Strictly Street

big +1 to everything v65 rider said.

a shop will charge you maybe $100 to $texas depending on where you take it. a dealer may not even want to touch it, as the bike is older than most of their techs probably are. im sure you could find a few shops that would do it though.

although i would also recommend doing it yourself. half the fun of owning a bike is working on it IMO. i know how you can feel intimidated by it. when you get down to it though its pretty much just screws and remembering how everything goes back together. once you do it, you will feel great though

there are lots of people here who can help you too

People who can help definitely makes me feel better!

A call to a shop or two taught me most of them won't touch anything older than a 2000. I can believe that the bike is older than most of the mechanics.

An Example:

"What year did you say"?

"1980".

"1980?!? Oh no, we don't work on bikes that old".

The guy sounded like he thought I was nuts to even have something that old.

The weather looks so good this week that I think I'll ride to work all week.

I'll try some 93 octane and a little seafoam. If that doesn't do it I'll try to clean them myself next weekend while its raining.

Your carbs have a slow, med and high range jets.

To get them really clean you need to pull them and clean them.

They aren't that hard to clean if you do one at a time so you don't get the parts confused and get everything put back where it is supposed to be.

Also don't split the carbs unless you have to.

It seems like the transition from low to medium is the problem. Clogged or dirty jets or fuel lines does make a lot of sense. The symptom does seem to fit. And I already fixed the other troubles, whats left is the carbs.

I do have a manual for the bike, and a couple of old wrenches, hmm...

It looks like I'll have to do some reading.

the "Black Hat"

2643 Federated Blvd

Columbus 43235

(Off sawmill just south of 270)

Tuesday nights starting about 6pm or so.

Chow by "Buckeye Barbecue".

Pool, Darts etc.

They have only had one that wasn't rained out so far this year. I got there late (9pm) so there were only a few bikes left. Seemed like some nice folks.

Lots of notices for poker runs at different places.

They are close to me so I'll stop by again, hopefully a little earlier this time just to see what is what.

I ran some carb cleaner through it without much effect.

You are saying I should pull the carbs and do a real cleaning.

Sounds kinda intimidating based on my limited mechanical skills.

Any idea what a shop would charge for it?

My cousin (24) just finished college with two associate degrees and a couple of networking and server certs (Cisco/Windows).

Anyone know in town who is hiring for these types of positions? He has decent work experience from where he went to school (Akron) and is a good kid.

Any suggestions on where to kick his resume to?

Anywhere and everywhere. IT ain't what it used to be. Until you have _real_ experience, your toast.

Craigslist.com is a source many overlook. Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com have a few leads. Don't forget the job boards at the local unemployment office.

Temp contract work is nice to get experience and a decent hourly wage even though it's short term work with no benefits, it is work.

You get to work with real systems that really help build that resume, even if it is only a month long contract it still helps.

Good luck to your cousin!

A can of Seafoam, a set of plug wires and lube for a sticky mechanical advance was the fix(s)

Runs really good now!

Thanks for the troubleshooting help and tips on what to do.

===== Original Post ============

1980 Kawasaki LTD 550 C1 USA model.

Kerker 4-1 headers, K&N air filters.

Dynojet kit 2305.001 installed.

(Like this when I bought it, can't verify without tearing it down)

Ignition coil mod so spark is not a problem.

I found a sticky mechanical timing advance, a little grease and it runs much better but still about 4500 rpm it breaks up till about 5500 rpm. After that it seems ok up to redline.

Any thoughts as to why it would have this narrow range of stuttering?

The high voltage section of an old black and white TV set should do the trick.

Many of them could be run off a 12 volt adapter.

That should get you your 40kv at about the right current.

Welcome. How long have you had your bike?

About a year now, going on my second summer with it.

It's my second bike.

The first was an 1975 Yamaha RD which I rode for two years rain or shine or snow or ice...

Had to get a car, was freezing my ass off. Boss was tired of "can't come in today, it's snowing."

Finally got the KZ. Started small so I could pass the test on it. Want to move up but, that pesky economy is getting me down.

Maybe next year.

http://s346.photobucket.com/albums/p428/kz550ltd/

Pics at the link above, such as they are.

Saw this site listed on Craigslist of all places.

Thought I'd drop in and see what was up.

NW Columbus is my area.

Just might get some riding time in this summer if it would ever stop raining.

Nice site.