Starting up from cold.

[crossthread]

First some background . It's a 1979 mk 2 A3 . Compressions , shims , float levels , carb balance , timing , all checked . Pod filters , 4 into 1 , pilot jets upped to 17.5 . Carbs been cleaned. So far so good . My starting procedure from cold goes , fuel on , a few seconds to fill carbs , choke on full , ( ok , I know it's an enrichment circuit but it says choke on the lever) no throttle and push the button . Bike fires almost immediately on all 4 and revs race up to 3500 . This pushes my mechanical sympathy button , don't like revving a cold engine , so choke off , revs die and I try to catch it on the throttle . Cough , cough , spit , spit , too lean , so choke on and revs rise to 3500 . choke off , and repeat the process . This only lasts about 15 seconds and I can catch it on the throttle and everything settles down . No problems on the road , runs well . Is it me or the bike ????? It's my first Z , I'm more used to things old and British .

[warren3200gt]

Start sequence is the same for me but the choke on/off. Once its starts and revs to 3.5k i back the choke slowly to the desired revs then leave it to warm up. Once warm enough to run with choke fully off then go riding

[Philippe]

Hi crossthread

having some old Kawasakis myself, I understand you completely!
I don't like high revs when the engine is cold but that's the way it is with our old beasts.
Just do like warren3200gt wrote: start with full choke and when it runs, back it in slowly.
Don't wait to long to start riding. I ride the bike as soon as the engine responds to the throttle. I start slowly and when it runs normal, I close the choke completely and I enjoy the ride. Don't expect to much response when the engine is cold, give it some time to warm up.
Cheers
Philippe

[z1bman]

kawasaki's have always revved their knackers off just use the choke like a throttle until its warmed up enough to run without the choke

[crossthread]

Thanks Guys . Every day is a school day . It still goes against the grain to rev the nuts off a cold engine though . I'm also learning how finicky these old girls are . With my old Brit stuff so long as the carb is actually attached to the engine , its got petrol , and the spark occurs somewhere around the compression stroke then it will run fine. With my modern Jap stuff it's ride and forget . Seems an old Z is worse than having kids , it's a commitment for life .