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No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationWhen I put my motor back together a while back, I did notice my carb holders were cracked around the ports. They were in otherwise good condition, and in the absence of any replacements, I went ahead and finished assembling my engine with the old carb boots. I did apply some black RTV to the cracks, then let them dry for at least 24 hours, to fill the cracks.. then when I installed them, I put another >thin< coat of RTV around the ports and assembled it wet, leaving the bolts just snug overnight to allow the sillycone to set up. Prior to carb installation, I tightened the fasteners the rest of the way.
Keeping the need for new rubber boots in mind, , I ordered some K&L aftermarket replacements off of eBay a few weeks ago. I received them last week, and finally installed them while checking valve clearances and in general spending some " quality time" with my bike yesterday.

My impression of these boots was that they were as good or better than the OEM parts, and looked identical to the OEM boots I removed.



Pic taken 2 days ago, prior to the new boots.



As pictured, the new boots are top 4 and the original boots are the bottom 4

It's rather interesting that a K&L part would have the oem part number embossed into it. I don't think I've ever seen that before on their stuff. I've had good luck with K&L. everything I've gotten looked the same as oem and fit & worked fine. caliper piston & brake caliper rebuild kit. petcock kit. fork seals. maybe one or two other items.

martin_csr wrote: It's rather interesting that a K&L part would have the oem part number embossed into it. I don't think I've ever seen that before on their stuff. I've had good luck with K&L. everything I've gotten looked the same as oem and fit & worked fine. caliper piston & brake caliper rebuild kit. petcock kit. fork seals. maybe one or two other items.

My feelings exactly, Martin. The original holders had the number 16065-1036, and the new K&L holders had the number 16065-1135
Holding both them together and side by side, they looked identical, with possibly a cleaner looking bore on the K&L's than the originals, but after 36 years on my engine, the rubber may have deformed slightly.

New vs old. The new is under the old boot. Notice the effect the gas has on the black RTV.


This pic is with the new boots, ~10 minutes ago.


My ptsd therapy. I think I feel the need right now. Enjoy!

K&L offers a large assortment of different parts. In my experience, when judged on the whole, the quality does not match up with OEM parts.

I've got personal experience with the following:
- Brake master cylinder plunger not machined correctly so metal portion of plunger was scraping/binding inside the master bore. I had to perform a lathe cut on the exterior of the plunger to remove high spots then the plunger fit fine and ran okay.
- Caliper seals (two different sets) too tight on piston; piston could not move properly close to the disc resulting in a very soft feel at the lever
- Mikuni BS float needle springs very weak and not able to support the weight of the float without depressing

I'm glad these boots seem to be good. Generally speaking though, buying K&L is a gamble that often doesn't pay off.

I bought OEM carb holders in 98 when I got my 33's. The bike sat 13 years until I got it on the road again in 13. Carb holders worked fine for a couple more years but had to change them to aftermarket. Just this year they started coming apart so I got OEM from jetsRus. There is a noticeable difference between the two. Carbs don't fit the same depth.
Steve

Nessism wrote: K&L offers a large assortment of different parts. In my experience, when judged on the whole, the quality does not match up with OEM parts.

I've got personal experience with the following:
- Brake master cylinder plunger not machined correctly so metal portion of plunger was scraping/binding inside the master bore. I had to perform a lathe cut on the exterior of the plunger to remove high spots then the plunger fit fine and ran okay.
- Caliper seals (two different sets) too tight on piston; piston could not move properly close to the disc resulting in a very soft feel at the lever
- Mikuni BS float needle springs very weak and not able to support the weight of the float without depressing

I'm glad these boots seem to be good. Generally speaking though, buying K&L is a gamble that often doesn't pay off.

You are correct on the aftermarket parts gamble. And often it does not pay off. I also rebuilt my fuel petcock a few years ago, with the K&L kit, and from what I remember, I had to replace the o-ring on the diaphragm with a larger one, in order to get it to seal when the bike was not running. I remember messing with that a few times to get it to work properly. (the bike was flooding and leaking gas when not in use.)
I am a big advocate of OEM parts, but sometimes the pricing makes them out of reach (or just plain not available / discontinued). BUT in this case, it wouldn't been that much more $$. I did search google, and from what I read on kzrider and kawimotorcycle.org, The consensus seemed to be that they were fine
I rode my bike tonite, and it seemed fine, as usual.. Anyone that has one of these, knows it pulls like a freight train and runs like a bat out hell.
As Steve mentioned, the carbs may seat too deep, but I always position my carbs to align with the boots on the air box when I put them on, and tighten the clamps while I hold the carbs in position. .

Don't forget to reinstall the band clamps to hold the airbox boots to the back side of the carbs. Air leaking into the carbs from around the boots will change the mixture strength, not to mention this air will be unfiltered. Many times an unsteady idle or some other running issue can be traced so the little things like that.

Good luck

Nessism wrote: Don't forget to reinstall the band clamps to hold the airbox boots to the back side of the carbs. Air leaking into the carbs from around the boots will change the mixture strength, not to mention this air will be unfiltered. Many times an unsteady idle or some other running issue can be traced so the little things like that.

Good luck

There are 2 spring clamps on the center boots (the 2 hardest to access). I am missing 2 spring clamps. The boots do fit nice, but you are correct unfiltered air can get past the filter. The boots are still nice and supple, and have a thin film of silicone grease around the ID seal point. I have been looking for 2 more spring clamps, but it hasn't been a big priority with all the other issues that restoring / maintaining a 36 year old bike has to offer.

The air box was missing when I bought this bike. I was quoted $150.00 for a air box by Gateway Motorcycle Salvage.. Being the einstein that I am, I found and bought 2 on eBay for $40.00 each. Why 2? Well.. the first one I bought, was missing the boots, but I had already clicked "buy now" on the one missing the boots. duh.. THEN, I found the one I am using now WITH the boots.. Sooo... I still have an extra air box in inventory.. I figure, for 80 bucks, I am still 70 bucks ahead of buying one from the dorks at GMS.

2 flat tires.. but what a neat rattle can ":custom" paint job. lol