Low speed bucking when taking off from stop? 1984 1100 LTD

[jimbosltd]

Hi, I've recently encountered a problem with my 84' Kawasaki 1100 LTD (zn 1100 b-1)

When taking off from a stop it seems to stutter (miss) or under load until you reach about 2000 rpm. It runs fine after that.
I had the carbs cleaned, put inline fuel filter in, new petcock in, new air filter, new plugs (BR8ES).

It doesn't appear to be fuel related.

Also, from what I have read some of the Ltd's had igniton points is this true of the b-1's?
Any help would be appreciated, Thanks Jimbo

[MFolks]

Unscrew the sparkplug caps from the sparkplug wires, inside is a 5000 ohm resistor that supresses the RFI when the plugs fire. Take a multimeter set on OHMS, range of 20K. Put one probe inside the cap where the sparkplug goes, the other probe will go where the plug wire went. If the caps are good, you'll get a reading.

If the caps test good, before re-installation, cut about 1/4" off the end of the wire, and screw the caps back on. If they test bad,replacement caps can be bought at most japanese motorcycle shops, or at Z1 Enterprises, Inc. - Quality New Parts for Vintage Japanese Street Motorcycles

If you suspect other electrical problems, here's some other places to test:

Ohm Checking Pickup(Pulsing) Coils

The pickup(Pulsing) coils on the Kawasaki’s with the factory supplied electronic ignition can sometimes fail or become intermittent due to heat and vibration.

1.Trace back from where the pick up coils are mounted,(BEHIND A RIGHT SIDE, CD SIZED COVER) locate and disconnect a small 4 pin connector. Using a multi-meter set on OHMS and range of 2K, check between the BLUE and BLACK wires(#1 and #4 sparkplug wires) for between 360- 540 OHMS.

2.For #2 and #3 sparkplugs the wire colors will be YELLOW and RED, again 360-540 OHMS. The 550’s,650’s & 750’s may be backwards to the Z1’s,Kz900’s,Kz1000’s & Kz1100’s.

3.If the pickup coils are suspect of failing due to heat, they can be stressed using a hair dryer without the need of the engine running.

4.A replacement set of pickup coils might be obtained from a dealer who serviced the police Kawasaki’s.

5. If replacement pickup coils are not available, your next choice would be to order a Dyna “S” electronic ignition system from Z1 Enterprises, Inc. - Quality New Parts for Vintage Japanese Street Motorcycles It replaces the IC igniter with a smaller module located where the mechanical ignition advancer was mounted.

6. Checking with Kawasaki.com website has determined that the Pick up(pulsing) coils are available . The pulsing coil # is 59026-1133 and replaces the older # 1002, 1012 which were used from the MKII motors until the 2005 P24.

7.Check the small 4 pin connector that the pickup coils connect to for corrosion/loose pins too.

[MFolks]

I think I see your problem, NEVER use resistor plugs with resistor caps, as now there are two (2) sources of resistance in the secondary loop of the ignition coils. This makes for a very weak spark, having you think carb problems, with the endless jet search, and needle clip adjustments.

If your bike has the original ignition coils, read this:

Ignition Coils And Sparkplug Wire Choices
What came with the bike were ignition coils that even when new were marginal, add years of cooking under the tank in stop and go traffic, and the coils will fail when hot.

Replacement coils can be bought at Z1 Enterprises, Inc. - Quality New Parts for Vintage Japanese Street Motorcycles. I believe "Emgo" is the brand. They also carry the popular Dyna 2.2 and 3 ohm coils along with replacement sparkplug wires.

Now, you have a choice on sparkplug wires:
1. Copper plug wires with no supression caps(the best choice, will produce greater spark, but will produce audio noise on Radio's & T.V.'s)

2. Copper plug wires with supression caps(a built in 5000 ohm resistor, that can some times fail, like what came with the bike).

3. Copper plug wires with no supression caps, but using resistor plugs(the "R" in the plug number, like B8RES).

4. Supression plug wires with no supression caps.

NEVER use resistor plugs and supression caps or supression plug wires, as now there will be two (2) sources of resistance in the secondary loop of the ignition coils, greatly reducing the spark energy.

Another choice is the Accel 3 ohm coils, with a similar primary(small wire) electrical connection using ring terminals as the Dyna ignition coils. Whatever brand of coil you go with, make sure the primary wires will clear the mounting hardware, as the spacers will come really close, possibly causing an electrical short, blowing fuses. Some riders have replaced the metal spacers with Nylon or Plastic non conductive ones, reducing the chance of an electrical problem. Both the Dyna and Accel coils will take 7mm sparkplug wires.

[jimbosltd]

Thanks Mike, I'll check it out, stay tuned, Jimbo