i just bought a 1977 kawasaki kz650. it ran fine when i got it home, and then i cleaned and sprayed some of the bike with a pressure washer. after that it started hard and now it doesn't start at all. i drained the gas and put new in, charged the battery, and cleaned the plugs. I don't why it won't start. it also badly backfires when trying to start it now. could it be the timing or the carbs?

thebriggsdude

carbs, you most likely got water in them....

mjwriz

how do i get the water out of the carbs? do i have to clean them?

thebriggsdude

get some carb cleaner.....now if the carbs are old originals......IE not been cleaned and rebuilt since new maybe? i'd actually go ahead and rebuild em from the ground up, new gasket sets and all.....yeah you'll have to though take em off, maybe blow em out with compressed air and reassemble....don't know for sure but do the carbs have fuel bowls on em? well water sinks, fuel floats...check those out for sure.

GrandpaOgre

I had a similar problem with a 85 900 ninja last year, turned out to be a spark plug hole was full of water and shorting out the bike. used a rag to remove excess water and ran great right away, did take 4 days and a lot of unecessary work to find. Good luck.

babybear1969

It sounds like you got your points wet while washing your bike. The points are located on the right side of the motor (as if you were sitting on the bike) under the cover that says Kawasaki on it. Try drying them out and then try to start it

johnguedj

Hi,it looks like you drown one or 2 sets of points,behind the points cover,carefully insert a CLEAN piece of stiff paper between the points set and gently pull the paper to clean the points.