frogonwheels

I have a 76' 348 Cota. 2 things come to mind : #1/ Even a new coil can be defective. And 30 years ago, I had the very same problem on a 2 stroke bike....and a 504 Peugeot car. Always easy start when cold, but very unlucky when warm. Sometimes I had to wait 5, 10 or 15 minutes. It ended up each time being a faulty coil. It is worth trying another coil ( and always good to have a spare anyways ! ). #2/ As said by others here, the Mikuni carbs can act " weird ". On my Kawasaki KT250, the bike works just fine, but when off, fuel will seep past the bowl gasket, even with a new float valve and the proper float height. One thing you could try is to shut off the gas supply when the bike dies while ridding it. And try to restart it like that. If it does, it could mean fuel is going into the intake when the engine is off. As far as the wires cut and exposed, some models came with lights. Maybe when the lights were removed, the owner back then just cut off the wires ? Anyhow, that should be cleaned up. BTW, your bike seems very nice and I would like to see more close-up photos if possible when you get a chance ! Terry

That is a very good possibility. The problem with this Mikuni carb, the bowl gasket actually seats inside the casing as there is a lip on the outside of the top edge. Impossible to flatten the contact face ! Maybe it is time to get a new carb after 36 years ?

Hello guys, I bought a few weeks ago a Kawasaki KT250 from 1976 with 75 miles on it ! While almost new, there are of course a few issues mainly due to not being used. The bike now runs very good. There was a dead spot right over idle when cruising in low gear and opening the throttle. A little delay of a second or so. I opened the carb, reset the needle to factory setting, installed a new float valve and a new bowl gasket. That did it as far as the one second hiccup. BUT, just as when I bought it, as the bike seats on its sidestand overnight, gas comes sipping out between the bowl and the carb body itself. As I put some premixed gas in the tank as I was sorting out the engine and wanted to be sure the oil pump worked, the gas is for now a bit blueish from the 2 stroke oil. It is easy to spot the gas right at the seam above the bowl and there is always a small puddle underneath the carb on the engine. Nothing when the engine is running. As I thought the petcock might not shut off properly, it was anyway a bit hard to rotate, so I installed a brand new one. Of course, at this point, I am out of ideas of what might be the issue here. Any suggestions here fellows ? Thanks for your help. Terry