hey everybody

[chukrad]

I'm new here, obviously. My friend, who doesn't have his endorsement, has had a 95 kat 600 sitting in his garage for 5+ years. He said if I got it running I could ride it. His roommate at the time rode the bike home for him and it has hasn't been started since.

So i've got a little bit of work ahead of me. Needs new battery. I will replace the spark plugs. Oil change. Need to drain the gas. I have a high mechanical aptitude, been working on semiconductor tools for 8+ years and I drive an e28 bmw, so I'm not afraid to get dirty and tear the carbs apart to clean them, but don't want to deal with it unless it's necessary. Will running fresh high octane gas with a dash of fuel system cleaner be sufficient for start up, or is it well worth my time to dive into the carbs? If anyone can steer me to a thread of things to check in my situation that would be great. I noticed the carbs 101 and 102 threads and plan to get intimately familiar with the info found there, it may address a start up after long storage, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

The bike has an 03 back wheel, and I am currently looking for an 02 front wheel, not sure why he was going down this route, but I'm sure after reading through the threads it will all become clear. It was originally purple, but I am going to take the decals off and spray it either matte black or white. Going to recover the seat black. Tank has a dent, but my friend has a replacement tank to go with it.

chukrad

[Scout]

Welcome aboard.

[voodoobilly]

Welcome to KR!

[KAT TOY]

Kats are made to run regular gas. good luck.

[astevens54]

Kats are made to run regular gas. good luck.

Are you saying no ethanol? My manual says it can run 87 octane ethanol less than 10%,however I use non ethanol gas.

[chukrad]

high octane gas is a bad idea then? one thread i read, may not have been here, recommended using 93 because the premium level of a lot of places contains less or no ethanol. thoughts?

[astevens54]

If your bike is stock stay with what is recommended high octane has a higher flash point and can actually cost you a little horse power. Check out my post here: http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=109853

[phantasm]

After sitting that long a carb rebuild is probably in the future. As for the post 98 wheels, previous owner may have wantd a wider rear tire so put a wider rim on.

[Nero]

Welcome to KR!

[yngveny]

Welcome to KR

[flash007]

Welcome to KR!

[chukrad]

I'm half way through tearing apart and cleaning the carbs. While unmounting the carbs a bunch of gas poured out of the engine side of #4. When I was taking apart #4 carb, I immediately notice that the needle that sits in the diaphram looked like it had been glazed and grilled on the bbq. Needless to say the float side of the carb was dirty also, but it all cleaned up ok so far. Both jets were clogged and are currently soaking in cleaner. Any ideas what could be causing this? Would clogged jets be causing this, or do i have an ignition or a valve clearance problem?

PS. Love the carbs 101 write up. Very helpful so far

[vonrapier]

If you got it running you could ride it? For how long and what about all of the cash you put in to it?

You sure you want to do this? Just buy your own bike........

[ImABananna]

welcome and good luck, you certainly have a project ahead of you. I hope he's gifting you the bike

[chukrad]

we are like brothers. we share everything in our garages. he doesnt have an endorsement so he cant ride. cant be to many things causing this. after going through the carbs and setting them up, checking/correcting valve clearance, and replacing plugs cant be too much left. mostly plug wire and spark distribution. i will speak with a local shop also.

can anyone recommend a good shop in pdx or vancouver?