Wanted: Hutt / Welly KB'r who knows about old Zeds

[Ratti]

I need someone who is familiar with these bikes and lives in Hutt to come to my house and help me out with learning how to start the wretched beast. Is really easy to flood and I can not get the hang of how to do the throttle/choke thing to get him going.

No point posting if you can't be here in person, it's one of those things that has to done, watched and practiced with someone who is in the know.

[Crasherfromwayback]

I'm happy to have a quick squizz for you one day that suits

Pete

[Pedrostt500]

A mate of mine has a bit to do with them, though he is in Rongotai, if all else fails PM me and I will pass on his Phone Number.

[Ratti]

Thanks Sweety. I will bear it in mind.

[BMWST?]

Thanks Sweety. I will bear it in mind.

some of those bikes wif choke dont like ANY throttle when trying to start,or perhaps the merest whiff,dont "pump" the throttle

[Ratti]

yes, that was the line of thinking my mind has been wandering down. Im very ignorant of things mechanical tho so not sure what I can and cant do. I got him going to night so I know he will start fine for a few days before it gets hard again. Next time I will try just a teeny bit of choke and no throttle.

thanks. Its all about trial and error really

[pete376403]

If the carbs on the Zed are anything like the carbs on the GS1100, the 'choke" (starting enrichment) opens a completely seperate circuit in the carb to provide a rich mixture for starting while at the same time increasing the idle speed , so you don't want to be adding any throttle at all.
I assume all the other bits in the intake system are correct, ie proper air filter which is clean, no air leaks between the carbs and the inlet ports - the rubber joiners tend to go very hard over time preventing proper sealing.

[hmmmnz]

i owned one many moons ago,
and as above, the choke is an enrichment circuit not a "choke" as such
so if you give it any throttle at all it won't start, as the vacum is reduced and the amount of fuel becomes less,
thats providing all the fiddly bits in the choke system are working,
certainly not the simplest carbs out there

[MSTRS:Me]

+1 on the choke/enrichener thing...
When cold, use full choke and NO throttle. Crank. When it starts, NO throttle. Let it settle into an even idle BEFORE using throttle.

[Ratti]

ok. That's when it gets too much fuel though. Can smell it.
hmmmnz, would it be more fruitful to take to to mech to have that part of the mechanism checked and fixed?

The battery winds down to a whimper after 4-5 tries at starting, so I'm wondering if that might be the first place to start? Have had the actual starter clutch fixed at Boyles and they pulled apart the carbs while he was there. I'm assuming that if anything had been wrong with the carb and seals then theywould have noted it at that time?

[MSTRS:Me]

Sounds like your battery is on its last legs. At least put it on a charger for 24 hours.Then try again.
Why would a mechanic pull apart the carbs when he was doing starter clutch work?

[Ratti]

trying to work out why it was so hard to start. he started with the fuel system then moved on from there.
I have had the battery on trickle to keep the charge up, but it's not really doing the deed.

[MSTRS:Me]

Ok - so something in your bike is causing issues. The battery is definitely poked, if you keep it on trickle and it still only works briefly.
Have a word with _stain_ - he is in NaeNae and is pretty good on the older stuff. (as long as it has petrol in it, eh mate?)

[Ratti]

Thanks. I've pm'd him and hopefuly will recieve a reply

[pete376403]

When it does start, what sort of running does it get? It takes a fairly longish ride at highway speeds to fully charge a battery. If you're just doing round-town stuff then low revs+brake light+indicators+headlight on means the battery isn't getting a good charge.

Early 80s Suzukis had absolutely crap charging systems, chances are Kawasaki orf the same era were not much better. Also after near 30 years connections get shaky, wiring breaks internally, etc. Or it could be something as simple as the battery low on water. Whatever, the batttery should be good for a lot more than four or five attempts at starting.
Fix the charging / battery problem first and the starting problem might go away.