Motorcycle Repair: carb leaning?, original shop, catastrophic damage

Question
I have a 1984 Kawasaki zn700ltd shaft driven bike. Being that it is an ltd, there is no aftermarket repair manuals and I have not been able to locate an original shop manual as of yet. The problem I am having is that the bike will start up no problem when it is cold but within about 3 minutes the engine block and crankcase areas will start to emit smoke and then the engine will lose power and die out and won't restart once it is warmed up. When I changed the oil it smelled strongly like fuel. The guy that owned it before me had ran it with no air filter. I put one in it and the problem seems to have gotten worse. I can find no adjustment on the carbs to lean them out. They are 4 inline carbs and I believe it is the outer left carb that is mostly running too rich. How do I adjust the carbs on this bike and would you happen to know where I can locate a repair manual?

Answer
Hi dean,
Ive seen this before, chances are VERY good your crankcase is completely filled with fuel from fuel running past the float needles. Drain the oil completely, AND oil filter, re-fill it, run the bike for a SHORT time, then drain and re-fill again, you NEED to get all of the fuel out of the engine which can and evetually will do catastrophic damage to the engines bearings. Im pretty sure this is your issu, but if you say the bike and smoke stinks of fuel, its more than likely looking for somewhere to go.

One more thing, if this IS the case, make sure you have 2 drain pans.....youre going to fill the 1st one for sure and you'll need somewhere for the rest of the oil/fuel to go when draining it out of the engine..

Hope this helps!!

~Mark Panka