Just to confirm, even testing the starter with jumping cables and a battery - it didn't turn! I was shocked. I went to a shop where they fix starters etc. and have a set with heavy duty cables. Put the starter in a vise and connected the positive - booom!!! Span like it wanted to fly away. So, it turned out those compact jumping cables I bought were not robust enough.

I'd suggest to utilize a solenoid for this test. Connect the starter, battery, and solenoid with proper thick cables for maximum current flow and then activate via the solenoid.

SO, you have the oil pan installed, right? Oil to the proper level? Once turned a couple times the oil will fill some galleries and the level will drop, so it has to be checked again.

One word of warning - I'd squirt some engine coolant around the water pump. If you keep cranking the engine dry too much it might damage the mechanical seal. I think a couple seconds at a time.

I'd also keep the spark plugs out, which you keep off for testing anyway. Then, screw all of them back to keep things clean inside.

For the tensioner, I'd keep the cam cover off - easy this way to feel the chain by hand and see how it reacts to the tensioner, instead of doing it blindly. Also, I'd just spray oil everywhere on top of the cam shafts and gears when having the cover off before cranking the engine. And on top of the clutch as well.

Regarding the cam chain tensioner, I suggest searching the forum for posts on this subject - there are many,.
Opinions vary as to which is the best option in overcoming the original tensioner’s shortcomings. There is information on shortening the ZX11 tensioner spring, and I do know that member strate6 has performed this several times, and is confident that the result is satisfactory on all the many 1300s he has owned. Other folk have opted to modify the original tensioner, but retaining the factory fitted spring, due to concerns about the strength of the ZX11 spring and the possible resulting overloading of the tensioner gear and roller.

McBoney wrote: Ha, my new cam chain tensioner has arrived.

Somewhere on the forum mention as made that I would have to cut the spring.... is that correct? And if so, why and by how much?

And as it came without instructions, I take it the small rod goes inside the spring? What about a gasket?

Paul

Which tensioner did you get Paul? Ned to know so the boys can properly advise.
If you got the ZX11 tensioner you may want to read this topic
ZX11 tensioner mod post

Ha, my new cam chain tensioner has arrived.

Someone on the forum mentioned that I would have to cut the spring.... is that correct? And if so, why and by how much?

And as it came without instructions, I take it the small rod goes inside the spring? What about a gasket?

Paul

It's a stock chain tensioner so I'd let her beat it too. I'd have to have the last smash though.

That's a cute munchkin and if I posted a pic of my granddaughter who's just turned 5 months old, you'd think they were twins. I'll have to see if I have a pic. (Of course the wife has hundreds !@#@!#@!#. Not sure if she would share.

Daddy duty are some of my most cherished days. My son who is now 30 and working in the oil well services as a youngster would eat damned near anything in a hurry if he knew that after dinner/ supper he and Dad would be working on a project. I'll know if the baby is a future KZ1300 member when I see the grease on her hands?

Sounds like lubrication problem. The top looks dry - I'd suggest just very generously pouring engine oil while turning the engine slowly. The assembly lube is very sticky. Let the oil penetrate everywhere. Keep on doing it until all smooth. I squirted oil deep inside the engine as well. Chains, tensioner, between the rods, etc. I also noticed you like applying way too much liquid gasket. It's coming out around the tensioner. There is a thin paper gasket there. Doesn't require any liquid gasket actually, just smear some oil on it and after torqued it will seal just fine.

Right, got the new gasket by post today and head is back on, properly torqued. I did put a very thin layer of silicone sealant around the water passages only, and I mean VERY thin, much less than I did last time!

Next jobs are to put the valve shims in and then mount the camshafts, properly timed.

Then lastly the cam chain tensioner, the head cover, starter motor cover and the two remaining side panels.

The end is near! Well... engine rebuild - wise...

This weekend I'll be at Kempton Race park for the bike jumble, see if I can secure a front end. The electronic Ducati one is far too complicated as it needs the Ducati engine CPU to set itself up properly. I'm trying to keep it simple so will look out of manually adjustable shocks.

bluefan44 wrote: What do you think that ticking is? Loose timing chain?

At this point I would be pulling the valve cover off and having a good look around especially the nylon gear on the camshaft chain. Lots of trouble with these and at this age, being nylon and oil soaked, can become brittle and shatter. Noise- unwanted sound by definition. you need to find it.
The other not as common issue that crops up from time to time is the starter clutch dog pins hanging up and driving the starter when the clutch should have released the starter once the bike is running. Happens with bikes that have sat for extended periods of time.
But what I'm hearing is a steady tick that sounds like valve train related or slop in the camshaft drive chain. The camshaft chain is driven by the secondary shaft which is behind the crankshaft and the slop in the chain which is taken up in the tensioner would show itself on the backside of the secondary shaft, which is around the starter but lower in the engine. I'd still pull the camshaft cover and have a look around. While you're at it, pay attention to the oil laying around the valve buckets and make sure they are all nice and wet. Normally when I start up an engine that's not run for more than a year, I like to pull the valve cover(s) and pour oil all over the camshaft/ tappets or buckets and get everything in the top end lubricated before starting up a dry engine. It can take some time before a timed out engine starts feeding all of the different areas with lubricating oil and the last area to receive oil is the top end

Well, I took a sharp intake on breath and took the head off again.

Two lessons learnt:

1) no need for liquid gasket when using a proper head gasket as it comes with its own 'soft coat', you can see from the pics that the extra (very thin!) layer of liquid gasket (in red) just squeezed everywhere it should not have gone



2) there is a proper way to insert the cam chain into the tensioner holder... please do not do what I do and just drop it in, the chain needs to wrap around the wheels in an S-shaped fashion.



I now have to clean off the old head gasket and liquid gasket without any of the debris falling into the motor or the waterways - what a nightmare - and get myself a new head gasket!

One lucky find: when cleaning the head my finger caught on a small piece of metal wire that was stuck in one of the valves. If I had not screwed up with the cam chain tensioner holder, that would have fallen into the cylinder and buggered everything up properly! Lucky escape!



When fiddling with it, it broke off, so I had to open the valve and retrieve the bit still in there, you can just see it on the cloth.

Now I am cleaning everything again and once I have the new head gasket I'll carry on.

In the meantime, Koba (from Japan, we met on this forum) came for tea, a view of the project and took a ride on my KZ1000P. Think he enjoyed it!

Hey everyone, figured I'd go ahead and start a thread over here to keep track of the work I do to get my '79 KZ1300 on the road. It's been stored since 1991, and is, cosmetically at least, in outstanding condition.

I purchased this bike from an acquaintance, who in turn bought it at an estate sale. According to the sticker on the plate, the bike has been off the road since 1991. However, it is in absolutely incredible condition, at least cosmetically. The paint isn't faded, there's not a single blemish on the bodywork, and even under the seat looks like it could've come out of the showroom yesterday.

As we all know, threads are worthless without pics, so here we go.













A quick once-over of the bike only shows a handful of readily apparent issues:

Front brakes inoperable. Master cylinder piston moves smoothly, but no fluid. Hopefully an easy fix.
One leaking fork seal (will replace both)
Missing upper airbox (I've posted a want ad already)
Spare key stuck in gas cap

And that's it! Like I said, that's just the once over. I was really only able to buy it and get it home before I had to go out of town for a week. I'm about to hop on a plane headed home now, and have no other plans this weekend, so I'm gonna pull it out in the driveway and start poking around.

I did pull the engine through with the rear wheel and it's not seized, and feels like it has good compression. Plan for the weekend is to remove the tank, rig up a temporary fuel jug and battery, and give it a crank. Gonna change the oil first though, and maybe pull the plugs and put a little oil in the cylinders.

All the control cables and carb slides move smoothly. I pulled one float bowl off already, and that carb looked clean inside. Whoever put this bike up for storage seems to have taken the time to store it right.

I've already ordered a ZX11 tensioner after reading the FAQ. Hopefully my timing chain idler gear will last at least a little while. The bike only has 20k or so on it.

Anyhow, thanks for the welcomes, and I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions along the way.

Welcome Jared. That’s a nice detailed introduction, and a fine looking KZ1300.
I would be inclined- above all else - to address the cam chain tensioner potential issue before trying to start the engine. Also, put some oil into the cylinders and let it stand for a while.
Would be good to see pictures of your other bikes - the CBX especially, please.

Just went back to revisit and I agree with Kawboy, sounds like you installed the chain guide in reverse. I actually did exactly the same when first mocking up after months of having it sit in a box without reading first. That other damper goes with the water pump chain. Funny how sometimes the simplest basic things can escape you! I must say that after this I was checking everything three time before bolting all up. Just to realize I forgot those two little rubber dampers under the shaft of the tensioner sprocket! SO I had to take the cylinder head off as well. I guess it's not a good idea putting an unfamiliar engine together while drinking! haha
I've done it right away - luckily I realized this error just minutes after tightening all bolts down. Being still in the groove, I did it right away and it went real fast. I don't want to exaggerate, but if it was off and back in longer than half an hour, it wasn't by too much.

Hope this will make you feel better.

Cheers!
Stan

Paul wroteI missed one throwaway comment on page 73 (installation note 3) of the manual, but in my defence, there is no schematic of how the chain is supposed to be guided (although I guess it should be obvious to the more knowledgeable).

Pic E98 shows the position of the chain. Sorry you missed this

If you failed to put the chain in the tensioner as shown in the pic, just the head needs to be pulled to correct.

Sh*tsh*tsh*tsh*t! B*ggerb*ggerb*gger!!!!

When looking into the hole where the cam chain tensioner goes, I saw the chain rather than the metal of the guide!

AAAAAARGHH!

I installed it wrongly.

I missed one throwaway comment on page 73 (installation note 3) of the manual, but in my defence, there is no schematic of how the chain is supposed to be guided (although I guess it should be obvious to the more knowledgeable).

It all has to come apart again.



Only upside is that I discovered it now rather than on start-up, .... but that really is the ONLY upside.

Dejected from London.

I bought the Pingel Valve from Z1 Enterprises - Petcock - Pingel High-Flow Fuel Valve - Single Outlet 3/8 NPT - part No. PI6211-AH. This mated to a Petcock Adapter Plate 44mm 3/8 NPT - Part No. PIA1702C. Your part numbers look correct to me. Also looks like the prices have increased somewhat from 2006! - I paid $67.94 for the valve and $12.40 for the adapter. I used Hylomar Universal Blue sealant as this is fuel resistant.

I have not encountered any issues in operation without the solenoid valve but religiously turn off the fuel tap when ever the engine is not running - over the years, many on this site have reported all sorts of issues with the solenoid valve. Suggest you remove it and put it in the same place as the original camchain tensioner. Hope this is helpful.

Engine casing prepped: O rings, gasket, stud rings on the corner and zip ties on corner studs, chains through the gap, lost of oil and rings 'clocked properly.



Block on



Piston rings 3 and 4 in (this was after about a minute!)





Then 5 and 2





All done!





And the remaining stuff also done





Next is attaching the block to the casing using the 4 bolts at the rear - I had forgotten to paint those, so they are now drying - and insert the chain tensioner slides etc.

Then time to put the head on, but first read up if there is anything else I need to do first.

Paul

Neville wrote: I have been through 2 standard petcocks - I think this was designed(?) by the same person that created the original cam chain tensioner - it was always going to seize at some point and both of mine ended up virtually unmoveable without mole grips or similar. My solution was to fit a Pingel valve in 2006 and have reaped the benefit ever since! - see picture. This is one of the best mods you can make to a standard bike and is described in the FAQ.

Before I buy the wrong thing again, this is the stuff? I also need liquid gasket any brand youd recommend? When i remove the solenoid what sort of issues will i encounter?

I decided to get it turning over and running a bit before fixing the things that are broken one at a time.

Any write ups for checking the radiator and brakes out yall recommend? I see people saying do and do not use DOT 5.

I have been through 2 standard petcocks - I think this was designed(?) by the same person that created the original cam chain tensioner - it was always going to seize at some point and both of mine ended up virtually unmoveable without mole grips or similar. My solution was to fit a Pingel valve in 2006 and have reaped the benefit ever since! - see picture. This is one of the best mods you can make to a standard bike and is described in the FAQ.

not to rain on any ones parade!, but looking at those pics ill reiterate previous thoughts
with that mileage looking as it does idd,
fill tank with coke leave few days , buy POR 15 kit, follow instructions(this seals up the whole surface of the tank)
yes as Kawboy stated definitely clean carbs.
put both back on with fresh fuel and get it running
then drop oil/filter for new
buy seat cover off Ebay(simply stops any water getting to foam)
bleed out all brake fluids for new
then idd ride that sucker!!!
find any faults whilst enjoying it !
mate she is a great looking bike, why rush into a load of stuff that probably is completely unnecessary.
you can always check timing idler gear latter, and make suer eventually replace timing chain tensioner with ZZR1100 or such
if clutch is frozen whilst its running hold brakes on and kick it into gear , more often than not this will free it up
anyways thats my 2cents worth
Dion

Best advice I could give you is to go into the KZ1300 FAQ tab at the top of the page and get your head wrapped around all of the most common issues that everyone has had over the years. At 3600 miles you're no where close to getting deep into the big issues.
I would decide which way you want to go with changing out the camshaft drive chain tensioner and proceed with that first.
Next I would concentrate on checking /cleaning all of the electrical connections. Corrosion in the connectors will cause havoc and it's the age of the bike in this case and not the mileage that may have startted issues in this area. This also forces you to "have a look around" the whole bike. The MOST IMPORTANT GUY on a team at the race track is the guy running around before the race with a cloth wiping down the entire race vehicle. He's the guy that's going to spot the loose bolt or missing lock wire or tiny leak that will "lose the race" Most people think that it's a job for an idiot when in fact he's the guy that will save your ass.
Take care of the fuel tank and put of a fresh fuel filter.
If it runs and idles fine, you're laughing. Chances are though you'll be looking at cleaning the carbs if it's sat for any length of time. Scotch has a great write up on cleaning the carbs and if I remember correctly, it's also in the FAQ tab.
The FAQ's will give you a "Hit List" and you can work your way through it as you enjoy the bike