1989 kawasaki zx600 build
 

Howdy fellas
So while the hawks been hibernating, I've been wrenching away on my other project, my 1989 kawasaki zx600. Was a barn find at a buddies place, hasn't run in around 10 years supposedly. Long story short, I've got most of the hard work done already including new sprockets, new chain, replaced burnt airbox with UNI pods, chopped off heavily damaged exhaust cans, fresh fluids all around, new coolant lines, carbs cleaned x2 (more to come no doubt), rejetted for exhaust and intake mods, valve clearances set, rear suspension replaced, front suspension fully rebuilt, and loooooots of cleaning. So I've actually got it running pretty well for now but there's still a long way to go to have it running as good as i want. The pipes will be receiving 8" bolt-in baffles soon. Fun to see a bike start idle and run so nicely after having sat for so long, really makes ya feel like a champ.

Here's a video from the first start up after all the work mentioned above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqgGhZ1YkeY

So here's the main reason I'm making this thread: the kawi forum suuuuuucks. There are no contributing members to anything other than their beloved zx6r's. So my question that I posted there is being pasted below to see if you guys have any insight. Thanks guys

"Quick question for ya fellas. In the attached pictures you'll see two unknown inlets on the carbs, both facing the filter side. When I got the bike, i dont recall ever pulling any lines off of these inlets and all i can find in the clymer manual is also attached, suggesting that they are to be attached together and then hooked up to....something? Any idea what these were originally hooked up to? I cant put my thumb on what they might be for, seeing that the bike was up and running moderately well with nothing hooked up to those at all. Any and all advice/knowhow/experience on the subject is welcome, thanks"

More pictures of what I started with and a little of what I've accomplished

Shouldn't those be the carb drain/overflows?

That would be my only guess but this is my first ever I4 build so I'm still learning. Based on how you say it, I'm interpreting that thats a common feature, meaning thats just how I4 carb racks are. Is this a common place for overflows on carb racks of this nature? I just want to clarify with someone that has dealt with I4 carbs.

Thanks for the reply matt365, that's exactly why I posted on this forum: helpful contributing members. Care to expand on your suggestion?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT9wgyVooPg


Around the 2:30 mark.


Just states they had lines on them going to a T fitting, and off to the right side of the bike. I'd run new drain lines underneath near the kick stand side.

Fantastic, thanks matt!

The funnel for the fuel is something I'm familiar with.

Get yourself a remote fuel vessel.

I have one for when I work bikes without the fuel tank on, makes life easier.

Just plug it into the fuel line and turn the tap on.

Must be some satisfaction to here the beast run! I have resurrected a few bikes over the years, it's a great feeling.

Yea thats something I've been meaning to either purchase or build, kindof a pain to always be mindful of the funnel slopping all over the place

It really is a slick sensation to get something like this running again after someone else had given up. Really the main reason I buy such abused, non-running bikes is for the satisfaction of overcoming the challenges they bring to the table. Fastest way to learn the guts of the motorcycle passion too

If the stock tank has a fuel petcock, just use a long length of fuel line, and put it on a bench beside the bike.

Got her all buttoned up again. Finished rebuilding all front and rear calipers and masters. Everything works great, the bike will definitely stop. Tank is patched and petcock rebuilt, holding fuel and only feeding when it's supposed to which is always nice. First time firing up after the new jets in the carbs. Starts well but idle climbs quite a bit as the bike warms up and the last 1k of rev takes a while to fall back to idle. My understanding is that this points to lean idle mixture. Any one care to confirm?

Mid range is completely dead. Runs out of steam and hits a brick wall at 6k rpm. Another shim on the needles perhaps? How can i tell if the dead midrange is due to lean or rich conditions? My guess is that im still lean on the needles.

Just for the sake of feedback and constructive criticism, my setup is as follows:
straight pipes both with an 8" baffle bolted in
oiled UNI pods (the good ones)
110mains (105stock)
40 pilots (35 stock)
needles shimmed .5mm
2 turns out fuel screw

Anyone let me know if i'm going the completely wrong direction with anything. I'm pretty sure i need to richen the fuel screws a little, not 100% sure which way to go with the needle shims yet though, guessing more

Thanks for the feedback fellas

If you blip the throttle and it hangs, that indicates a lean condition.

This is the first carb setup after putting it all together, right? Since you don't have another setup to go off of, put another shim on the needle, if it gets better, then you are going in the right direction.

Instead of me copy and pasting a bunch of info, check out the carb tuning guide on the VTR1000.org site. It will be of some help to you.

You sync'd the carbs, right? Also, make sure those pod filters are on nice and tight, so you don't have any intake leaks. That can cause issues.

That is a fantastic project and you have done great work so far. I love a rescue and resurrection story.

Just a thought, I had a Suzuki Bandit 600 project that I had to start from scratch to get it to run right. I could never get it to carburete cleanly using pod filters and finally had to buy a stock air box.

Oh. . . and sync the carbs before you try anything.

Is that on choke as the GPz600r had a very revvy choke.

Crux, thats exactly what i was experiencing with the blip so that confirms the lean idle, thanks. Great read on the firestorm site too, had to put a bookmark on that one. I'm going to richen up the fuel screw and add a shim to the needles next.

Thanks Jim, its been really fun so far, looking forward to getting this bike back on the road. I plan on using it to teach a few curious friends to ride as well :)
As far as the pods, I was hoping these would provide better results than most cheap pods, these are the dual-layer foams and are straight. My only experiences with the small cone filters have been poor as well. If all fails, I have the stock airbox still in hand as well as an entire factory exhaust.

Wicky, it does rev the piss out of itself on choke but the climbing idle i mentioned was after it was entirely off the choke and running on its own.

Thanks for chiming in!:D

Lots of change over the summer. Lucky for me, I actually had this bike road worthy a day after the superhawk blew up on me so its officially back in business after 15 years of abandonment. Runs decent but far from good. I've got it to a point where it will pull to redline in every gear but there is a good bit of coughing in the last few k's of the top end. Tried going a bit richer on the top end and that made it way worse so in the process of going back down trying to find the honey hole. Starting idling and midrange are all pretty good so its just a matter of finding the right mains and adjusting the needles accordingly. May not be smooth but boy is it a blast to ride. I geared it -1/+2 and shaved over 30 pounds from the factory weight so its agile enough for its age. The seating is very low into the bike so it doesnt flick super fast but it still corners pretty well with the redone suspension. And man oh man does the thing scream. I'm sure I'll get sick of it soon enough but for now I just cant get enough of the bark that this bike makes. Sounds like I'm doing 200 in F1 but the reality is 85 on a ratbike. Almost makes up for being slow. An no tickets yet which is very surprising, my buddies can hear it from about a mile and a half away.

Looks wise, it is still every bit a rat bike. I made a 5 minute front shroud to protect the cluster and have yet to paint the tank and frame. The lights are great though, I built my own dual LED headlight unit that works very well and retrofitted a ducati monster taillight with integrated blinkers to keep the ugly butt tidy. I'll get some better pics up later and update again if I get the tuning closer to where I need it to be.