ok so i recently bought this bike.! 1987 Kawasaki Ninja ZX600.! Its my 2nd bike to own but only my 1st 600cc bike. Ok so there is a few problems wrong with it and maybe somebody can be a friend and help me get this running correctly.! Ok first off lets see i noticed the exhaust has been cut off so thats gonna mess with the carbs, ive drove the bike but its a little laggy. Lets start here, what can i do to fix that.? or what could possibly be wrong.? if anyone has a vid on cleaning the carbs please help me.!

Thanks, Casey

 

Hey Casey, to save us some time (and a zillion questions) could you post a pic or two of your 600 from the exhaust side? That might help us "see what you're seeing."
As for the carbs; no big deal. We can walk you thru that.
Let's start with the exhaust first.

 

Welcome to KF

pics of the ride would be cool as mentioned above.

Cleaning the carbs will not solve the exhaust changes made, but I like to go back to basics and make sure that the carbs and the fuel system is all cleaned up and set to specs. (One less worry even though it will most likely not solve your question)

How many miles on this ride? The 600's are valve clearance sensitive. I like to check and adjust after the first 1000 miles, then maybe every 7k after that. This really allows you to check on the CCT (cam chain tensioner) which is a well known lack of reliability item.

There are other basic maintenance items that need to be done, but which should be done to all rides in my opinion. Keep us informed on the progress.

 

Ok there is 16675 miles on it, its an 87'. Today I do plan on trying to clean the carbs, hopefully I can do it successfully. And with the exhaust its the original, just cut and the baffels are taking out. So do you think cleaning the carbs and getting the original exhaust system back on it could run right?

 

Less than 17k miles on it is nothing then.

Finding an oem exhaust set will be the hard part if you wanted to go that route.

I still would do as you planned. Clean and adjust the carbs. But also do what I mentioned above.

After that, if you plan on replacing the cans or tune the carbs for your setup, you have that baseline.

 

I suspect whoever had the bike before you had the motivation to twiddle with the exhaust, but didn't understand the relationship with the jetting. If the baffle is gone, may need to put some larger jets in.

 

even if i put the original exhaust back on there.?? i will still have to put bigger jets.?

 

we do not know the baseline really. Are these the stock jets in this application? If the exhaust was modified, a lot of riders really do not care on dialing in the setup after a "minor tweek or cut here or there". Anytime a modification is done that concerns the engine, (the exhaust mod fits this), the engine needs tuned to obtain the full benefits. Maybe the carbs were tweeked after the modified cans, so even if you placed the original cans or exhaust back on, you need to verify that your ride meets your expectations.

 

i beleive everytihng is still original on the bike its just they cut the exhaust down and took the baffels out of it.!!