Thanks from the Kid

[Kid Nomad]

Just wanted to say Thanks for letting me in. My user name Kid Nomad isn't from owning a Nomad motorcycle, it's from my first car, a '55 Nomad, that I actually still have, bought in 1969 at the age of 17. I joined because I own a 1986 ZL600. A friend and I have been getting it back in shape during this Covid time so I call it my Covid project. It had sat for 4 yrs as right after I bought it in '06 I had to have an aortic valve replacement then when my sternum never healed right I had chest reconstruction 11 months after the valve. Then I gained a bunch of weight so had a gastric sleeve done in March. Anyway, I am finally back at it after pretty much losing 4 yrs. It didn't do the bike any good either so that was first on the list to get back on the road for those "therapy" rides! The bike turned out looking SO great but after starting one time and running good for a short time after I shut it off it hasn't started since. I plan to discuss this on one of the other technical forums here. It was the standard black model and here is what it looks like now...

 

[87kawzl]

Welcome!

Great looking project! It looks much closer to being completed than your Nomad
. Fuel system cleanup, valve adjustment, battery, brake fluid flush front and rear, fork oil and coolant change then check the air pressure and go for a ride! It looks like you know your way around a wrench.

Don't look at as losing 4 years, sometimes life throws ya a curve is all.

 

[Kid Nomad]

Welcome!

Great looking project! It looks much closer to being completed than your Nomad
. Fuel system cleanup, valve adjustment, battery, brake fluid flush front and rear, fork oil and coolant change then check the air pressure and go for a ride! It looks like you know your way around a wrench.

Don't look at as losing 4 years, sometimes life throws ya a curve is all.

Thanks a lot. I did all that stuff plus a few more things, even had it running. Ran great, great throttle response. Shut it off to check the coolant after it warmed up and the next time I tried to start it there was a pop and big backfire and haven't been able to get it running since. My buddy took the carbs home, cleaned them again. He wasn't aware the first time of the 2 pilot jets in each carb and they were dirty. Also at that time I put new Dyna coils on so we figured for sure we had it, NO! So we have gas, spark to the plugs, but it won't even fire a shot of starting fluid which it had done before I got it started the one time. I checked the compression and got readings from 1 to 4 of 110, 170, 165 and 175. The 1st cylinder went up to 135 with some WD squirted in the hole and rechecked. I'm not too concerned as that was right where I shot the starting fluid and figure it may have washed the cylinder clean and maybe that is why it went up with the WD. I'm beginning to think something happened with that backfire, maybe something with the cam chain tensioner or guide? Wondering if that happened and the cam timing was that far off if I would have the compression I have. Can you tell me if this is an "interference" motor? Thanks a lot, Jake

 

[R. J.]

Nice. . What badge is that on your fuel tank.

 

[87kawzl]

Most modern motors are interference motors and I believe that this one is too. I wouldn't worry about a backfire causing a catastrophic issue. If you pull the plugs after cranking and they are wet then you have fuel. The backfire could be caused by inconsistent spark on a cyl that is loaded up with fuel. Check your plug wires out, take them apart and clean the resistors up and make sure the ends are tight. You can test them before and after you mess with them to maybe give you a clue as to the problem. You may be seeing a weak spark. Check your coil pickup for proper gap and signal.

Did you download the manual?

 

[furchin]

I would first check the ignition fuse. As stated, do a valve adjustment as the 600 gets very finicky if the valve clearances are out. It also could be an issue with the cdi as this was/is a noted problem area with the 6.

 

[R. J.]

Go here for details on spark plug cap maintenance. https://www.zl-oa.com/community/threads/spark-plug-cap-tear-down-new-wires-plugs.21308/#post-212898

 

[Kid Nomad]

Most modern motors are interference motors and I believe that this one is too. I wouldn't worry about a backfire causing a catastrophic issue. If you pull the plugs after cranking and they are wet then you have fuel. The backfire could be caused by inconsistent spark on a cyl that is loaded up with fuel. Check your plug wires out, take them apart and clean the resistors up and make sure the ends are tight. You can test them before and after you mess with them to maybe give you a clue as to the problem. You may be seeing a weak spark. Check your coil pickup for proper gap and signal.

Did you download the manual?

Thanks for your response! After the big backfire and the following not starting we took the carbs off and my buddy had missed the pilot jets the first time he cleaned them and they were in fact dirty. I also installed the new Dyna coils and their plug wires. Like I said we thought we had it nailed but no change. I will look into your pickup coil idea. Sounds like a good idea. This is driving us nuts but not unusual for me to run into weird things with my usual bad luck. I even named my garage....

 

[Kid Nomad]

Nice. . What badge is that on your fuel tank.

I got those on Ebay I think quite a while ago. They add a nice touch. The tank protector on my profile pic was on Amazon. It matched my gold accents, had the Kawasaki logo and some Japanese scribble on it. I figure if I'm going to ride Japanese I might as well celebrate it. I'll probably piss some Harley guys off with the No. 1 sticker with the Japanese flag on it! It's on the back of the backrest.

 

[Kid Nomad]

I would first check the ignition fuse. As stated, do a valve adjustment as the 600 gets very finicky if the valve clearances are out. It also could be an issue with the cdi as this was/is a noted problem area with the 6.

Thank you! If that fuse was bad I would guess there would be no spark at all at the plugs. The valves were done by my buddy and they were all really tight but now they are set. I have seen a lot of posts about the CDI being a problem. Anyway, it's a strange one! How it could be running great one day and then POOF!

 

[Kid Nomad]

I would first check the ignition fuse. As stated, do a valve adjustment as the 600 gets very finicky if the valve clearances are out. It also could be an issue with the cdi as this was/is a noted problem area with the 6.

I checked the CDI box and could not get any readings plus on the back side it looked like it cooked a little. Just had an offer of $70 accepted from an Ebay seller only 65-70 miles away in Tacoma, WA. The only other one was $85, kind of a hold up but I guess it's the price to pay for owning a classic. Cross your fingers for me, Thanks, Jake

 

[Kid Nomad]

I checked the CDI box and could not get any readings plus on the back side it looked like it cooked a little. Just had an offer of $70 accepted from an Ebay seller only 65-70 miles away in Tacoma, WA. The only other one was $85, kind of a hold up but I guess it's the price to pay for owning a classic. Cross your fingers for me, Thanks, Jake

Nice. . What badge is that on your fuel tank.

RJ, I looked all around on Ebay and a couple other sites and could not find the badges I have. There are a lot of similar Vulcan ones but none like mine that just say Kawasaki on them. I had tried to heat mine a little to get the right curve and it didn't turn out as planned but they still look pretty good. I should have left them and filled the void with silicone which I ended up doing. I don't know if you guys know but a Toyota mechanic turned me on to the Toyota form a gasket which is black and probably the best stuff out there. Sometimes a little too good. I used it on my kids oil pan and had to take it off again...NOT fun! What I would really like for badges, being I'm old and actually had 3 bikes with them on it, are the mid-late 60's flag type, probably gold being that's what my accents are. I might do that soon even and also put knee pads behind them too, OLD SCHOOL! I also like the old fork boot look so I did that too. Another old school look was the VHT white on the exhaust. Back in my day we used this a lot on headers. https://www.ebay.com/itm/KAWASAKI-W...DefaultOrganic&_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109 Here is a link for the old style badges

 

[R. J.]

Go here for KAWASAKI repo badges. https://www.diablocycle.com/-Kawasaki-Badges/?page=4

 

[Kid Nomad]

It's been a while since I updated on my Covid Project. NOTHING good has happened since the last post. Until now....MAYBE! We just took the carbs of for the 5th or 6th time. My mechanic buddy found some crud in the chokes and then the big find. One of the CV diaphrams is blown and we are thinking it was from a huge backfire I wrote about earlier. I had a feeling this may have been the problem and although it will probably be an expensive fix I am relieved to actually have a probable cause for this craziness! So I would like to put a set of diaphrams in the carbs and would like some advice here. I know you can find cheap crap on Ebay but do not want to go that route. Ideas, anyone? Thanks, Jake

 

[R. J.]

I seen them on a web page sight. If I can find it I'll let you know. I think they are made in JAPAN and the price was $120 for all 4.

 

[furchin]

Kid, is the part that you are looking for 16126-1159, listed as valve, throttle? Partzilla want's $142.72 apiece. You can also use the same part from an '86-'o3 1200 Voyager. The EL 250 88-91 and from a Zepher 550 90-91. I would search Ebay for those makes and would think you would find a lot better prices.

 

[Kid Nomad]

Kid, is the part that you are looking for 16126-1159, listed as valve, throttle? Partzilla want's $142.72 apiece. You can also use the same part from an '86-'o3 1200 Voyager. The EL 250 88-91 and from a Zepher 550 90-91. I would search Ebay for those makes and would think you would find a lot better prices.

Thanks for the reply. I have seen the ones like you describe that have the diaphram and slider together and they ARE pretty pricey! Also have seen just the diaphrams for sale and videos on installing them on the sliders. I hope I can find some of them that aren't made in China. Such a crazy deal but it's nice to at least have a reason for not starting. I'm thinking it may have been that after it ran initially that maybe the ignition box went bad and caused the big backfire. So even though I replaced it along with the coils and wires and put the pretty minimal kits in the carbs there was still this big vacuum leak causing it not to start. Have you ever heard of anything like this? The Hard Luck Garage lives up to its name once again! Pretty high up there on the Weird-****-o-Meter!

 

[R. J.]

I can't seem to find the ones that I was looking at. They are on another thread.

 

[Kid Nomad]

I can't seem to find the ones that I was looking at. They are on another thread.

RJ, I found some on Ebay. A couple Made in Japan sets, one for $140 here in the states and one for $99 but from the UK with longer shipping time. And then a few sets from Biden's friends for around 15 bucks... I'll pass on them! Thanks for your reply though, Jake

 

[R. J.]

You are welcome. Glad to help. . I'll keep looking for the diaphragm thread.