different grind.  It produced 130 hp @ 8,000 rpm.  After making the necessary torque and hp calculations, it seems the ZG's 7,000 rpm and below power output is nearly the same as the KZ and the extra 10 hp are gained between 7,000 & 8,000 rpm.  That's the range where the KZ power starts to level off while the ZG continues its climb.

I would suspect the hp gain from the fuel injection application isn't the injection itself, but rather the result of less restrictive throttle bodies, surge tank, air filter or such.  Fuel injection by itself won't change horsepower: an engine doesn't really care how its fuel and air are mixed together just as long as it's in the correct proportions.  At 7,500+ rpm, the less restrictive fuel injection system doesn't do the ZN a bit of good because it's the cam profile that limits power production.  John

A:  Quite correct John, adding fuel injection doesn't add power.  What it does do is control the fuel mixture more accurately than a carb can ever do, so emissions & fuel economy are improved. I have a ZG1300 & have ridden a KZ1300.  The KZ seemed to have slightly better mid-range.  So it seems they added 10 hp at the expense of some mid-range for the ZG, due to the longer duration of 
the cam timing.  Remember the horsepower figures are quoted at the crankshaft, deduct approx. 20% for figures at the back wheel due to losses in the transmission.  Phil S.

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Performance

Q: I need to rebore my 1300.  What piston options do I have?

A: In my experience, OEM is best.  There simply are not that many companies that can match the manufacturers specs.  Unfortunately, we 1300 owners only have one oversize available.  And for good reason - there is simply not enough material left in the cylinder sleeves to safely bore it any bigger.  I suspect if we all could have been on the 1300 design team between 73 and 78, we would find that the 1300 was almost certainly designed as a 1000.  There is no easy way in other words to safely make it any bigger.  The bottoms of the cylinders after boring are barely 2.5 mm thick!  I have heard of people in Germany boring it out another 200cc but this is certainly courting disaster.  I think what would be need there is a real honest examination of just how many miles one gets out of that type of modification.  

I have been looking into the possibility of having a set of aluminum sleeves turned and having them Nikasilled.  My problem to date has been finding a piston ring.  If I am successful, I have bins of good std. pistons that will keep my endurance machine going for years to come.  For those of you who are already on your oversize, L.A. Sleeve  does have a listing for our machines.  When you go to have it bored, make sure to check out the people who are to do your boring.  If they do not intend on using a bore gauge and are not going to fit each piston to an individual cylinder, walk away.  Quickly.  You only get one shot at this before you have to re-sleeve.  

And when you get it back together, use good oil and change it like its a religion.  The long stroke and small bore conspire on the 1300 to give a high piston speed and Big K found out how to make a good ring, unfortunately at the expense of the cylinders.  I use only Mobil 1, because it is a full synthetic whose performance is legendary.  Also, I can buy it at any Wal-Mart in North America.  Very handy when on a high speed trek across the country.  paul@kz1300.com

A:  Ross Custom  Forged  Pistons makes a big bore piston  set for  the  KZ1300.  They are  made  from  T-61 aluminum.  Ross Forged  Pistons  are  made  with  highest  quality  and  design and give a compression  ratio  of  10.0.  The  bore  size  is  2.638 inches.  The  displacement  or CC  would  be  1470.  You  can  order  the  rings  from  Ross  and  the  part # is XC67 with a  cost  of  $116.76  for  all  6  pistons.  Call  Ross  at  310.536.0100.  You  should also get the matching head  gasket, made  from Cometic high  performance  gasket company at 440.354.0777, part #  is HO456059F.  These  parts  together cost  over  $800.00

rosspistons.com

ROSS Racing Pistons, 625 S. Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA  90245
ORDER LINE | 800-392-7677 TECH LINE | 310-536-0100 FAX LINE | 310-536-0333  david@kz1300.com

Q:   I just found your web site.  I have owned my KZ-1300 A1 (#004747) since new.  I bought it when I was stationed in Hawaii in the late 70s.  Since than I have found most of the problems which I have read about on your web site.  One problem which I have not been able to find on the web site is one concerning milling chips in the main oil passage at the bottom of the engine.  This problem burned up a crank shaft and the #5&6 rods (or was it the 1&2, it is the side at the far end of the passage away from the plug).  I removed a hand full of large finger nail clipping sized milling chips
from the last 4-6 inches of the passage.  

The problem originally manifested itself when I heard the engine knocking in the lower end.  After I found the main beatings fried on the last two cylinders, the lower ends of the two rods dark blue and stretched out from the heat, and also the journals on the crank totally scored about .05”.  Just by chance, when I had the entire engine apart and decided to pressure wash it, I squirted water in the lower oil passage and low-and-behold no water was coming from the last two oil ports to the crank.  With a stretched out coat hanger I poked and removed a large hand full of shavings enough to fill about a 3oz bottle.  This all happened when the engine had about 12,000 miles on it.  Now I have just under 40k on the bike but have not ridden it in about 6 years.  I decided to once again totally disassemble the bike and rebuild it from the ground up.

Here is my question; since the bike uses the same pistons as the 79' KZ-650, would it be feasible to boar the liners out to the next size of 64mm?  Has anyone out there done this before?  This would add over 100cc to the displacement and go to a compression of 10.25:1.  Do you think that the liners are thick enough to withstand the removal of ONE millimeter?  I would like to know what you think of this idea.  Otto K.

A:  Hello Otto.  Take a look the the thickness of the cylinder at the base, (where it projects into the cases), and tell me if you think it is safe to to remove a millimeter?  I did once ponder that very thing, but knew well enough that the resulting thinness of the cylinders at the bases would almost certainly result in disaster from even the slightest amount of harmonic vibration.  There was some arrogant jerk in Germany who claims to have bored them out a lot more, but I would not try it.  As for your milling chips, I am pretty sure what you likely found was remains of your crank and rod bearings.  I have seen that before unfortunately.

Best Regards,
Paul Bezilla
Patron Saint to all 1300's  paul@kz1300.com

Q:  Hi David, Thanks a Million for the great web site /club.  The information and advice has helped me a great deal in putting my 80 KZ1300 back on the road after 12 years in storage.  I have fitted Nology coils, modified the cam chain tensioner and added a fuel filter it runs great!  One problem I encountered when re-commissioning was that it would not turn over very fast when the starter button was pushed.  I thought it was a seizure or it had to much compression.  After exhaustive trouble shooting, I found that one of the field coils on the starter had a broken solder joint, this was easily repaired and after hours of carb cleaning it ran like a gem.

Now I've got about 6000 miles on it since re-commissioning, total 40K, oil consumption is about 1 liter per 1000 miles driven hard/fast on highways every day, compression is good 160 psi.  Is this oil consumption high?  One other point, at 3900 rpm to 4200 rpm engine vibration makes it hard to see in the mirrors and of course you can feel it too, all other rpm's, its turbine smooth.  Is this normal?  I've had the bike 17 years but can't remember this vibration and of course this rev range is legal highway speed in Denmark 110 kmh.  Once again thanks for all the help.  Best regards Alister B.

A:  79' and 80' engines typically had a problem with the bore where it was slightly out of round and that caused high oil consumption.  When the bikes were new and under warranty Kawasaki would re-bore the motor for you and put in 1st oversize pistons and rings.  By 1981 it seems they fixed this issue.  Better to just ride it and ignore this unless you want to spend a lot of money re-boring the motor. 

You might try changing to a synthetic 'motorcycle' oil and see what happens.  We use Amsoil a lot over here with good results and typically though synthetic oil costs maybe twice as much, we're able to change oil half as often, so the end result is we're spending the same amount of money in the long run but getting the benefit of having synthetic oil.   There's a lot of discussion about synthetic oil on this page.

The vibration issue seems to be kind of common.  My bike does the same thing at about 4300 - 4800 which is just the RPM where I need to use it the most.  If I run 5000 RPM I'm speeding but this is what I've been doing.  If cylinder compression is not close to the same across all 6 cylinders this could easily cause this problem but I don't see a compression problem on any of the bikes I've had the vibration problem with.  Others have complained about the exact same thing.  Vibration is at the RPM they typically want to run and we've checked a lot of different things and don't have a conclusive answer on a fix.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Today I checked for any intake leaks around the carb to head boots by spraying ether around them very liberally so as to make sure enough ran around to the bottom sides.  Not a single hit from the motor when I cranked it over.  So either I've eliminated the possibility of an intake leak, causing the motor to rev way up, or it's not creating enough vacuum to suck anything into the combustion chamber.  Correct?  I'm clueless.  I consider myself to be a pretty competent mechanic and methodical thinker when it comes to problems like this, but I'm at the end of my wits.  

My next step I suppose will be to check the compression on all cylinders. Will this tell me if the motor is creating enough vacuum to pull fuel from the float bowls?  I just don't get it.  I started it and it ran several times after I completed the wiring harness, it would just rev way up sporadically.  Now, after modifying the carb boot clamps, NOTHING!!!!!  Anyway, here's where I'm at:

1) Installed Dyna 2000 ignition and timed per instructions.
2) Installed Nology coils with Accel wires for the time being.
3) Completely remade wiring harness, deleting everything I didn't feel absolutely necessary.
4) Installed manual cam chain tensioner.
5) Cleaned carburetors twice, THOROUGHLY!  Only turned pilot air screws out from light seat to 1 1/4 turns as???? opposed to the 1 3/4 turns per the manual.
6) Cut exhaust off in front of collectors.  Open 6 pipes remain.

NOTE: Upon completion of these items, the bike started and ran several times, but would rev up after a few seconds at idle and would not come back down.  The only thing I've changed since then:

1) Modified the carb boot clamps by drilling out stock nut and "unthreaded spacer" to accept a 5mm hex head bolt and nut for better tightening.  Things I've checked since not running:

1) Fuel is making it to the float bowls.
2) There is fire at the plugs.
3) NO sign of "life" while cranking motor over and spraying ether around all carb boots.
4) Battery is fully charged.
5) Spark plugs are dry compared to when it was running, they were very dark and wet.

If it weren't for the money I've spent on good parts, i.e. ignition, coils, hotwires (not installed yet), CCT, time spent making the wiring harness, and the confidence I have that this will make a really nice road trip bike for my wife and I, compared to my Z1, I'd have gotten rid of it a long time ago and cursed it every stinking day since it's departure from my premises.  I refuse to give up, though.  It's uniqueness and rarity are unequalled by any of today's touring bikes and the willingness and dedication of such knowledgeable friends such as you and David keep my hope alive that someday my wife and I will just decide to take off for the weekend or longer with no notice to anyone other than the distinct scream of six pipes kickin' on down the highway to nowhere.

Thank you for all your help so far.  By the way, I decided to supply the 12V to my ignition module through the tail light circuit.  I wanted to protect it from frying the best way I could so I chose this circuit for it's 2 amp fuse.  I also decided to add an additional in-line fuse of 2 amps immediately before the module, but had to bump it up to 10 amp because it apparently draws more than that.  Gary M.

A:  Well , unfortunately, you have done many things at once making it difficult to zero in on any number of things that may be wrong.  It could be the timing changing back and forth.  I am not a huge fan on making expensive ignition modifications as gains made after replacing the stock coils with 2.5 ohm coils are negligible.  However, I think you should start at the carbs.  Remove the upper half of the air-box and start the engine.  Using a small mirror, look into the carb bodies and rev it up and down to see if the carb slides are rising and lowering in unison.  If not you may have a torn diaphragm in the top if the carb OR have not got the diaphragm seated properly on reassembly.  

On the other hand, unless you completely disassembled the carbs properly and soaked them in carb cleaner for a day or so, they may yet be dirty.  Also, did you remove the float valve seats and check the condition of the O rings that seal them to the carb bodies?  It is common for them to be shrunken or broken and leaking fuel past the needle and seat, causing flooding.  And the Carbs will have to synched to idle properly.  Check these things first.
Best Regards,
Paul Bezilla
Patron Saint to all 1300's

Q:  After a compression check that turned up readings from 115 psi to 136 psi, I know, 7 more psi difference than specified allowable by the manual, I decided to clean the carbs.  I got a little dirt or some kind of crap out of them.  I think it came from a decaying UNI air filter I bought off of ebay some time ago and bits of it fell into the bottom of the air box.  I shined a flashlight down inside and saw it.  I vacuumed the rest out and began on the carbs.  After reassembly, lo and behold the motor breathed it's first fire in nearly two weeks of head scratching and hair pulling.  

I think I'll take it and get the carbs synched while it's running.  It's still revving up after idling for a few seconds. When I did the compression test, the motor of course was cold and very possibly had no oil in the rings to aid in sealing.  I plan on doing another test when it's running good enough to warm it up and follow the procedure in the manual, but what is your opinion of my first readings?

I went with the Dyna ignition because the stock igniter box and pickups were toast and for reliability reasons.  I've used Dyna systems on a few of my other bikes and have never had a problem.  The bad part is, these are obsolete from Dyna.  They don't even have any spare parts for them. An interesting note: my buddy that I mentioned is a mechanic for a Yamaha dealership here in St. Joseph, MO, and he used to have a 1300 (not sure the year).  He and his brother bought it to thrash at the local dragstrip.  The igniter box and pickups went South on it, and he swears that he used the same components from one of the old Yamaha triple streetbikes.  Remember those?  Not sure what years or size, but they fired every 120 degrees same as our bikes.  Maybe this will work on our bikes.  Gary M.

A:  A compression check is a good starting point just to see where you're at.  These readings should improve after the valves have been adjusted and the bike has a few hundred miles on it.  Valve adjustment is most important as the intake valves wear tight and then you start loosing compression through the intake valves.  No point in synching the carbs until you've done the valves and put at least 100 miles or more on the motor because if the compression comes up, and it usually will, then it will throw off your carb synch and you'll have to do it all over again.

The synchronization of the carbs are in direct relation to how much compression each cylinder has or how much vacuum it pulls.  Either way you look at it they go hand in hand.  I usually run a motor 300 miles before I synchronize the carbs if it's been sitting more than a season.  If the bike was on the road in the last year then I usually set the valves and just go ride for about an hour and go ahead and synch them.  If you've got low compression after the valves are adjusted and it's been ridden for awhile then it's leaking by the valves, the rings or possibly an out of round cylinder. 

There was a certain number of these bikes in 79' and 80' that had a problem with out of round cylinder bores from the factory that lead to increased oil consumption.  Seems like they got a handle on the problem on the 81' and newer bikes, but there still might be a few low mileage bikes out there with this problem that never made it back in for service and had the problem corrected under warranty.    david@kz1300.com

A:  You can start the motor and run it around the block if you want to just test it, but if you don't know how long it's been since a valve adjustment I wouldn't put any real miles on it till you do one.  But now you have your baseline figures and you'll know if your readings come up after adjustment and after 200 miles or so of riding.  I'd adjust the valves, then before you reinstall the plugs it only takes a few minutes to check compression again, so I'd do it a second time.

See if any cylinders came up on compression immediately after adjustment.  If so, that tells you that you had valves leaking compression because they were adjusted too tight.  I've seen intake valves so tight they were holding the intake valve open all the time by .002"!!!  That's burnt valve time!  Intakes are usually the ones that wear tight (clearances drop as they wear some).  Exhaust don't go out of adjustment as fast.

Put 200 or so miles on the bike, pull the plugs and check compression again.  You'd like to see 150+ psi on all cylinders.  155 - 160 psi is like new.  If compression came up more this 3rd time since you checked compression the second time, just after adjustment, then what this is telling you is that the valves that were too tight have re-seated some and are sealing better now, or the rings have re-seated some and are sealing better against the cylinder walls.

When a bike has not been run for a year or more it's pretty common for the rings to maybe not seal very well until it runs a few miles.  I've brought motors back to life that have sat for 10 years or more and you could actually feel when they started sealing better by how the bike ran, and the fact that the oil consumption starts dropping.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Adjusting the valves was one of the very first things I did to the bike when I originally purchased it, because I was having problems with it then.  So I believe they're fine.  I'm still confident there are no intake leaks so is it continuing to rev up due to the carbs being out of synch?  It's 2 degrees outside right now so I don't believe I'll be putting any miles on it as you suggested, as much as I'd love to, though.  Is there anything else you can think of that may be causing it to do this?  I didn't mess with the adjustment of the cable pulley on the carbs.  As far as I know, it's at the factory setting.  The balance tubes (3), I put back together and screwed the bolts in until very lightly seated against their pivoting ball studs so I don't think the butterflies are open at all.  Gary M.

A:  I'm guessing there's a problem in the carb's themselves, but what exactly is the question?  If the throttle cables were adjusted too tight there could be an issue, but this is easy to see that's there's some slack in the cables and feel for the correct adjustment that there's no residual tension pulling on the throttle when you return to the throttle off position.  The carbs being out of synch could cause it to rev up but they're usually not that far out of balance though they could be.  I would guess more likely that there's a vacuum leak or air port blocked.  I don't know the carb's quite well enough to know just where to point you, but Paul might.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I think I have the original/stock CCT gear.  My engine has about 18,000 miles or so on it.  So if I read your CCT pages carefully, it looks like I should go the APE manual CCT route PROVIDING I have the bike faithfully adjusted (valves and cam chain tension).  Rodger B.

A:  Well I also stated - 

"Paul thinks it's OK to use the ZX11 tensioner (meaning even low mileage ones), I'm still using a ZX11 unit on my bike (and it still has the original gear at 35k)..."

I added the note about the original CCT gears because they seem to be inferior to the replacement gears.  I don't want to recommend a mod without covering the good and the bad so I leave it for you to decide which way to go.  I just call it as I see it.  Personally I'm still using the ZX11 units on all bikes because it's the easiest way to go and I don't worry about it.  You can see the condition of the CCT gear when you have the valve cover off which brings us to the next question. 

Q:  Has anyone considerd using KZ 1000-1100 intake valves?  They're the same length with the same stem diameter and the only difference is the head is 1mm wider than the 1300 valve.  1mm is approximately .040", which isn't really all that much.  I have a 1000 head and if new 1300 valves are too expensive, I'm considering using the 1000 valves.  Since the intake valves are not stellite coated, they can be ground.  The usual problem with grinding a valve face is that the outer circumference of the valve takes on a sharp edge as opposed to the normal square shoulder.  (Square shoulders are needed to keep the sharp edge from getting too hot.)  The extra 1 mm would allow the edge to be ground square again, turning a 36mm valve into properly shaped 35mm valve. 

As long as clearance between the outer edge of the valve and the top of the cylinder sleeve is adequate, using the 36 mm valve uncut might compensate for a mushroomed valve seat.  Using the three angle seat per Kawasaki's specs lets you cut the seat without increasing the diameter of the port, but it does let the valve sink lower and deeper into the head.  This reduces the clearance between the shim and cam lobe and shims come no thinner than 200mm.  You can grind the top of the valve stem off a little bit to gain clearance, but you certainly don't want to over do it lest the bucket dislodge the keepers, turning the valve loose in the cylinder with the same results as a laying hen in a lion cage.  If the larger diameter valve could be used in stock dimensions, the valve seat could be cut in a wider radius, keeping the valve higher and increasing the clearance between the cam and shim.

A:  As far as I have heard, there are no new intake or exhaust valves available from Kawasaki for the KZ1300 or ZN1300, neither of which interchange by the way.  There are places on the web that will sell you any part for a 1300.  Problem is, they can't actually get hardly any of those parts they'll sell you.  I cover that issue on my entry page.

There have been some people that have had valves custom made, and a few companies have discussed making them, but I don't know of anyone for sure that has valves in stock as of 11/09.  If I hear of it I'll add them to my links page.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Also...I notice you mentioned the valves and need to religiously adjust them.  I had mine done about a 1000 miles ago.  What is your take on recommended interval?   Rodger B.

A:  When they adjusted the valves did they check the condition of the CCT gear?  If not, you can infer the general condition of the gear by counting the # of clicks when you install the ZX11 unit as I state on the CCT page.  So here's a second reason I just go ahead and use these ZX11 tensioners because I can use it as a reference point to determine gear wear.  If you don't know the history of how the valves have been adjusted, I suggest after you adjust them the first time to check it after 5000 - 7000 miles. 

After that you can probably get by with checking valve adjustment every 10,000 to 15,000 miles.  I do it that way because usually the first time I set the valves I find that they're way out of adjustment and after 5000 - 7000 miles one or maybe 2 intake valves will be too tight and tight intake valves are bad news.  But after that they probably go longer between adjustments.  Technically you should go by what the manual says but the biggest problem I find is people just don't adjust their valves on these bikes.  It's something you can do in a day if you can turn a wrench so there's really no excuse but I've seen it time and again that guys run these motors till the valves are burnt.  I did do a tech article on it - 
http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/zn1300-valve-adjustment.html   david@kz1300.com

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Gaskets

Q: A malfunctioning air injection system damaged the valves in my 1980 kz1300.  A local speed shop was able to refurbish the valves and seats, but I believe they improperly clamped the head down and slightly bent the head on the #1 cyl. side.  Now I have a slight coolant leak, even when the bike is cold.  Can this damage be repaired?

A:  I doubt that the head is necessarily bent.  The more likely culprit is an aftermarket gasket set.  I have tried these only twice and neither I nor anyone I know of has EVER gotten away without a leak. I have done a lot of engine work on these, (including possibly the worlds first shim under bucket 1300 head) and would never again risk using anything but OEM stuff.  It is simply not made as well.  I am almost certain you will discover your 'speed shop' does not use Kawasaki gaskets due to cost.  

I also would never trust an automotive shop to cut the seats correctly for a motorcycle.  They always make the valve margin way too wide, resulting in poor valve seating and/or burnt valves.  The correct margin is only a scant 1 mm.  I usually see car shops make them as wide 4mm - way too wide!  But OK for a big block Chevy.  I cannot emphasize enough the importance of finding a shop that knows how to service MOTORCYCLES!  They are infinitely more complex than cars and most North American automotive engineering practice simply has never been comparable to the tolerances the Japanese require to make their engines the models of efficiency and durability they are renowned for. Also, I myself, would never re-use a head gasket under any condition.   paul@kz1300.com

Here is a reply from Vesrah that one member received in reply to the difference between their gasket and Kawasaki's:
: Thank you very much for your e-mail concerning technical question of head gasket.
: We know that Kawasaki original head gasket has silicon treatment around head gasket.
: This silicon treatment is patent to make strong sealing between upper and lower parts of engine.
: We can't copy this silicon patent.
: Now, new material was developed to make more strong sealing.
: Vesrah is using this new material instead of silicon treatment.
: If you prefer to silicon treatment like original, please use original gasket.
: If you are acceptable new material for cylinder head gasket, please use Vesrah gasket set.
: Thank you very much for your question about our gasket.

Q:  Hi, I'm rebuilding a 79 kz1300 and in the gasket kit there are 18 large o-rings that are shown to go at the base of the cylinder, although it is not clear to me how (there are six of one size and 12 of another, slightly different).  I'm confused, can you clear this up?  I've looked in the manual and cannot find any reference to these rings.  Thanks, Kevin

A:  Hello Kevin, Two things.  DO NOT USE THAT AFTERMARKET HEAD GASKET!  It will leak.  In my opinion no manufacturer except Kawasaki makes one that does not.  I can tell you are about to use one as only an aftermarket manufacturer supplies you with those O-rings.  What they are supposed to be for is to seal the cylinders to the block if you were to press out the liners.  The problem is they are not the correct thickness and will not seal the cylinder properly.  Don't be cheap as this engine will not tolerate ham fisted service.  And read my articles in the FAQ about rings, cylinders and oil consumption.   paul@kz1300.com

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Chassis

Forks

Q: We were doing simple fork maintenance the other day, and apparently stripped out the drain screw.  What's underneath it in the bottom of the slider?  Do we have enough clearance to drill the thing out?  We tried an extractor, but the old screw seems to be set in pretty hard.

A:  This is a type of question I get a lot, and there are 2 ways to go about it.  There is a device in the special tool section of your Kawasaki service manual that looks like a 4 sided wedge.  This is the procedure if you are disassembling the fork to replace a seal for example.  At this point, I have to assume that the fork has been safely removed from the triple tree and before that the appropriate precautions have been taken to secure the machine from underneath the engine so that it does not come toppling forward.

One thing more; if you are just wanting to replace the oil in the fork, you simply remove Phillips head machine screw just ahead of the axle.  The oil can be simply pumped out by bouncing up and down on the front end with the brakes applied.  The oil will come spurting out the hole, so you may want to secure some kind of container over the hole to catch it.

Now back to the removal of the bolt on the bottom of the fork leg.  This bolt is not a drain.  It is a retaining bolt for the dampening mechanism.  It also holds the fork tube into the fork leg.  So if you want to disassemble the fork tube, you would be wise to crack the nut on the top of the fork tube loose before you loosen the triple tree to remove the fork assembly.  This is the simplest way as it can be very difficult to hold the tube safely without damaging it.  

A word of caution here - the cap on top of the fork tube is under a lot of pressure as it is partially compressing the fork spring. Be careful to hang onto it when removing it!  Also, point it away from your face as oil charged with the spring pressure MAY come flying out!  Dump out any oil that may be still in the fork assembly.  Now at this point you may want to employ a device like the one mentioned in the special tools section to slide down inside the tube and engage the damper.  It is the damper that the bolt on the bottom of the fork is threaded into. 

You press the tool into the damper rod while turning the bolt out on the bottom and if you are lucky enough to get a good bite the bolt will come out.  The easiest way though is an impact gun.  I am usually able to clamp the fork assembly in a vice and pull back on the tube while spinning the bolt out with the impact gun.  Works very well.  When reassembling, remember there is a copper sealing washer between the bolt and the fork leg.  If you are planning to use the impact gun or even a ratchet or allen key, you are going to have push down on the damper from inside to hold it steady.  At any rate, you'll need to remove the damper to have enough clearance to drill out a stripped drain screw.  Be sure to remove all the metal shavings real good when you're done.  AU

Q:  What size is the end of the tool that fits in the fork damper inside the fork?

A:  The nut size to remove the lower tube on the front forks is 7/8" which is the head size of most 5/8" bolts.  So you buy a 5/8" bolt and weld it to a piece of solid rod which needs to be about 2 foot long with a right angle bend in the end so you can grip it.   david@kz1300.com

A:  As a side note to this post, I always use an anti-seize compound on ANY bolt I thread into aluminum including the spark plug threads.  It's a little messy to use, but if you've ever had a spark plug seize on you where you stripped the threads in the head getting it out, you'll use anti-seize from then on.  A super penetrating oil should be available at your auto parts that can help on problems like these sometimes.  Be sure and give it plenty of time to soak in and do it's job before you try to break the bolts loose.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  Is there another way to install the steering bearing cups without the factory tools?

A:  The answer is yes, you can replace the cups without special tools if you're careful.  Insert an appropriate drift through the steering tube so that it will reach the back of the bearing cup.  Drive the old cups out by gently tapping the drift.  Do it carefully and work around the edge so that you don't get them too misaligned as they come out, otherwise you could damage the inside of the steering head.  Tap the new ones in in a similar manner with a soft drift (brass is good) until they're fully seated all the way round.  Be careful to tap them ONLY on the outer edge - not on the concave bearing surface.  You'll know when they're seated by the sound they make when you tap them.  I have a tech article on this.

When you assemble the triple clamps, you should be able to tell if everything's seated as you tighten the center nut down onto the bearings.  The nut will come to a reasonably sudden stop.  Give it a little extra tweak to make sure all of the bearings are seated, then back it off until the steering moves freely, but is not loose enough to have any clunky radial movement.

If you want to use heat to assist with installing the cups, put the bearings in the freezer, and GENTLY warm up the steering head on the frame with a gas torch.  They shouldn't be that hard to insert at room temperature though.  Gentle and even tapping with a hammer should do it.  If you don't like the idea of tapping the new bearings with a hammer, you can make up a press from a couple of steel plates and a center bolt long enough to go through the steering head.  AU

A:  I usually use the old races to drive in the new ones by grinding the outside of one of the races down to the point that it will slip back in the steering head loose enough that I can pull it back out by hand or with just a slight tap.  Slide the new race in and put the old one up to it and tap it on in.  Works perfectly with no worry of touching the bearing surface.   david@kz1300.com

Bearing part numbers are: Bottom bearing is 320 / 06x also 92KA1 Timken - Top bearing 320 /28X Consolidated Precision Bearings.  I believe these are universal numbers but the set I have happens to be those brands.  I bought them at the local bearing house.  My vague recollection is about $35 for the pair with shipping.  I find that the bottom bearing is usually a rusty mess; the design lets water into the steering stem but not out.  Gary G.

Q:  Anyone got any comments about aftermarket fork seals?  I need to put some seals in and I had poor luck with aftermarket seals on a Suzuki.  Good performance from a brand?  Gary G

A:  We really like the parts unlimited brand, we hate the leak-proof seals brand.  Just my 2 cents.   Colin C.

Q:  I notice on your ZG1300 you run at the track, you don't use a front fork brace.  Any good reason not to mount one of these on your bike?   david@kz1300.com

A:  Concerning the front fork brace.  Yes, I have a reason not to put one on.  When you drive a motorbike with this weight, and you stop very late like I try to do, you need to have a distortion between the two arms of the fork to absorb the force braking.  With this distortion, the front wheel remains straight and you keep control of your trajectory.

If you put a front fork brace on, you move the effect of distortion after steering column, and the rear of the motorbike begins to move too much, because front is too rigid.  The effect of 300 kg moving right and left very quickly, it's not a very good feeling as you can loose control!  That's my own experience.  For handling, there is other ways than to use a front fork brace.   Patrick B.

 

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Shocks / Suspension

Q:  How can I lower my bike to allow short people to ride with me?

A:  I can tell you that the easiest way to drop the seat height would to install Progressive Suspension's air shocks.  Air shocks for a 1978-1979 Goldwing are a perfect fit.  You can buy a pair from J. C. Whitney.  After changing the shocks, you can drop the forks by loosing the tube clamps and then lowering the forks.

A:  Personally, lowering the bike seems like a really bad idea as it scrapes pretty bad in the corners even at the stock height.  If you lower it, that could make for a bike that's just plain dangerous in the corners.  A lot of people find out after they've bought these bikes, that the seat height is just too high for them.  The bike is best suited for someone that's at least 6' tall.  But the fact that the bike is good for tall people and especially guys 200 - 400lbs for example, that's why a lot of people like it.  

If you're a 300lb guy and you want to buy an older model bike that's powerful enough to still be fast even with 300lbs sitting on it, what are you going to buy?  You've heard of the 'Big and Tall' store, we'll we have the bike suited for the Big and Tall guy, and there's not a whole lot of older bikes like ours that can claim that distinction.  It is what it is.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Are there any other shocks from other make or model bikes that will fit the KZ1300?

A:  Progressive Suspension makes 2 different air shocks for the KZ.  One for single up riders with a standard spring and another with a heavier spring for touring riders that will be carrying 2 passengers and luggage.  I have a tech article on installing the Progressive Suspension shocks and another page that shows some Bitubo Rear Shocks that I assume are still available.  The Voyager shocks are different from the KZ shocks.  david@kz1300.com

A:  I replaced the original shocks on my 79' with 4 way adjustable shocks from a Kawasaki Mean Streak, they fit and work beautifully!   Mark J.

A:  Recently I saw an 81' KZ1300 with Kawasaki ZRX 1200 shocks on it and they looked pretty good.  From looking at the pictures they look like they fit right on our bikes.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  I see you sell the Tarozzi front fork brace to fit the KZ1300 bikes.  What can I expect to change or improve with the handling that makes it worth buying one of these for my KZ?  My bike seems to handle just fine right now.  Joe F.

A:  Well, here's a comment that was sent in by a member that bought one:

Went riding Saturday around Hood Canal (Washington peninsula) with 4 Harley riders.  The first 1/2 hour of twisties I found I was diving too early into the corners, and the steering was more responsive to input.  After a little re-mapping of the riding technique, I feel the bike "sticks" a lot better in the corners, and nearly no response to irregularities in the road.  Easier to pick/hold a line, no dancing around at all.  Prior to installing the brace, I thought the rear bearings were out of adjustment, the way it wallowed a little in corners.  Second to the cam chain tensioner, I think it's the most cost effective improvement to the beast.  Dale S.

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Tires

Q: What’s the best tire to use on the 1300?

A:  A lot of people ask me what kind of tires I run on my bike and are often surprised by the answer. I run pure touring tires, and with good reason.  Traction is not an issue on a 670 pound plus motorcycle.  This is not to say that I have not tried a lot of different tires, or have watched others burn off a set of very expensive "V" rated rubber thinking they were getting some traction advantage. I have a friend who bought a case lot of Continental "Blitz" tires for his 1300.  He got maybe a 1000 miles out of a set.  Period.  Meaning any little trip he took, he generally had to take a set of tires with him.  And he still could not get through a set of twisties faster than me. 

I have tried Metzeler ME88's and these are not bad, but wear badly (major scalloping).  I have had the best success with Dunlop 491's.  I also dropped down to a 100/90 on the front. A gain for good reason: the front rim is actually too narrow for a 110/90.  I had a very good conversation with both Metzeler and Dunlop on this topic and they agreed with me on this point.  We so often get in this mindset that bigger is better, especially when it comes to tire width.  Putting a bigger tire on a standard rim is not only dangerous, its stupid.  Put too wide a tire on a rim and you distort the profile, actually making the tire triangular.  This really makes the bike fall into corners and puts heavy wear on the center of the tire.  It actually slows the steering of the bike too as the bikes steering geometry was not configured for a wider tire. 

If you think this is not true, just check how steep the rake is on a modern sport bike is compared to a 1300.  I have been running 100/90 491's on the front for 5 years now, including scraping cases on Deals Gap and all the way back through the mountains of West Virginia.  It actually quickens the steering.  The next thing that people worry about is that most touring rubber carries an "H" speed rating and not the "V" rating the 1300 came with.  Again, don't worry.  An "H" rating in modern rubber is equivalent to a "V" rating of 20 years ago.  A modern "H" rating is good for a continuous 130mph and I can assure you all that I have frequently put them the test on my numerous long distance record attempts.  And they wear just fine.  So next time you need a set of tires, save some money and get some mileage and don't be afraid to put some Dunlop's on your bike.   paul@kz1300.com

A:  Depends on the roads you drive and how you drive them.  I personally like the Metzler ME880's, cause they work for me.  What ever brand you buy, get some that have hard sidewalls cause our bikes are a little on the heavy side.  There are a lot of shops on the internet that have real good prices but you have to be careful of date codes.  I buy mine at Cycle Gear, I'm lucky to have a store close.  They have great prices cause they buy nationally.  Most shops can't buy tires for what they sell them for.  B. C.

A:  I need to get a new front tire this winter, so I was doing a little research.  I came up with some eye opening information that us folks with gargantuan bikes need to be aware of.  First of all, when I weighed my bike, I found that unloaded, there's 400 pounds on the front tire (full tank of gas, no non-factory additions).  I'd planned on getting a Dunlop tire but found there are some real differences in the load rating between different series.  That got me to checking further and here's what I came up with.

Dunlop Elite 3 MR/90-18, 760 lbs (the tire they recommend for the Voyager 1300 and is virtually the same size as a 120/90-18) 
Dunlop 404 120/90-18, 639 lbs.
Metzler ME 880 120/90-18, 640 lbs.
Metzler LazerTec 120/90-18 570 lbs. (the tire they recommend for the Voyager)
Michelin Macadam 50 110/90-18, 570 lbs, (the tire they recommend, they don't make a 120/90)
Kenda Kruz 120/90/18, 345 lbs!

If you go cheap and buy a Kenda, the tire is already overloaded by 55 lbs before you crawl on.  With the LazerTec and Mcadam, you have 170 lbs cushion, 240 lbs wih the ME and 404 and 360 lbs with the Elite.

I'm estimating that around 35% of the rider's weight is going on the front wheel, so for a 175 lb guy, that's an additional 60 lbs of load, leaving a cushion of 110 lbs, 180 lbs and 300 lbs respectively.  It's going to take someone a lot smarter than me to calculate how much weight is transferred onto the front wheel under hard braking, but I think it's pretty obvious that it's likely to have the first two tires overloaded and maybe also the next two. 

My bike weighs 960 lbs (+ or - 10 lbs, the accuracy of the scales), so by the time you add an average sized guy, wife and gear, that could easily add another 345 lbs.  That's grossing over 1,300 lbs and I know I sure wouldn't feel comfortable having a front tire that's barely adequate to support an average load, let alone a big load under emergency conditions.

I know the published weight ratings are less than the actual weight they can support, but when the tire is a little low on air, it's load rating drops quickly.  In addition, if you're running at higher than legal speeds, the load rating on the side of the tire is no longer valid.  I know for a fact the Voyager can comfortably run 100 mph (and could do it all day long) with no wobbling or wallowing and the excellent fairing belies the actual speed, so a person could easily get into trouble, tire wise.  For me, it's pretty obvious the tire I'll be getting is the Elite.  BB

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Exhaust

Q:  What options of aftermarket exhaust do I have for the KZ?

A:  The only USA made exhaust is the DG 6 into 1 pipe.  It's also the cheapest, but there are much better quality units available.  Predator in the UK makes a stainless exhaust that looks a lot like the original system.  Pipemaster in Australia offers a 6 into 1, I think they have a 6 into 2, and they make a 6 into 6.  Bito in Japan makes a 6 into 1 out of titanium that's a beautiful pipe, but of course, it's also the most expensive one out there.  There are some other sets listed on the links page besides these.  I've been told the DG will also fit on a ZN1300 Voyager but I've never tried this install myself.  If so, then maybe some of these other pipes will fit the Voyager assuming the pipe out the back is low enough to clear the saddlebag.  Most sets are are upswept pipes, but if you look at the pictures, the DG isn't.  So I can see how it could possibly fit where others wouldn't.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  I hope you can help me.  Last fall I purchased a 84' ZN1300 that looks just like the one you have pictured as your first 84 voyager.  I really like the ride.  The exhaust has holes in the right muffler.  I was told by a cycle service center that the company has discontinued making the mufflers, and he does not know where else to turn.  Would you know where I could find my needle in the hay stack?  It's too loud to me and it takes away from the ride.  Chuck C.

A:  To my knowledge, no aftermarket exhaust was ever made specifically for the 1300 Voyager.  If you could get a new one from Kawasaki, it would probably cost more for a new exhaust than a whole bike is worth.  The original KZ exhaust won't bolt on a ZN because there's more difference in the KZ and ZN than meets the eye, but the down-pipes off the 2 engines are very similar.  Predator (on the links page) offers just a down-pipe set for those wanting to build their own exhaust system, and in their pictures, it looks just like the OEM.  But I think they only offer it in stainless, so it's fairly expensive.

The BSM down-pipes could be used to build an exhaust for your bike.  You could order the BSM down-pipes from the manufacturer if you wanted, but they only accepted wire transfers when I bought a set in 2007.  Allow 6-8 weeks from the time you order.  That's how long my order took to get here.  If you read my post above, it appears a DG should fit on a ZN, and that would be one option.  Maybe the BSM will fit as well, I don't know.   david@kz1300.com

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Gas Tank

Q:  How do you remove the surface rust from the inside of the gas tank ?

A:  POR-15 is the best product on the market bar none.  POR-15 is a high-tech, high performance coating that will stop rust permanently!  You'll see it on the links page.  david@kz1300.com

A:  The whole process was $250 and includes everything.  You will want to read up on the RENU process before you decide.  At this time I cannot give them a firm recommendation until I have had my tank filled with gas for awhile.  I can say that they have good reviews and my paint guy vouched for their work.  Here is their website to read up on the process.  They can also do the inside with the POR-15 product that you've heard about on the kz1300.com site.  You can ship your tank to them and they can ship it back to you.  Keep in mind their process will take all your paint off and you will get a tank back that is primered.   Vance S.

A:  One of my specialties is cleaning rusty tanks.  I can clean them right down to perfectly clean metal without damaging the paint, and it only costs a few bucks to do it.  You can read about my technique at this link.  Bill R.

A:  I use Moovit brand for anything rusted.  Nothing works better.  I work at cobbling together parts from older cars for projects and nothing breaks free a 20 yr rusted bolt better...except maybe the cutting torch.   Joe B.

Q:  My gas tank has 5 "connections", the fuel supply tap (on, off, reserve), the fuel return, tank breather and an "overflow" from the fuel level sensor assembly.  The fifth one has no hose connection and until the other day I was unaware of it.  It recently began leaking fuel - not constant but seems to happen a slow speed - both during acceleration and deceleration.  This connection is located about 6 inches behind the fuel supply and return taps on the left hand side of the bike.  Anyone know what this is supposed to be connected to?  Anyone willing to pop the tank on their 85-86 Voyager and tell me what they see?

A:  I think you'll see a picture of the connection you're talking about on page 6-5 in the service manual supplement, but it's not labeled.  However, if you notice what it says in the text below the picture, it says "Remove the fuel level sensor cover and breather hose...", however, in the picture it labels that hose as a drain hose, and that's all it is.  It's not the breather hose.  The breather hose is the connection you're referring to and on my bike it snakes down and terminates just below and in front of the swing-arm on the left side, while the "drain hose" ends at the same place on the other side.  My hose has what looks like a small inline fuel filter just a few inches from where it connects to the tank, only there's no filter inside as its real function is a one way valve.  

This tube runs through the tank and connects to the gas cap to vent gas tank vapor pressure.  However, I think the problem is that you're putting too much fuel in your tank and instead of vapor coming out, you're getting some fuel too.  On the older KZ's you have the same problem and I think Paul did respond to someone about this before but it didn't get on the FAQ page.  The older KZ's had the same one way valve running out the bottom but many times people have removed the valve and just put a new hose on without it.  The one way valve was meant to keep the tank from possibly sucking something back into the tank if it got a vacuum built up in the tank instead.  Like maybe sucking up some water during a heavy rain I guess. 

Maybe we could get by without the one way valve and just run a hose down like on the others, I don't see how it would hurt unless someone can suggest something else.  The moral of the story is put less gas in your tank.  You'd probably run into this on any bike though as they all do pretty much the same thing I'd guess.   david@kz1300.com

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Petcock

Q: How do I install a Pingel petcock?

A:  Check the Tech Articles for a how-to on the Pingel.

Q: Does anyone who has already replaced their petcock remember what the correct bolt spacing for the replacement is?  I've tried measuring with a piece of wire while it is still on the tank (I still have a month and 1/2 of cold New England riding left!) but don't have a high degree of confidence that it is correct.  My measurement came up with (about) 1 and 3/4 inches which converts to 44.45 mm.  Did I actually get it right and the correct measurement is 44 mm?  If so, is there a range (like 42-46 mm) that would work?  I would assume that the measurement needs to be pretty exact.  If anyone has any specific year and model recommendations that will work as a replacement, that would be great too.

A:  I went to my local "Motorcycle Junk Yard" and picked up a petcock from a late model Suzuki. While there, I looked over a large box of petcocks and was surprised to find that most of them had the same 44mm spacing.  It seems that almost all makes use the same bolt pattern.  If you don't have access to a junkyard let me know and I will see if I can find a petcock for you.  I paid $30.00 for mine. or you can try one from a 81' Kawasaki KZ750.  It is a vacuum type.

Q:  Given up on finding petcocks and gone with a Pingel with an adapter to fit the bike.  Part Numbers for the adapter plate?

A: THE CORRECT VALVE IS A 6211-AH Valve 3/8 NPT Hex = $70.95 as of 8/06.  ADAPTER A1702C (Adapter Plate 3/8 1.732/44mm) = $19.95.  YOU CAN USE A SS1P (Polished 1 In 1 Out) = $25.95 FUEL FILTER or the SS1C Filter (SS Chrome 1 In 1 Out) = $29.95.  ORDER TOLL FREE 1.888.474.6435.  Contact Pingel online   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Do you have any specific part #'s for a vacuum petcock that will bolt on?

A:  There are many vacuum petcocks that will replace the stock one.  A GS1000 vacuum petcock fits fine.  Gary G.

A:  I'm using a vacuum fuel petcock off a 2002 Kawasaki KZ1000P - Part #51023-1375.  No leaks, bolts right up, and easy to prime.  You can still get new units thru Kawasaki ($68.00) as Police 1000's were made until '03.  Never had a starvation problem with this petcock.   Dale S. 

Q:  I hear all this talk about vacuum petcocks but I've never had any issues with gas flow that I'm aware of.  Should I do this mod as a preventive measure anyway?  John D.

A:  The problem is that a 1300 sometimes will and sometimes will not vapor lock.  Riding in areas of the country with high temperatures, octane rating, tank shielding, radiator shroud and the solenoid valve that all of us typically remove are part of the problem.  So use a vacuum petcock from a late 70's Kawasaki 750.  Fits perfectly and no mod's.  For vacuum I took it off 2 cylinders to make sure it stays on when engine running.  This petcock has run, reserve and prime.  Then I run the fuel hose all the way across in front of the carbs.  Put a good fuel filter on at this area.  Then loop around the right side of the carbs and over the top and behind and into the little tool tray on top of the air filter.  Here is where I put the vacuum pulse fuel pump.  Then from the pump to the carbs.  

This way the fuel can never continue to run with the engine off and you will always pump some when the engine is running.  This pump does not produce any pressure only flow.  So you cannot vapor lock as the pump will always flow some fuel.  I took vacuum from only 1 cylinder to the pump.  I mounted the pump over the air filter.  Now to get the pump go to your local John Deere dealer and get this part number (1-AM109212).  This is the John Deere part number.  This is a high volume pulse fuel pump.  It is made by Mikuni.  This has a fuel in, fuel out and vacuum in.  

Now when you start it up with the carbs dry it will crank for a little as the carbs have no fuel and it takes some vacuum to pump.  After you once start the engine and the carbs have fuel it will always start unless you have some other problem.  We have run the tank as low as putting 5 gal in the tank pulling trailer 2 up running hard in Texas heat on 87 octane fuel and no vapor lock.  I noticed the vapor lock was more of a problem in higher heat and lower fuel level.  Higher octane did help some.  And of course running slower speed.  This pump by the way was only like $54 bucks.  If you use a sport fuel pump as some have done it produces too much pressure that does cause problems, but this vacuum pulse pump does not have a problem making too much pressure that can cause flooding issues.  Larry C.

A:  I've never used a vacuum petcock on a bike before, I've always used an aftermarket Pingel unit and I have a tech article on this site to show how to install it.  I use the Pingel because of the statements I made before about carb flooding causing hydraulic lock when you leave the bike on the side-stand.  With a Pingel you can shut the fuel off before you come to a stop and use up the fuel in your carbs, then you're not at risk for the hydraulic lock issue.  Even if you didn't experience hydraulic lock, if any gas at all gets in your cylinders after sitting on the side-stand it seeps down past the pistons and gets in your oil and dilutes your oil.

If you don't notice that this is happening you could potentially damage the bearings in the bottom end of your motor before the next oil change when you notice your oil is real thin and has a strong gas smell.  The Pingel just has a much smoother operation than the stock petcock and makes it easier for you to reach down and cut the gas off 1/4 mile or so before you kill the motor.  Then if you leave the bike on the side-stand for awhile there's no worry about gas getting into your cylinders.

The pulse pump idea on the other-hand sounds like it could be better than using an electric fuel pump in some aspects.  I've always been concerned about the electric fuel pump pushing too much fuel past the needle and seats or in general, causing the bike to consume more fuel than it should.  We do have members on occasion with vapor lock problems so installing an electric fuel pump or a pulse pump seems like a good idea if you have to have it.  The 3psi or so of pressure that an electric fuel pump puts out really shouldn't cause any problems, and in fact, should solve any vapor lock issues if you run into that problem with your bike.

To look at the differences between the two I'd say an electric fuel pump may be better for a bike that's rarely ridden as it may help more to get the carbs initially primed with fuel, where a bike that's ridden more an already starts OK might see more benefit from using the pulse pump.  I'm mainly thinking that an electric fuel pump would be more troublesome with weak needles, a stuck float or in general, pushing too much gas into the carbs and having an impact on gas mileage.  If you turn off the petcock as I noted above and starve the electric fuel pump repeatedly, I don't know that that will be a longevity issue with either pump.  I guess time will tell.   david@kz1300.com

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Radiator

Q: I understand some folks use automotive radiator caps on their bikes, any ideas to a part # or a PSI rating?

A: A 13 PSI Stant automotive lever type cap will work or you can get one without the lever.  Don't have the part # but you can take your old cap in and match it up.  I have a picture on the Tech Articles main page.   david@kz1300.com

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Fairing

Q: Several people have said the bracket on the boxy green fairing breaks under heavy loads.  I'd like to reinforce it before I have a problem.

A:  It usually goes at the base of the square tube close to the steering stem.  Even with reinforcement mine broke again.  The wall is so thin on the square tube that the heat from welding plus fatigue soon has it snapping above the reinforcement.  I cut out the tube and welded in a piece of 3/4" sch.160 (1/4" wall) pipe and reinforced the bracket where it connects to the steering stem by welding some thin pieces to the sides to give that a little more thickness and have had no problems in the last 80,000 or so miles since.

Q: I dropped my zn1300 and cracked the inside shell of my fairing.  Can the two shells be separated to repair from the back side and what is the best repair product?

A:  Mine was broken too so I took all the electronics and wiring out and got some pieces of sheet metal cut to act as reinforcement,  Then I epoxed the metal to the inside where it was busted up.  Mainly it was cracked all along the flat bottom part just above where the front fender would be & around the nose where the headlight fits.  I bought epoxy in about 1/2 pint cans that you mix together from the local hardware, went to a sheet metal shop that makes a/c ducting & had them cut some pieces that I bent to fit the contour of the bottom & up the sides of the inside of the fairing.  I mixed up plenty of epoxy & spread it all around & dropped the metal in & sat some bricks on it to keep it fitting tight till it sat up for a day.  Then I flipped it up on the nose & spread a bunch down in that area & let it sit for a day, & so on till I got all the cracks covered up.  Took about a month of work on & off just to accomplish the repair.  There's a lot of wires in there!  

I talk a little about it on last years rally page.  I had to make detailed notes of where everything went because the wiring fits pretty tight & even though the electrical plugs are all unique male/female ends, you have to fish them through to the right spot & have enough slack in them to get them plugged in.  I spent a few hours I'm sure routing & re-routing wiring so it would reach the proper spot & not cause some other wire to come up short.  You'll see what I mean when you strip it all out & have to put it back together.  It's not hard to pull apart, but it's a lot more work to get back together!  The radio is made in multiple units which have wires connecting all the pieces together which are numbered, but are still real easy to get confused on what fits where.  Pay close attention & keep good notes on each connection because it has "T" connections & a lot of cables that could hook up in different places that is very confusing without proper notes to remind you of how it came apart.  There's other ways of effecting a repair I'm sure, but this is cheap & a fix it yourself kind of way to get it going again for minimal expenditure.  After I was done I had a body shop do the exterior repairs in Bondo and had them re-paint it.  Now it looks like new.  I now have a Tech Article posted with pictures.  Good luck!  david@kz1300.com

A:  As I had 2 cracks going from under the gauge down and under the fairing and past the support plate/bolt area.  I cut and prepared a steel plate (recycled steel from computer tower cover) that would cover from the bracket for the lower fairing, towards the brace and past.  It is easier to remove the glove compartment and the gauge to work this area.  I drilled holes for the bracket bolts and one for the brace bolt.  One thing I did not do that some else suggested and I feel it's worth mentioning, I should have drilled the ends of the cracks to help stop the spread of the crack.  

I then got some Urethane they use for car windshields and the prep liquid (I have a friend who does windshields), borrowed the small amount I needed.  I treated the metal and plastic and applied a 1/8 coat of Urethane to the metal, raise the fairing, slid the plate in between the brace from the frame and fairing (have to lift fairing at this stage, and bolted it into plate). 24 hrs later, everything was very solid.  You can also treat and urethane the seam between the inside and outer fairing at this time to reinforce the plastic which is held by small rivets.  Hope this helps.  This gauge housing was cracked at the corners and I had the pieces, I took urethane and stuck them together, but an epoxy might work better for the hard plastic.  This breaking of the housing could be the indicator that your inner fairing is cracking and placed stress on the gauge housing.  Ken B.

A:  Harbor Freight sometimes sells their plastic welder (you need a source of air) item number, 41592-1VGA, for $29.99.  They also have a 50 piece plastic welding rod set for $3.99, item #41602-2VGA.  Mike W.

A:  Once you've committed to pulling off the fairing don't be in a hurry to put it back together.  There will be cracks in any used replacement one also.  Go ahead and fix them and remember "good as new" isn't good enough.  These fairings work better than any I have ever tried but they weren't designed stiff enough from the beginning.  I haven't weigh one when it was off but there is over 25 lbs. of gear and wiring inside it plus the fairing itself.  Kawasaki never addressed the problem although at one time there was a dealer who was making repair kits for a while.  By the time the weaknesses became apparent, the bikes were out of production anyway. 

Because of this, you need to lay in support so the end result is actually stronger than the original (this all assumes you plan to keep the bike).  There are a number of products and ways to approach this but almost always you will be working on the inside or underside of the fairing so, when you are done, some satin finish black paint makes your fix pretty much invisible.  I recess the cracks just a touch and chamfer the edges with a burr.  Then degrease everything.  I found that J B Weld holds surprisingly well on ABS.  Just be sure to use the Kwik Weld version.  It sets up fast and won't run. 

Clamp the fairing while you do the first couple of big cracks.  Because of the many angles you will end up applying some JB, letting it set up then positioning the fairing at a different angle and then working on another part.  After these first steps, I apply steel.  Steel strapping works well and is easy to work with and is WAY stronger than the fairing.  The steel is laid in with ABS cement from the hardware store.  It is black. (Be sure you don't use PVC cement).  Reinforce all previously cracked areas plus lay in a steel strip on both sides of where the fairing mounts to the main front frame extension whether it is cracked or not.  Then everything is overlaid with mesh.  You can use anything that is porous. 

There is a type of porous tape with large holes used for drywall that I like.  Use wide pieces of this and fill in the pores with the cement.  This will take a couple of coats to smooth out.  Your fairing is now stronger than it ever was but there is still more you can do.  I use steel re-bar about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick.  Take your time and bend it into roughly a horseshoe shape that will fit snuggly into the notch all the way around the inside bottom edge from left to front to right.  Glue it in solid with JB and it will strengthen the area near the electrical connections and the side mounts too.  Fill in completely all around the steel with something like hot glue to the point that no water can get in behind or under it.

When that's dry, coat it with the ABS cement also.  Your fairing is now twice as strong as original but there is still more flex to eliminate.  You can use steel straps from the front mounting bolts up to the thumb screw on the speaker mount on each side.  These will form a large steel "V" brace that will eliminate most all of the flex in the upper half of the fairing.  The steel speedometer frame ties the rest of the fairing together.

Now mask it off and grab the spray paint.  Rewire by reaching thru the headlight opening and fairing pocket/radio holes while looking thru the turn signal hole.  When you get it installed and wired, check the front forks at full lock each direction.  The closest points are the pinch bolts on the lower triple tree at 11 and 1 o'clock as you look down the forks.  When you get done it is the last time you'll ever have that fairing off.  In fact it is so rigid I think you could probably hoist the bike with it.  Nothing wiggles other than the designed rubber cushions on the three mounting points and on a rough railroad track the loudest thing you'll hear will be the cassette tape rattling.  It works as stated and works very well.  Bill P.

Q:  What type of material is the 1300 Voyager fairing made of?

A:  Both inner and outer plastics are ABS, even though they look un-alike.  Laurie D.

Q: How do I maintain my windshield without scratching it?

A:  Here's a few guidelines I go by:

1)  NEVER clean your windshield with gas pump squeegees- you'll end up with scratches in a bad way.
2)  Don't use Windex, or windshield washer fluid, or anything with alcohol or ammonia, as this will soften enough of the outside layer so that the paper towels will leave minute scratches, and after a while you'll see many little ones, and vision will blur.  I experienced the above within the 1st month, BUT luckily an old timer told me these tricks, my windshield was buffed back to no scratches, and very clear.
1a)  Use mixture of water and vinegar, spray windshield, let sit 10 minutes (I usually spray as soon as I stop, and let it sit while I'm stretching, getting coffee, eating, etc) {I carry a spray bottle in Right saddlebag}
2a)  Spray second time, if water hose available, hose off, re-spray, and wipe with soft cloth - by then the bugs, bees, and other flying critters should come off real easy without heavy wiping.
3a)  Left a scratch???  I use Meguire's Mirror glaze polish # 10, and buff out the scratch as per direction.
4a)  Went to local motorcycle shop that specializes in aftermarket from Motovan, etc, and get a can of their windshield spray cleaner/wax, and apply to your clear windshield as per instruction.  (if done before trip, bugs clean off real easy throughout trip)  Ken B.

A:  I use NuFinish car wax to clean my windshield without scratching it.  Some folks use Pledge.  I tried that and it was OK but I prefer NuFinish.  Also, if you use Pledge don't use the Lemon scented.  It seems to attract bees.  I found that annoying more than a couple of times.  Nufinish has a scratch remover.  I haven't tried it.  If you are unsure of a product remove the gold trim and try it there.  That way if it harms the windshield it won't be noticed.  I would leave it on for a while as the damage may not be immediately apparent.   Mike F.

Q:  I beg to ask a question of you based on your infinite experience with the 1300's in their various versions regarding touring systems fitted to them.  The 1300 I just bought had a full system on it, but I took it off to put the bike back to original state.  I thought this system was a Vetter, as advised by the previous owner.  I was searching your site for fuel pump articles, but started looking at the fairing parts for sale.  I noticed the fairing listed as a Gran Touring is the same as mine.  It even has the Kawasaki label in the same place.  Did this fairing come as or with a complete system?  Was it a Kawasaki part and would Gran Touring be the make of the whole system?  I ask because I wish to sell my system to purchase the missing rear indicators, headlamp ears and headlight shell.  Regards, Mark G

A:  I think Kawasaki had the GT made by Califia specifically for Kawasaki, but it was considered a Kawasaki part.  You won't see this particular fairing anywhere else that I'm aware of.  For rear bags, many different styles were fitted, but the Vetter system was the most common from that period. There were no GT style bags in other words, that were made to go with the GT fairing.

Fairings don't generally sell real well, because most people pull them off as you are thinking of doing, and they're very costly to ship any way you cut it.  Usually shipping is twice the cost of what the fairing and bags will sell for.  They really have to want them.  david@kz1300.com

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Dash

Q:  I have broken fresh air ducts (or nozzles) on my Voyager.  Does anyone know what I can replace them with?

A:  They are an exact match with the 1989 Isuzu Trooper dash air conditioning nozzles.

Q:   I am in the process of replacing the cover on the tach/speedo unit due to an unfortunate accident in the garage on my 80' KZ1300.  I noticed how frail and cracked the speedometer needles are looking, is there a way to strengthen them before one of them cracks off?   Jason G.

A:   I don't know about strengthening them but they do break after a certain age and when people have to replace them they usually pull the part off that fits on the shaft, carefully grind off the old needle and glue a new needle on and put it back together.  Getting that little collar off and back on without damaging anything and with the needle pointed in the right direction is something you have to do very carefully to get it right.

Also, most big cities have a speedometer shop.  They calibrate speedos for different police cars & gov & private vehicles.  They can usually find a replacement or you can search the web and find them the same way.  You'll usually have to glue the new ones to the collar, but a few guys have done this successfully with super glue.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I would like to add the CB feature on my bike as it only has the radio unit at present.  How hard is this to changeover if I can get the parts off another bike?  There is a cruise control button on this bike, but it does not appear to have an operational cruise control system installed.  Did this year and model have a working factory electronic cruise control that was available from the factory as a purchasable option by chance?  If so, where can I find one to install on my bike?  Jeff

A:  You need to realize this stock CB radio that came on these bikes is 20 year old technology now and was junk compared to what you can buy today.  Most people pull the cassette player and mount a unit in that spot and that's what I would recommend.  It would of take a lot more work to install this on your bike than you can imagine even if you had all the parts from another bike.

There may be some kind of aftermarket cruise control made for a motorcycle, I don't know.  The button you're looking at is what you might call a 'lean burn' control.  When you're in 5th gear if you hit the button it will lean out the mixture slightly for better gas mileage on the highway.  Some of the 85' - 88' 1300 Voyagers did in fact come with a regular cruise control like on a car, but here again, even if you had the whole bike sitting there with the parts to change to your bike once you see what's involved you'd probably find it was easier just to put your motor in that bike and ride it instead! david@kz1300.com

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Tranny

Q: Is it normal for my KZ1300 1982 that I can not put it in second gear, when the engine is off?

A: Just a reminder!  From 80 or 81 models there are a blocking device for second gear if the output shaft is not running!!!  In other words you are not supposed to get in to second gear with the engine off unless you kill the engine while still running and the output shaft still turning!  This is called by Kawasaki as an "neutral finder" and works superb as you when you stopped you don't have to "find" neutral.... you just lift the pedal one time from first gear and can't get into anything but neutral.

Q: Under heavy acceleration the bikes jumps out of 4th and 5th gear - any ideas?

A:  The problem you have is that the "teeth" on the side of the gears are damaged.  How they got damaged I don't know but this is bad :(

Q:  I am replacing the oil in my rear wheel differential.  I believe should be EP80, but can anyone tell me how much I should actually put in the final drive unit?  This has the obvious filler hole at the top and a drain hole at the bottom, but no level marks in-between.

A:  I always put enough in until it shows at the top of the thread were the cap screws in.

Q:  My 84 Voyager has a feature that only allows me to shift into 1st and neutral when stopped.  But sometimes, when I'm accelerating from a stop, I can't get the bike to shift into second.  I have to kick it up 2-3 times or more to get it to "catch".  Sometimes it'll slip out of 2nd if I hit a bump (back into neutral).  No other gears give me problems.  I assume it has something to do with that "neutral lock" feature.

A:  No, this is not a problem on these models.  In fact this bike has one of the most bulletproof bottom ends there ever was.  The more likely culprit is a bent shift fork caused by abusive shifting or a crash where the shifter was bent back from a slide.  You could try removing the cover the clutch cable is housed in to see if there is any obvious damage there.  If not the problem lies deeper inside.  You may need a new gasket if you are not careful removing the cover.   paul@kz1300.com

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Modifications

Q:  With regards to the gas tank modification, what petcock do you use that will line up with the stock bolt pattern?  For the oil cooler, where does it attach?  Would you recommend using a fan behind it?

A:  Well lets start with the petcock as it is the easy one.  You can use any vacuum petcock from a Kawasaki street bike from about 77 to somewhere in the mid eighties.  The simplest way to identify it will be with the rubber O ring in your hand to compare the mounting bolt spacing.  Kawasaki used a slightly narrower spacing in the late eighties.  I have written about this in the FAQ's somewhere.  

Now the oil cooler is a little more problematic.  The problem here is that the oil gallery that feeds the engine is about 12 mm in diameter and it is very hard to find an oil cooler on the market that can handle that kind of flow.  So the best kind of hook up we can do is what's known as a bypass hookup.  This means we divert a bit of the flow from this gallery and cool it.  We have to be careful not to divert too much so that our oil cooler begins to restrict the original requirements of the engine.  We will only be able to cool some of the oil some of the time.  If you look at the front of the engine, you will see a small pipe that bends 90 degrees from the from of the oil pan to the main oil gallery.  To the left of that gallery there is a plug. Here is one of the attachment points.  Remove the plug and drill out the center for a 1/4" pipe plug which is likely the largest size of oil cooler you will find.  Use whatever type of fitting you like, but be aware that oil pressure can get up to 80 PSI when really cold, so hoses and clamps are out of the question.  We are talking manufactured hoses only with broached fittings.  You will have to go to a hydraulics supply place for this stuff.  

Now go back to that 90 degree pipe and follow it to the back of the oil pan and you will find the second attachment point.  Remove this plug and re-place it with the appropriate pipe fitting for your second oil line.  Now if you have gotten this far and were to fire it up you would likely find that the oil cooler never really gets warm and this is because the oil is taking the path of least resistance and going through the 12 mm elbow instead of the convoluted passages of your oil cooler.  We will have to restrict the flow through this elbow somewhat to get some of the oil to flow through your cooler.  

The best way that I have found is to remove the elbow (by undoing the allen bolt on the underside of the oil gallery where it attaches).  Then place a washer with an opening no smaller than the difference between the smallest opening on your oil cooler setup (including lines, fittings and everything) and the original 12 mm gallery opening that the elbow flows into, between the elbow and the oil pan.  Slide the elbow back into the oil pan and re- attach the allen bolt to the bottom of the engine.  You are ready to go.  

One word of caution.  You are doing this at your own risk!  I have been using this setup now for 4 years with no ill effects, but I cannot possibly be sure of the quality of your workmanship.  Retaining oil flow to the rest of the engine is critical as this engine needs a lot of oil to keep healthy.  Do not attempt this installation if you are not certain of any aspect of it or do not understand the relationship between the main oil gallery and diverted flow through the oil cooler.   paul@kz1300.com

Q:  Can anyone tell me what is the standard tire size (F & R) for a 1979 Z1300 and what are the WIDEST tires you can fit safely to the wheels?

A: Tire size
Front 110/90V-18 4PR (U) MN90-18
Rear 130/90V-17 6PR (U) MT90-17

I went with a 140/80 rear and that leaves me with about 1/2 inch clearance between tire and swing-arm on the right hand side, and I put a 100/90 on the front. I wouldn't recommend anything wider than a 140/80 although I did do the math and on paper a 150/70 should fit with enough clearance. You can't go any wider than that without widening the rim and modifying the swing-arm and then it becomes cost prohibitive.

A:  I'm in the U.K. & converted my ZG1300 (European version of the Z1300 with fuel injection) to take a 180 section tire over last winter.  A guy called George Deget in Germany welded a 180 rim to the 1300 spokes & went up from 17 to 18" rim diameter to take into account the lower profile of modern rubber & keep the same rolling circumference.  He also made the wheel with a 20mm offset to clear the swing-arm on the right.  Kosman in California can do the same job.  I was going to get the standard swing-arm converted but a 2nd-hand one-off JMC braced alloy swing-arm came up for sale at the same time so I used that, although it still needed modification for tire clearance.  On the standard swing-arm if you're going for a 170 section tire all you need to do is grind the weld seam flush on the right hand side & then re-weld it for structural integrity.  A 180 entails cutting a scallop from the 'arm & then welding in a gusset, again to retain structural integrity.  180 is the absolute limit before you've got major surgery; offsetting the drive-shaft with extra bearings etc.  Chain drive is similar in that you've got to somehow turn the drive through 90 degrees, which I guess would involve an extra bevel box of some kind.  Phil S.

Q:  I need to replace my motor in an 87' ZG1300 and these bikes are fuel injected.  From looking at your ignition comparison page I see your ZN ignition looks the same as our ZG.  Would your ZN motor be the best thing to use for this swap or would another year engine work as well?  Andy M.

A:  I did have someone with a ZG buy an igniter from a ZN and he said it worked on his ZG.  But other than a few common parts, your ZG motor is substantially different from our ZN and I don't think you'd want to consider trying this swap.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Anyone ever successfully installed a ZN motor into an older KZ1300?  If so, how did they get it all working?

A:  Here's a history of my '79 Z1300 to ZN1300 engine swap:  The bike barely ran in the beginning, spark plugs were black.  The previous owner told me that the original engine had a crankshaft problem.  They put a donor ZN1300 engine in the bike from a Voyager.  He told me the bike needed the old ignition to run right.  (pick-ups that fit under the carbs on the 79'/80' models).  So I took the bike and most of the old engine in parts in the van.

I mailed Wilco Vonk about my "new" baby, became member of the Dutch Z1300 clan and bought a copy of the manual from him.  The first thing I noticed when examining the bike was that 2 ignition-coils were cracked.  Searching on the internet I found an English supplier and I ordered 3 coils.  The coils are 2.5 ohms primary measured.

http://www.lm-spares.co.uk/acatalog/Kawasaki_Ignition_Coils.html

The bike started now but performed very poor.  I looked further on the internet and discovered your KZ1300 Club site.  So I became aware of the CCT danger right off.  The information regarding the ignition was also very useful.  Another source of information is cmsnl.com, a Dutch supplier of NOS parts of the big four Japanese bike manufacturers.  I use their site often to determine what parts are used in what models.  For instance: There are 3 types of crankshafts used in the Z1300.  The KZ1300 has its own. 

The ZN1300 has different types and the ZG1300 has also another set.  The CCT modification was performed first.  Then I realized whether to transfer the bike into an injection version or change the motor back into a carb version.  Changing into a carb version seemed simpler.  The exhaust camshaft of the carb version had also the RPM gear in it.  Having a working rpm meter on a bike made me decide for the carb option.  The major difference between carb and injection are the camshafts.  That was what I could think off at that point.  So they were swapped.  The minimum diameter of the cams however are bigger than the injection types.  The result was that all the valves didn't close anymore.  Plan A didn't work.

So I had to swap cams + head.  The valve areas of the carb-head were rusty.  So the carb-head was brought to a specialist in (bike) motor revisions and they removed a tiny bit of the valve seats and valves.  The head was also milled.  New valve seals and a new head gasket (OEM) and a new cam chain idler were used for assembling.  Than the crankshaft was turned to check the proper alignment of the camshafts and it didn't rotate very much.  The top of the voyager-pistons hit the carb head!  Plan B down the drain.

So I had to swap the pistons and cylinder also.  The pistons came together in a plastic bag and after long examining I could read number 3 5 & 6 on three pistons.  The cylinder was only slightly rusty. Because the carb cylinder has an opening for the old type ignition I decide to use the old type ignition.  The old type igniter subsequently was bought on ebay.  New cylinder gaskets were used.  I pushed carefully the middle four pistons in the cylinder prior to place the cylinder above the crankshaft.  The outer 2 pistons were placed on their rods.  The pistons 3 and 4 were pushed a little out of the cylinder just enough to push the piston pin + spring in.  After that the pistons 2 and 5 were connected to the rods.

Piston 1 and 6 went in last with great care and no piston rings were damaged.  I took great care to avoid parts falling in the crankshaft area.  Head with again a new gasket installed, the timing chain and alignment of the pick-ups were also performed.  The camshaft timing was done and I could finally adjust the valves.  The engine could now be rotated manually without problems. Carbs, ignition, exhausts and cooling back on again and after firing it up and riding the beast I felt only little improvement in performance. 

So I took the carbs out and continue reading on your site.  The main jets were 115.  I changed them to 107.5 and suddenly the bike ran also in the higher rpm's.  For the first time I felt what a 6 cylinder bike does with its rider.  The bike didn’t run however 
smoothly at low speed but that changed after synchronizing the carbs.  I have also cleaned the carbs in a ultrasonic bath and put new diaphragms in it.  Later the original Voyager ignition with map sensor will be installed to see if it will work now on this engine.  I 
measured the compression as well an it varies between 120 and 160 psi.  I have the exact data not here.  I will measure again later this season. 

So the main problem with this bike was the jetting.  The Voyager valve timing / carb combination was masked by the wrong jetting.  A Voyager cylinder, pistons and head are in stock now.  I save them for a possible second Z1300 together with a Ewing DFI kit.

Right now I'm busy with all the other maintenance stuff (tires, brakes, suspension) and after a second valve adjustment job I have now a Vetter Windjammer fairing on it.  Original indicator lights and an oil pressure switch were added.  André Parlevliet

---

Noise

Q: I've got a clucking noise which I think is coming from the drive shaft or the final drive gear assembly it only seems to happen at slow speeds there is no vibration from it just a clunk anyone out there got any idea's?

A: The book says to grease the spline since it moves back and forth slightly as you ride.  If you don't do this, the splines wear prematurely and eventually will go bad.  I've had a few apart already where the splines were worn real bad because the owners never bothered to follow proper maintenance procedures.  It's easy enough to maintain and the best time is when you're installing a new rear tire.  Take it apart and have a look, the manual shows you how and it only takes a few extra minutes. Of course you have a u-joint too on the driveshaft.  I've never personally had one go bad or known of anyone who did, but you can get at it without pulling the swing-arm off if the spline and rear end both look good and at least see how it feels.  You have to pull the swing-arm to replace it and this would also be a good time to replace the swing-arm bearings while you're there.

Also, there's an internal damper in your engine that absorbs driveline shock and if the spring gets weak on it, members have reported that it sounds like a clunking noise similar to what you have describe.  It's not hard to access, but I don't know that a new spring would be available except possibly from a supplier that sells springs of this nature.  I haven't checked Kawasaki on this part.  paul@kz1300.com

Q:  You talked about the need to service the rear spline when we change our rear tire.  The book says to pull the muffler off.  Mine's rusted and I don't want to risk having to pull it off if there's a better way.

A:  I'd like to comment on removing your rear wheel because a couple of people have asked me about this just in the last couple of days.  The mufflers don't have to be touched if you simply raise the swing-arm about an inch so the axle shaft will clear the muffler enough to slide it out.  You can pull the shocks loose to raise the swing-arm, but you don't even have to do that.  You can compress the swing-arm with a ratchet tie-down if you have one.  I simply attach the hooks on the frame under the seat, and loop down around the swing-arm with the strap and back to the frame with the other hook.  Ratchet it down and it will pull the swing-arm up enough and hold it there for you so you can deal with the wheel.

I'm assuming you're putting the bike on the center-stand when you're pulling the wheel, and if you have a friend with you at the time, here's a better way yet.  Before you put it on the center-stand, have you friend sit on the rear part of the seat and compress the suspension.  Have the strap hooked on the frame before he sits on it.  Now when you tighten the strap you don't actually have to compress the swing-arm, as it's probably already where you want it with him sitting on it.  Just get it tight, he'll get off the bike and the swing-arm will stay compressed, and use his help to get it on the center-stand because it will be a little harder to do now that it's sitting lower.

Once you get the wheel off it's only 4 bolts to slip the ring & pinion off, and there's the spline you should be putting grease on every tire change or so, assuming you believe in preventive maintenance.  If you're pulling the ring & pinion off, you'll have to disconnect the right shock.  It's a little harder maybe, but I like to hook my ratchet tie-down around the swing-arm right where the drive shaft coupling is, (the splined part you're greasing), because it's more or less round right there and easier to ratchet up.  If you're concerned about it marking up your paint then by all means, pull your shocks.  I usually just slip a shop rag in between the strap and swing-arm and that seems to work, but on a nicer bike, this is a shortcut you can live without.

One side note when you pull that ring and pinion.  Once you pull the 4 bolts that holds that unit to the swing-arm, there's nothing holding the pinion in place.  If you're not careful when you pull the unit off, you can separate the pinion from the rear end assembly. You really don't want to do that.  I forget what it says in the book, but when you look at how they did that, it really seems goofy.  If you aren't aware that the pinion can just fall out, you have to wonder why they didn't put a small retaining screw in there to hold it together.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I think I need new connecting rod bearings for my ZN1300 as I have noise that sounds like it would be that.  I looked the part # 92028-1323 up and see they fit the Kawasaki ZX900 / 900 Ninja, ZL900 / 900 Eliminator, and ZN1300 but not the KZ1300.  Can you change these without splitting the cases? 

A:  No possible way as the bolts are only accessible from the bottom and the cases have to be split.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  David, Your article on the shaft drive looks like it will help when I replace my rear tire next riding season.  If I still have my bike that is.  Have you had experience with a ratcheting noise when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd and occasionally into 1st?  As helpful as the guys have been apparently I am the only one to run into this trouble.  I am considering putting 2 qts. of heavier oil to help the problem.  Do you think this might help?  I am going to check the clutch plates to see if the has anything to do with it.  I doubt it though as the noise seems to be coming from the shifter side of the motor.  BTW Do you know if a replacement for the starter solenoid besides the one from Kawasaki? Later, Scooter

A:  A ratcheting noise could be any number of things.  There's a number of shock absorbing elements designed into our drive-train.   On the engine removal page I shot some pictures of the transmission.  In this image - 
http://www.kz1300.com/techarticles/zn1300-engine-internals3848s.jpg

... you'll see one of the spring loaded devices that absorbs driveline shock, and there's one more in the transmission as I understand.  At the rear wheel you have the rubber damper mounted in the rear wheel.  In your drive-shaft you have a u-joint that eventually goes bad and the drive-shaft spline that needs to be serviced as noted.  If I rode the bike I might get a better feel for what kind of noise it is, but any of these pieces if they're worn can cause strange noises. 

When you shift you unload these components momentarily and that's when you'll most likely get noise out of the part that's causing the problem.  As you say, when you have your wheel off you might pull the rear end and check the spline and even the u-joint.  When you're riding you might try giving it gas and letting off in a fast motion to get the bike rocking back and forth some and see if there's any driveline noise.  Try that in different gears, but if you only have noise when shifting, I'd switch to the Amsoil motorcycle oil that is popular with most of us, and ride it some and see if there's any change.  My bike runs much quieter with Amsoil.

On the solenoid, I think these are pretty generic.  I don't see why we couldn't use an old Ford style solenoid my self except it's a little big.  I have a number of used ones, but I'd go to an auto parts myself and try to match one up with a car style solenoid, or a bike salvage and do the same thing

Q:  I just recently put new pistons and rings in my 1300 because it was smoking a little.  The smoking problem was only the VSOS, but thought if I am going to keep it for the rest of my life then what the heck, I'll change the pistons and rings.  The valves were all cleaned up as were most parts, and I also replaced the water pump impeller.  To cut a long story short, it now has a rattle coming from it, and my mates and I have no idea what part of the engine it is coming from.  I replaced the CCT with the ZZR11 tensioner before the smoking problem occured.  Any ideas?  Manuals not much help.  CHEERS from Australia!   Neil D.

A:  A lot of these engines have a little rattle in them and it can usually be traced to either the clutch or the 2 big primary / secondary chains coming off the crank.  We don't typically worry about those noises because it's simply not worth the money and effort to fix.  However, what concerns me is that it started after you had it apart.  Normally a rattle might be heard before the ZX11 CCT changeover.  I'd double-check that the ZX11 unit is working as it's supposed to.  No other thoughts except that piston clearance was checked, and all those parts were installed properly.   david@kz1300.com

---

Misc Info

Q:  Does anyone have any suggestions how to get the black plastic to look new again.  It is turning gray and looks really bad.  Doug & Debbie 

A:  You need to get some "Armour-all". I'm reasonably sure it's available world-wide, but if you can't find it just go to your local service station or auto shop and ask for a plastic restorer.  This is the stuff: http://www.armorall.com/prodcat/pages/protectant_2.2.html

It's good stuff, makes plastic look like new.  CAM

A:  If your near a honda (spit) car dealership, go to the spares counter and get some bumper black.  You might call it fender black in the states.  It's like black boot polish.  When I worked in the motor industry, this is the stuff we used on the press vehicles.  This is a lot better than Armourall, but it only works on black items.  Armourall works on all colors.   IAN

Q:  I'm looking for a paint match or close too, for 79 KZ1300.  The color is a greenish blue.  I want to repaint my Vetter saddle bag lid covers.  Any chance of car paint in a spray can?

A:  Walmart color is VP-57 medium green pearl metallic in a spray can.  Dupont color match is BM231KH.  These are both in my opinion of course.  Gary G.

Q:  Can someone tell me the length from front to back of the 1300 Voyager?  Or for that matter length width and height.  Dan R.

A:  Length = 102.2 inches, width = 37.8 inches, height = 62.2 inches (at top of windscreen)  Brian K.

Q:  Aren't the older KZ models and the ZN Voyager models basically the same bike except for fuel injection and the fact that the Voyager only comes full dress?

A:  In reference to the KZ being the same bike as a Voyager except no fuel injection, for those that have not owned both bikes take note.  The 79' - 82' KZ and later model ZG bikes (European) are totally different than the ZN Voyager models.  They share almost no parts except the engine, and even that is quite a bit different in some respects.  The Voyager has an entirely different frame that has a much lower seat height, larger tires and entirely different electronics than the older KZ's.  The ZN alternators will swap with an 82'/83' KZ, but only an 82'/83' model as 81' and older bikes are different than the 82's in these respects. 

The Voyager has fuel injection versus carb's yes, but the Voyager also has different cam timing, and it has a smaller clutch in it, and the clutch cover was smaller accordingly to make more foot room on the right side I suppose.  The moved the oil sight glass to the left side, and changed the left side-cover to install a sight glass, and possibly made some other changes there, but I haven't had 2 motors apart side by side to compare.

Even though the Voyager is quite a bit heavier than the older KZ's it is a well balanced bike, more comfortable to ride with a better seating position and overall feel that makes it easier to ride, especially long distance.  Downside is that it's not as fast as the KZ's mainly because of the extra weight, but it is more tractable with the fuel injection which seems to work better over a wider RPM range, and on the plus side gets much better mileage even though it's pulling a lot more weight around.  One of the things I want to try in the future is getting the cam timing back like the KZ's, and seeing if I can swap the larger clutch basket and cover onto a ZN, and maybe pick up some horsepower in the process.  I don't think many Voyager owners would be able to swap back to a KZ model after riding a ZN for awhile.  The KZ sits a lot higher and has a strange uncomfortable feel when you go from one to another.  david@kz1300.com

Q:   I have a couple of 79 KZ1300's but I'm also interested in these ZG1300's too.  Where and how can I learn more about the ZG's?   Jim L.

A:   Since they were never sold in the USA you'd have to join some of the overseas clubs that have members that actually ride these bikes.  Basically they're like the 82'-83' KZ but with a similar fuel injection system that came on the ZN1300 Voyager.  To accomplish the conversion there are a certain number of small parts that are unique to the ZG.

It would be possible to 'make' a ZG out of a KZ by using the Voyager fuel injection pieces, but the wiring harness would have to be adapted, a fuel pump would have to be added along with a fuel return line to the gas tank, the DFI box mounted along with the MAP sensor, air temp sensor, etc, etc.  We're actually working on an aftermarket Fuel injection system to retrofit to these bikes now called a Megasquirt.

What we're thinking about doing though is building an intake to accept a single throttle body whereas the setup they used had 3 two barrel throttle bodies.  The key is whether our intake will flow properly.  If we're successful, this system with work on any of the 1300's and give us a cheap alternative to replace the existing Kawasaki DFI systems and allow those with carb bikes to upgrade to DFI.  May take another year to accomplish but as I say, the key to it all is the intake design.  We could use 6 throttle bodies, one for each cylinder but them we'd have to balance them kind of like balancing the 6 carbs on a CBX. I can't imagine how much 6 small throttle bodies would cost though.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  What improvements can I expect from running the DFI system on my KZ?

A:  The KZ's run perfect with the DFI.  No need as far as I can see to change the fuel mapping as this whole setup came off a ZN1300 and the ZG1300's use the same setup.  Only real difference I can see is the mounting of the parts since the bikes themselves are entirely different except for the engine.  For example, the ZN has the fuel pump under the right body cover and the ZG has it mounted where the KZ fuel shutoff valve was mounted on the front of the airbox. 

There are differences in wiring because here again, there is nothing much in common between the ZN1300 and the ZG1300 bikes except the motor and the DFI system.  Only issue I have no solution for at the moment is the air filter.  You can on see the DFI Conversion page I used some shop rags tie-wrapped over the back of the throttle bodies.  Not the best air filter but it kept the bugs out! 

Also you need custom throttle cables for your KZ or probably a set of ZG cables should work.  So when I can get a solution for the air filters I'll offer a couple of complete kits but I can't price it till we have a filter that works.  I can say that the DFI has a more immediate throttle on / throttle off response than carbs.  Other than that there's a few things I mentioned to Larry C. we might improve on it he gets a MegaSquirt computer going like he talked about. 

The stock Kawasaki computer is usually pretty expensive to get your hands on, but the MegaSquirt computers will be great, they're cheap and we'll be able to reprogram them as needed.  At that point the only original Kawasaki part we'll need to do the conversion is the throttle bodies themselves and maybe the original throttle position sensor.  Not only that but the MegaSquirt uses an oxygen sensor and that will make it more precise in metering fuel than the 23 year old Kawasaki system was.  Don't get me wrong, the original Kawasaki DFI works great in comparison to carbs and adds about 10 mpg to your bike assuming your carbs were perfect to begin with, but the MegaSquirt no doubt will be even better.   david@kz1300.com

Q: What other year model bikes interchange with ZN1300's on the brake pads?

A:  I found this listing on ebay for the ZN1300 and it appears the same pad fits all the following listed Kawasaki models.  Front & rear pads on the ZN1300 are the same.  Refer to 7-3 & 7-4 in the Voyager Supplement Manual on how to replace them.

EX 250	E1/E2 Ninja	86-87
ZX 550	A1/A2/A3 (GPz)	84-86
ZX 600	A1/A2/A3/B1 Ninja	85-87
ZN 700	A1/A2 (LTD)	84-85
ZX 750	A1/A2/A2L/A3 (GPz)	83-85
ZX 750	E1/E2 Turbo	84-85
ZL 900	A1/A2 Eliminator	85-86
ZX 900	A1/A2/A3 Ninja	84-86
ZG 1000	A1/A2/A3/A4/A5/A7/A8 Concours	86-93
ZG 1000	A9/A16 Concours	94-03
ZL 1000	A1	87
ZX 1000	A1/A2 (Ninja)	86-87
ZN 1100	B1/B2 (LTD)	84-85
ZX 1100	A1/A2 (GPz)	83-84
ZG 1200	A1-B15 (Voyager XII)	86-01
ZN 1300	A1/A2/A3/A4 /A5/A6 (Voyager)	83-88
VN 1500	A1-A12 Vulcan 88	87-98
VN 1500	B1/B2/B3/B4 Vulcan	87-96
VN 1500	C3/C4	96-97
VN 1500	D1/D2/E1/E2/E3 Vulcan Classic	96-00
VN 1500	G1/G1A Nomad	99-00
VN 1500	G1/G1A Nomad	99-00
VN 1500	L2-L4 Vulcan 1500 Nomad F1	01-03
VN 1500	P1/P2 Vulcan Mean Streak	02-03

david@kz1300.com

Q:   The rear brake pedal on my ZN1300 presses all the way down to the bottom without actuating the rear caliper.  I drained and bled the rear brake line, and although pumping the pedal does get some brake action to occur, if I let it set a minute, pressing down on the lever gets no action on the rear caliper all the way down on the lever.  I've checked around locally and 3 out of 4 mechanics say its the rear brake master cylinder with one saying its probably the rear brake caliper but a new master cylinder does the same thing.  Should I change the caliper next?    Jim N.

A:   What I've seen on bad brake lines is that you'd hit the brake and you get one of 2 things.  Either the pedal is hard but you get little or no actual brake stopping action or the peddle is spongy and you get some stopping power but not much.  In the first example the inside 'core' of the brake line can deteriorate and clog up the line so there's no hydraulic action getting past the blockage to push on the caliper piston or the brake line expands when pressure is applied which means you don't get near as much pressure on the caliper piston as you should; you get some stopping power but not much. 

A new brake line is cheap compared to what might happen if you're having either one of these issues with your existing line.  Judging by your description of the problem, I would say that the brake line is the second most likely problem, not the caliper.  When calipers go bad they usually stick or they leak, however, they can suck air into the system when you release the peddle and not be leaking fluid under pressure.  I could be wrong, but my opinion is that it's very rare to suck air in and not leak fluid out. 

I'd change the brake line and here's a hot tip on replacing that line.  Best access to the line is by pulling the radiator water overflow reservoir out which is the little water container there by your left footrest.  Still, it's very difficult to feed through so what I do is tie a piece of strong string, twine or wire to the end of the line where you pulled it off the master cylinder and pull it out towards the caliper end.  You have to feed it down the sleeve on the side of the swing-arm and out so you can remove it this way easily.  Going back in with the new line, you tie that string on to the end and use it help you snake it back over the driveshaft area because there's a lot of wiring and stuff in your way right there and there's no way to get it through that maze without being able to pull it back through with the string.  You can slip it back through and all the way back to the driveshaft area easily enough, but there's no way to get it the last part without that string and pulling on it from the other end.  Make sure you tie something to it that won't break.

I have some brake line sets made up for the KZ & ZN and show them on my Custom Parts page, but I spent way too much money having them done.  Maybe in the future I'll get some cheaper but I wouldn't want to sell just one line.  You can probably still get these new from Kawasaki or you can take a brake line off and find a local hydraulic shop and just have it made.  They can make it in steel braided or just black rubber and they may even be able to do it in Kevlar with anodized fittings.  I have an Aeroquip dealer fairly close by so next time I'll have them do it.  The issue will be whether or not they have the correct end pieces for the lines.  If not, either they won't want to mess with it or they'll have to order the ends to make it happen.   david@kz1300.com

Q: Where can I get a front master cylinder rebuild Kit for a KZ1300?

A:  Here are some K & L part numbers for rebuild kits for 79-82 KZ1300 models:

32-8052 Front Master Cylinder rebuild kit
32-1289 Front Caliper rebuild kit
32-1335 Rear Caliper rebuild kit
Colin C.

A: Rear Master Cylinder rebuild kit part # is BCR-402 or 32-1335.  It is a original Made in Japan kit!!!  Nickola M.

A:  I found this cross reference off ebay by georgefix who sells these Front Master Cylinder rebuild kits on ebay from time to time for $28.

FITS:

80-82 KZ750 E1/E2/E3
80-83 KZ 750 H1/H2/H3/H4 LTD
79-80 KZ1000 A3/A3A/A4 MKII
78-80 KZ1000 B2/B3/B4 LTD
78-81 KZ1000 C1/C1A-C4 POLICE
79-80 KZ1000 E1/E2 SHAFT ST
1980 KZ1000 G1 LTD CLASSIC
81-82 KZ1000 J1/J2
81-82 KZ1000 K1/K2 LTD
81-82 KZ1000 M1/M2 CSR
82-91 KZ1000 P1-P10 POLICE
81-82 KZ1100 A1/A2 SHAFT
1983 KZ1100 A3 SHAFT
1981 KZ1100 B1 GPz
79-82 KZ1300 A1/A2/A3/A4
1980 KZ1300 B2 TOURER

 

david@kz1300.com

A:  The Kawasaki Front Master Cylinder rebuild kit is part # 43020-1023 for the KZ1300.  It also fits:

1977-79 KZ650

1980-83 KZ750

1981 KZ550

1982 KZ1000 J model

1978-82 KZ1000 LTD

1981-82 KZ1000 CSR

1978-91 KZ1000 Police

1979-80 KZ1000 MKII

1979-80 KZ1000 ST (shaft)

1980 KZ1000 Z1 classic

1981-83 KZ1100

1979-82 KZ1300

Also, Sirius sells a Rear Caliper rebuild kit # 32-1335 that fits KAWASAKI:

KZ1000 1977 - 1980
KZ1000 LTD 1979 - 1980
KZ1000 LTD 1979 - 1980
KZ1000 POLICE 1978 - 1981
Z1R 1978
Z1R 1980
KZ1000 SHAFT 1979 - 1980
KZ1000 Ltd Classic 1980
KZ1300 1979 - 1982
KZ1300 TOURING 1980
Kit includes:
ALL NECESSARY PARTS TO REBUILD ONE BRAKE CALIPER GREAT PRICE FOR OEM QUALITY!

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david@kz1300.com

A:  Another good tip is after you've bled the brakes as best you can, tie the lever hard back against the throttle grip with a cable tie & leave overnight.  In the morning you'll have absolutely no air in the system.  Don't ask me how or why it works, a bike mechanic friend told me about it years ago.
Phil S.

Q:  Are the brake rotors for the KZ1300 or ZN1300 still available aftermarket?

A:  As of late 2005, John at EBC said that they had no plans to stop making rotors for our bikes.  Part #MD4089LS is the KZ1300 left front rotor, #MD4089RS is the right front rotor, #MD4090 is the rear rotor.  For the ZN1300 Voyager, part #MD4091LS is the left front rotor, #MD4091RS is the right front rotor, #MD4092 is the rear rotor.

Q:  I need to bleed my brakes, but the screws are stripped in the front master cylinder cover.  What can I do to get these out and what is the standard procedure for bleeding the brakes?   Kurt E.

A:  I use an impact driver to loosen the screws.  Another way it to use a punch and hammer drive the loose. You could drill and replace them, just make sure to leave enough to get a good ViceGrip on the shoulder of the screws after removing the cover.  Now when you finally get the top off, remove all old brake fluid, it may be jellied.  There are 2 small holes in the bottom to allow fluid into the bore of the cylinder.  Make sure both are not plugged with that jellied brake fluid.  Now do not use cleaning solvents or any oil to clean this.  Fill with fresh DOT 3 brake fluid.  Place the top back in place but do not worry about the screws at this time.  (Note, put a mat or something under the master cylinder area to make sure no brake fluid gets on painted surfaces.  Could damage paint).  

Now on one of the brake calipers loosen the bleeder screw about 1/4 turn.  Push a small tube on that bleeder.  Now stick the other end of that tube into another container with a small amount of brake fluid in it.  Make sure the end of the tube is in the fluid.  Now actuate the lever back and forth.  You will notice some bubbles coming out the tube in the container.  Keep actuating the lever till all bubbles
stop and fluid is coming out nearly clear.  MAKE SURE THE MASTER CYLINDER DOES NOT GO EMPTY.  

With that done close the bleeder and do the same for the other caliper.  When both calipers come out with clean fluid and no bubbles then you are done.  The rear brake is done the same.  Only 1 caliper there.  Now you should have brakes.  If not you may need to replace the cups in the master cylinders.  To do that take the plunders out of the master cylinder and take the cups off the plunger and go to the auto parts store.  They may have the correct cups.  They will not have the correct plunger kit so go for the cups.  The cups are all that go bad.   Larry C.

Q:  Having a problem bleeding the front brakes on my 83' 1300 Voyager.  I had new brake hoses made, 1 was leaking so I had all 3 made.  I cleaned the reservoir and made sure the holes were open.  Added new DOT 4 fluid and started the bleeding process.  I got air through the bleeders and now all clean fluid, however the brakes will not pressurize.  No resistance is felt in the brake lever.  Calipers are not closing onto the rotor.  It work fine before I changed the lines.  What am I doing wrong?   Bob B.

A:  Well, it sounds like it has a bunch of air in it.  If it's that bad the air would probably be in the master cylinder I'm guessing.  You can pull the line at the MC and bleed the MC by putting your finger over the hole where the line connects.  I would use very short strokes on the lever, just barely touch it, move it 1/8" or maybe 1/4" or so and see if very small air bubbles come up.  I haven't looked at one of these in awhile, but I suppose it has 2 fluid intake holes in the bottom of the bowl and you might get small bubbles out of one hole on short strokes like that.  Then you do a full stroke and pump some fluid out and go back to short strokes all the while keeping your finger over the hole so no air gets back in.

If you see you got a bunch of air out then that was the problem.  Of course when you take your finger off you'll get air in the system, but you put the line back on, tighten the bolt but leave it loose just a little and take one slow full stroke and tighten the bolt down at the end of the stroke.  That will get the air out at the top there where you just connected it back and test the brakes again.  I guess there's a chance your MC is bad but what's the chance that it was working, now it's bad?  That's pretty unlikely, I mean, how could you of damaged it?

If that doesn't make things work again you need to find someone local to come over and look at it.  Any good motorcycle mechanic or even a car mechanic should be able to examine the problem and figure it out eventually.  They'll probably lean towards a bad MC.  It's an old bike and that's the logical assumption.  I think you can get a rebuild kit for it from Kawasaki still.  If not I see them listed on ebay quite often.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Are the 87' Voyager throttle cables very much different from the 84's?  John J.

A:  Both cables are different on the 87'/88' versus the 83'/86' Voyagers.  The ends on the 87'/88' fit into the same hole the cable goes in, and it has a stopper on the end.  The others have a screw in or that's what Motionpro sent me.  That's one thing, the other is that the length of the second (that goes to the cc.) is shorter, and it screws into the hole where the cable goes.  Now if the person thought it was a 1200, maybe they screw in.  I'm not sure if the earlier 83'/86' Voyagers (1300)'s screw in or not.  But there is a definite difference in the cables on the 87'/88' Voyagers (1300) throttle cables versus the 83'/86' Voyagers.  Bryan D.

Q:  Anybody ever install an aftermarket cruise control on a 1300?  Joe B.

A:  I used an 'Audiovox CCS 100' model which sells for around $100 on my Voyager.  It's intended for automobiles but works fine on a bike.  I spent a lot of time getting it figured out, but all that hard work won't need to be repeated.  In the kit you'll get the vacuum servo motor, a round cylindrical affair with a cable extending from one end.  I removed it's metal mounting bracket and was able to squeeze it in the left hand side of the fairing, below and behind the radio.  I ran the cable through one of the holes in the bottom of the fairing, along the backbone of the frame and down between the middle and left pair of fuel injectors. 

A ' T' shaped flat metal bracket comes with the kit and I bent one side up 90 degrees.  The long end lays flat under the bottom of the air box and one of the air-box bolts goes through a hole in the bracket to secure it.  The end of the servo cable bolts through the hole in the side of the bracket bent upwards.  I took a piece of steel fuel line that was already bent in a 90 degree turn, cut it off and 
slipped it over the threaded end of the cable with the inside cable running through the steel line.  I did this because the cable comes in horizontally and it needs to be positioned vertically to connect to the throttle shaft and the tubing makes for a nice smooth transition. 

There's a small tab (maybe 1/8" X 1/16" X 1/2" long) extending to the right on the back side of the shaft the existing throttle cables attach to.  I bent this tab forward and up slightly and slipped one of the provided throttle connections over it.  To lock it in place, I took one of those sheet metal, 1/4" square, folded over things with the hole in the center that is slipped over sheet metal and provides you something to screw into.  Don't know exactly what they're called, but are very common on car sheet metal.  I slipped this over the tab with the tab sandwiched between the two halves of the "thing".  Its purpose is to keep the throttle connection from slipping off.  The throttle connection is connected to a bead chain which attaches to the servo cable. 

I made a vacuum surge tank out of 3" X 6" PVC pipe which I squeezed into the area on the left side of the fairing.  I removed the bolts holding the audio block and moved it forward.  The tank could probably be smaller if space is a problem.  Into this I tapped a hole and threaded a brass barbed hose fitting.  Since I'd removed the octopus shaped exhaust air feed unit to make room for different ignition coils, I used the vacuum line that originally fed it to connect to the surge tank.  In the vacuum line, I inserted a check valve I got from NAPA. 

If you take your time and read the wiring instructions, it isn't really that complicated.  Wires will tap into the brake lights, 12 volts, ground and negative side of one of the ignition coils.  You won't need the speed sensor wire.  Some cruise controls have the control module at a turn signal stalk but the unit I used has two toggle switches on a little rectangular pad that is intended to be stuck on the car's dash with some sticky tape.  I took an old 9 volt transformer off of some sort of electrical device and using a hacksaw, cut through the side of the flat plug in side.  After removing the internals, a little Dremel tool trimming on the inside let the control pad pop inside.  Before inserting the pad, I pop riveted the transformer case to a small aluminum plate I'd cut and bored to fit on the left handlebar control area (mute, etc).  I cut the transformer case at an angle so that when mounted, the top extends out further to protect from rain.  My bike set through one very intense thunderstorm which was driving rain onto the bike from the rear.  If anything was going to get the controls wet and cause problems, that should have but it didn't.

I've been very pleased with the operation of the cruise control and it has worked flawlessly every time.  Be reminded that since the control is using ignition pulses as a reference, it's actually controlling rpm rather than ground speed.  For example, if you set it at 55 mph and that's say, 3000 rpm in 5th gear, if you hit resume in fourth it'll return to 3000 rpm which may be 45 mph.  But I never 
found that to be a problem.  There's different switches on the servo, I used the 4000 rpm setting and the middle setting on the weight-power ratio.  It'll usually keep the speed + or - 1 mph of the set speed....occasionally it may drop 2 mph.  If it were a problem, a different setting would help.  John 

Q:  I have an opportunity to purchase a KZ1300 with 75,000 kilometers on it.  If I decide to get the bike I will certainly do all recommended preventative tasks your site recommends, however I am worried about all those miles.  What if the seller has not done any of these tasks.  After that many clicks the engine damage could be done.  What should I look for?  If the bike is solid and I look after it, how many kilometers can I expect to ride before I need to put in some major engine work?  Jason W.

A:  Without pulling the valve cover, you can start the engine cold and see what that sounds like.  You can check compression, see if you're getting any blue smoke out the back and read the plugs, all 6 to see the consistency.  You can see how it rides but you don't mention whether the bike is in rideable condition.  You might have a friend that really knows bikes and could have him inspect it or take it to a motorcycle shop and have it inspected.  How well it's going to hold up is directly proportional to how it's been maintained.  I have a couple of members with over 300,000 miles on their bikes, a few over 200k and many over 100k although it appears that most of the 1300's out there still have less than 50k at best guess.  I have an 84' with only 28k.  Valve adjustment and oil changes are the critical issues along with what kind of oil has been used in the past.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  The Bike sounded very nice, I love the exhaust note, absolutely no blue smoke, just some fluffy white puffs of moisture once she was warm.  Looks like the bike was decently cared for.  Stator re-done, new set of gauges are the most recent additions.  Currently has a set of pretty new Dunlop Elite (Goldwing) tires.  Stone cold on a -4 Celsius day, the bike fired up in 2 hits.

It has sat for 2 years, and still has the original CCT, which concerns me and I will replace if I buy immediately.  Otherwise it is tough to say no to this bike.  For only $1200 Canadian.  If I get her I'll be sure to send you some pics.  Thanks for your time, your site is very well done, and extremely helpful.  I currently ride an SOHC CB750, and use the sohc4.net site a lot, however you site is truly the cream of the crop.  Jason W.

A:  It's no big deal that a bike has the original CCT if everything is in good condition with the motor. Best way to tell is a compression check and looking at the plugs.  If you know how the bike is supposed to run then riding it will tell the story too.  Main thing is now that you know the the CCT can potentially fail at any moment you don't go out riding it much and take any unnecessary chances.  The ZX-11 CCT is cheap enough insurance in comparison to a valve job with new valves.  Replacing the coils is a performance issue assuming the ones that are on it are actually working good now.  Just be aware of the parts issue with such an old bike and the fact that many mechanics don't want to work on it.  I talk about such things on my entry page among others - http://www.kz1300.com/tech.html   david@kz1300.com

Q:  A 1984 1300 Voyager just came up for sale in my area.  It's an estate sale.  The bike has 40,000 miles.  Here's the ad:  1984 KAWASAKI, 6 cyl, EFI, voyager, near perfect condition, low clicks, collectable $4500.  The seller said I can have it for $4000 as he said it puffs a big cloud of black smoke when the throttle is cracked.  Maybe something wrong with the fuel injection system.

I was actually looking for a 1200 Voyager (a smaller bike) but this bike really interests me.  Can you share an comments on these bikes good bad or otherwise.  I'm only 180 lbs and it might be too big for me.  I manage OK with the KZ 1300 though.  Thanks for any input.  Lee H.

A:  Too much money for a 40k bike in my opinion.  $2500 - $3000 would be closer to what he could generally sell it for on ebay for example.  At 25k - 35k and this applies to your bike too, the original cam chain idler gear either has been replaced or it's worn out.  You have to pull the head to replace it, so if he's done that already and it looks good then paying $3000 or a little more for it wouldn't be out of line especially if it looks really good and has been well cared for.

The puffs of black smoke are probably bad coils as these bikes have the same coil issues as the one you ride.  Weak coils = unburnt fuel out the tailpipe.  I ride a ZN1300, the purple one you see at the top of the members page - kz1300.com/members and it is heavy, but the seat height is much lower and it's really easy to ride.  Still easy to drop it though at low speed just as yours is and just as difficult to pick up.  One big difference between your bike and a ZN is that it's much more effort to repair with all the electronics and much more expensive for parts especially as most parts are not available new for many years now.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  Last Saturday I went on a 450 mile road trip and about 115 miles into it, I noticed small droplets of oil on the inside of my fairing (I have a "A" model, 1980).  Upon investigation, I find the oil is coming from the tach cable where it joins the instrument cluster.  When I pulled the tach cable off and removed the inner cable, it was totally full of oil!  What's up with that?  The only o-ring I could find on the whole assembly was on the outside of the gear drive housing that is held by the clamp to the head.  I have had this bike since 1987, 35,000 miles on it, and this is a first time issue for my KZ.   Dale

A:  Pretty common, the seal between the gear drive and the housing on the head is shot, typically the shaft extension of the gear is quite worn.  Some guys on eBay and I'm sure people like old bike barn sell a tach seal kit.  It fits several KZ models.  You may need to carefully smooth the shaft on the gear.  During reassembly take care that the gear meshes properly so you don't damage teeth when tightening the housing down.   Gary G.

Q:  I have some stripped bolts on my Voyager 1300 that hold my fuel gauge sending unit on.  Do you know what other bikes used these special shouldered bolts?

A:  The Fuel Gauge fitting bolt, part # 92001-1069 shows it also fits a GPZ550, ZX6, ZZR600, GPZ750 including turbo, ZX750, ZX9R, Z1000J, Z1100A, ZX11, ZZR1100 and ZN1300.  david@kz1300.com

Q:  David, I just discovered your site a few days ago, it's very informative.  I've had my KZ for a year and a half now and it is one of my favorite out of my collection of 24 bikes.  I collect and restore.  I wanted to share this info with your members, try a set of Michelin Macadams.  I have a set on both my CBX and my KZ1300 and they are sweet.  Handing becomes very neutral, they bite well and appear they will last quite a while.  I run a 50E 110/90 18 in the front and a 50 Series 130/90 17 on the rear.  I was so impressed with these on my CBX, they work fantastic on the KZ also. 

Question, what is the deal with the center stand on my KZ?  It's impossible to put it on the center stand without using a ramp on the front.  Is there a lever missing on my stand?  It has two holes on the left side but nothing there.  The shocks are stock, but you have to be a gorilla to pull it up on the stand.  Am I missing something?  Keep up the good work, Best Regards, Don F.

A:  The centerstand design was changed / improved on the Voyagers starting in 83' when they went to a 2-step design.  On the KZ, yes it's a very heavy bike and can be almost impossible to put on the centerstand on a smooth concrete floor for example as the stand won't bite into the concrete and just slides across it when you pull back on the bike.  Basically you roll the bike backwards with your right foot on the tang for the stand and as you have the bike in motion you put all your weight on the stand and jerk up on the handle there by the seat.  So you use the motion of the bike to help out some, but the other issue is a lot of us don't have that handle anymore because someone took it off thinking it detracted from the appearance of the bike.  

If you're missing the handle, it just bolts on and you can probably find one off a salvage bike or make something to fit.  If you have a luggage rack that might give you something to grab onto.  You have to pick up on the back of the bike while you jam the stand down with your foot.  The stand has a bad habit of just sliding across the pavement but if you get the procedure down and your timing right you can usually pop it up first time every time on most surfaces.  

2nd way to do it is use a piece of 2x4 about one foot long.  You roll the rear wheel up on the 2x4 and basically do the same procedure as described above only it's much easier since the stand drops down farther first and you're not having to lift the bike as high.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I'd like to get some new mirrors for my KZ1300 and I can't find any.  Are there any other bikes that use the same mirror from the factory?

A:  The part # is 56001-5006 and the only other fitment for that part is the 1981 KZ550 GP model which may also be referred to as a KZ550-D1.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  I just bought a bike which is titled as an 82' KZ1300, but looking over your site I see that there are big differences between the 81' and 82' models.  My bike definitely has an 81' ignition with the pickups on the left side and the single right side alternator.  Do you think it could of come like that from the factory?  Ken G.

A:  Not the factory, but there are a couple of ways it could end up like you describe.  First way is you buy a bike which let's say is an 81' model.  Then you can't get the title for whatever reason. So you buy a frame that has a clear title  from a cycle salvage and you put that frame on your bike and toss your old frame as it's of little use to anyone.  However, the frame you bought was from an 82' model.  Now you have a title for an 82' model bike but it has all 81' model pieces which may or may not be the same as an 82'.  In the case of a KZ1300, there are quite a few differences between 81' and 82'.  Some are noticeable as 82's have dual alternators and 81's and older only have a single alternator.  Igniters are different and can't be interchanged, etc.  So the bikes look almost the same at first glance, but there were some major revisions in 82' that make 82' KZ1300's more desirable.

Second way is you have an 82' model bike and the engine goes bad.  Instead of fixing the engine which can be very expensive you buy a used engine from a cycle salvage.  The engine you get however is from an 81' model.  It goes in without much trouble, but you have to use the igniter and pickups from the 81' to make it work.   david@kz1300.com

Q:  How do the ZN1300's stack up against other touring bikes of the same era?

A:  I think the first Voyagers got a raw deal.  I was reading some road tests of the "new" Voyagers in some old bike magazines that I kept strictly for those tests.  It may have taken me 21 years to finally get the bike, but at least I had the reviews in hand!  All I can say is it's a good thing I didn't take them 
seriously because you'd think the Voyagers were the poorest excuse for a touring bike that was out there, one reviewer even calling it a white elephant.  It's also interesting how the Voyager was criticized for a number of things at the time, but a few years later other bikes were praised for it.  Mentioned was the poor stereo and that is true.  However, quiet down the exhaust and install decent 5.25" speakers and it's not so bad after all. Mentioned was the excessive weight and yes, they are heavy but a few years later the Suzuki Cavalcade and the Honda GL1500 were almost as heavy and that was ok.  The conventionally located gas tank didn't help, but with the low seat I personally don't find it that top heavy. 

When the Voyager first came out, it had more doo-dads (compass and trip computer for example) and more dash readouts than any other bike.  Review after review mentioned the excesses and how it wasn't necessary. Then along came the Cavalvade with the air adjustable seats and auto leveling suspension and that was wonderful.  After that came the Gold Wing with the GPS and LED readout showing time zones and such stuff and that was even better than wonderful!  Look at a new Harley touring bike and you'll find an ambient temperature gauge standard and the reviewers thought the Kawasaki compass was excessive? At least the compass will tell you you're going the wrong way and you can do something about that but this summer when my buddies Harleys temp gauges were pegged at 120 degrees, there wasn't a dang thing we could do about it except complain! 

The Voyager did get poorer gas mileage than it's competition at the time, but if you read the current bike reviews there's plenty of mid to low 30's readings, worse than the Voyager delivered back then but I've yet to read a current day reviewer complaining.

In some ways Kawasaki was probably ahead of their time and certainly ahead of the competition in several areas.  The Voyager was the driving force behind Honda dumping the old GL1100 gutless wonder and coming out with the totally redesigned, torquier GL1200.  Sure, the Voyager did have and still has problems like overheating and the cam chain tensioner, but Gold Wings have fried stators from the very beginning and to replace that, you pull the engine. At least there's something we can do with our tensioner BEFORE it causes a catastrophe but there isn't a darned thing you can do about a stator that sets smoldering in the engine's frying pan other than replace it when it goes up in smoke. 

I've had Wingers tell me it cost $1000 plus to replace the stator and it usually happened when they were a half dozen states from home.  I know there's plenty of high mileage, old 4 cylinder Gold Wings out there but I also know that on more than one occasion transmissions had a way of failing at the worst possible time...like the middle of Nowhere, Montana.  As the Cavalcades racked up miles, they were notorious for having a rubber casting plug in the bevel drive shrink, fall out and let all the bevel lube run into the crankcase. The result was you were whizzing down the highway at 70 mph when without any warning at all the rear wheel suddenly locked up and there wasn't a thing you could do except ride it to a stop or into the ditch. 

More than one Cavalvade was totaled that way.  And let's not forget the quick, sporty 1200 Yamaha Venture's 2nd gear failure on bikes with as little at 12-15,000 miles.  Technically it was the shifting fork that would bend but the result was that if you managed to coax it to stay in 2nd, it would pop out when you poured the coal to it.  A split second later the tach needle pegged itself to the right and you counted yourself lucky if you didn't float the valves.  Yamaha made an improved shifting fork and would pretty much give them to you, the problem being it was up to you to pay for replacing it because nearly all the bikes waited until the warranty was past before they threw craps.  Then to add insult to your financial injury, replacing the fork required that particular transmission shaft be removed. 

Unfortunately for the Venture owner, that shaft was the very last piece to come out of the engine.  The engine had to be removed and totally stripped down and disassembled, everything including the crankshaft being removed.  As a result, most people swallowed their pride, quit using 2nd and basically had a 4 speed tranny with a huge gap in it.  I like Harleys but I'm not even going to go into the pre-evolution bikes with parts falling off and being run over by a semi following (yes, true), primary chain wear and so on. 

Other than the cam chain tensioner (a simple fix), the 6 cylinder Kawasaki engine and transmission was overbuilt from the get go and is virtually bullet proof, something that can't be said for the competition it had at the time.  If anyone riding one of the above bikes gives you a hard time about the "white elephants" we ride, at least you now have some ammunition.   John

Q:  I have a question in regards to a 1980 Kawasaki K1300 bike.  What is the average cost in a fair condition, and no rear caliper brakes?   As we only owned a 1985 Harley, and I cannot find any information on these types of touring bikes in the cost factor involved, could you please help me out I would greatly appreciate it.  I do not know the mileage but it looks well worn and was under a bike cover all winter.  I feel in my opinion that the asking price of $2500 is way off since the rear caliper brakes are frozen  the seller said, and they never bothered to fix them since her husband never used them anyway!  Rather dangerous in my opinion.  Amy H.

A:  There is no 'average' cost that I could quote.  What one of these is worth is subject to a lot of factors.  Mileage and condition being most important, and condition including what condition the motor is in primarily.  You can't always trust the odometer on a bike because people swap odometers by buying other instrument sets off ebay with lower mileage.  They take the original instruments off and put on the lower mileage instrument set in its place.  Presto.  The bike now has 20,000 - 50,000 less miles on it!  That makes a huge difference.

#1 issue with the motor is compression.  Until you check compression, there's no way to know what condition the motor is really in.  If it's been sitting so long the caliper is frozen, I'm guessing the bike probably doesn't run too good either.  If it looks "well worn", I'd probably be thinking in the $500 - $1000 range. 

However, if I check compression and it comes up 150 across all 6, then I'm thinking maybe $1500 - $2000 if the bike doesn't need much else.  If I buy without knowing what the compression is, I'd be back in the $500 - $1000 range unless I confirm proper compression.  There's virtually no new parts available, only used.  You can look at my links page.  That has the only new parts we know of.

$2500 sounds way off unless you can find a good reason to justify it.  Did he spend a bunch of money on repairs last year?  New coils, new tires, new this, new that? $2500 is generally considered top dollar these days.  Most of these sell on ebay in the $1000 - $2500 range.  But some of the guys that buy them contact me looking for parts, and find that theres not much that's actually available, and many times they go right back on ebay a few months later.  They don't really think about parts when they're bidding on it.

You're buying one of the Rolls Royce of motorcycles that had an extremely low production, and you can't get many parts for them, much less find a mechanic that will work on it.  You'll probably have to do any repairs on the bike yourself, unless you have a motorcycle mechanic 'friend' who you've already confirmed will do it for you.  It's not a hard bike to work on by any means, but the parts situation can be a big issue.  You have to keep in mind it's a 30 year old bike the qualifies for Antique status in most States.  Some people spend big money on antiques because they like them. 

Maybe you're like that.  I know guys that have spent $20k - $30k customizing these bikes still, and even adding turbo's to them at this late date.  They're out there, but there's only a few guys like this these days.  Not a poor mans bike, or a bike you plan on riding to work, but we do have guys with over 300,000 miles on these engines now.  These bikes can go the distance, give good service, and still be generally very fast bikes.  They're geared a little low for touring though.  If they had an overdrive gear, that would of been nice.   david@kz1300.com

 

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