bs34's junk?

They've been called boat anchors, cruiser carbs, etc.

Now George said they as good or better than the old 29's.
George specializes in carbs.

Otak says they his pride an joy.
Larry, well he don't like to mention them at all really.
What is the reasoning behind these thoughts?
Can someone just bolt the 29's, the 34's, the 33's and the other 29's on a motor and dyno it?

I'd really like to know what gives here.
It's just not clear to me 1. the power diff. 2. the response.

My opinion is maybe one owns lots of boats, the other makes anchors? Or is there more to it.

Neither one seems rich (no dyno).

Why not make some paper trails and turn us all on to the good time your having, if there is such.

No dyno no good. I need the facts before I spend 700 on some carbs that may not be much better than 34's.

For all the playing with these (some for 30 years), seems like there are alot of un answered questions.

What have you all been dinging around with all these years?

IT's like "I can change this needle and that jet and it should have a cr3 jet with a suchasuch jet". When asked how much power it makes, it's huh idunno, not a clue, why? :woohoo: :woohoo:

I'll render my opinion of her.
After I smell your finger.

On a stock motor the BS 34's are a good carb. But they are very sensitive close syncing and correct pilot fuel screw adjustment. Cheap sync tools will not even get you close to were the carbs need to be for good low speed response and getting the pilot screws set right is a big part of getting the Kawasaki style BS 34's to run well at low RPM's.

So the 80's kaw's idled terrible, and low speed response was not enough to get the hoghater out of pen fast enough.

So what you may be saying is that they have the wide open power potential, but the response is sickening. And the idle.

It seemed to me that every bike I rode with cv carbs (though not all bs), revved quick and had very good response.

More perfect idle than most any slide carb too.

Turn the screw left :woohoo: turn the screw right :woohoo: spend 700 dollars :huh:

Guess they lack alot of response. Question is how much.

First, I am a complete novice with a little knowledge = dangerous. I believe this is a really hard question to answer, and that a dyno match up might not give all the answers. I think alot of it comes down to is what the rider is wanting out of the carbs in the first place.

I would think that if we did a "consumers report" style evaluation, all the experts may be right :huh: Do you want top end power, street ridability, cold/hot weather performance, fuel economy, ease of maintenance, etc, etc, etc. Let's not forget budget? I have to think the Nippon engineers were doing the best they could when they designed all of them. Look at how well these things hold up.

I remember when I was a kid (many moons ago) that I wanted a "hot" carb for my POS Chevy Nova. It was a 350/350 car, but pretty beat to crap. I saved my dimes and bought a Holley 750 DP to replace the stock QJet which was shot. I first bought the adapter for the stock manifold, and guess what... Ran like Poo. I tinkered and adjusted, and took it to mechanics. All said the same thing, it was like putting lipstick on a pig.

I think this falls into the same catagory, is that I did not know what I truly wanted or what it took to get there. I have a set of BS34's on a 82 LTD that work (worked) great, for my riding style that is. I have a set of VM26's that I'm sure will be just fine for my other bike. All in what you want out of them.

I would like to see somebody do a Mythbusters style test however. That would put all the arguments to rest right? :lol: :lol:

nads.com wrote:

So the 80's kaw's idled terrible, and low speed response was not enough to get the hoghater out of pen fast enough.

So what you may be saying is that they have the wide open power potential, but the response is sickening. And the idle.

It seemed to me that every bike I rode with cv carbs (though not all bs), revved quick and had very good response.

More perfect idle than most any slide carb too.

Turn the screw left :woohoo: turn the screw right :woohoo: spend 700 dollars :huh:

Guess they lack alot of response. Question is how much.

If you had taken the time to read the post you would not be so quick to condemn. The BS 34's respond fine. Are they race carbs, no. They were street carbs. For the money the best BS 34's were from the '82 and '83 GS 1100 Suzuki's those were far more refined than the Kawasaki BS34's.

Oh by the way Nads, look at the quarter mile times and speeds of an '82 GPz 750 and the earlier 900's and 1000 KZ's. The 750 did very well with BS 34's. Guess the 34's did have good response. Not all of the CV style were lame.

This is my GPz1150 with .420 lift cams and ported head. she moves like a bat-auta-hell. Will the BS34s compare to the top notch smooth-bores for drag strip use? NO. But they are one of the best street carbs around.

Thanks for the good replies I'm satisfied with the bs 34's and don't even own a set yet. How can I tell if the carbs I look over are from a gpz? Last question I swear! I'll make up for it in another post though :laugh: If I see a gpz on the road I'll hide my bike under a bridge till it passes over. I'll pull up next to it and yank the carbs off with a coat hanger. Friend had them on his bike. First day out he was at a seaside tavern having one. The ship's captains' were looking at each other and nodding over their shoulder. He seen two guys go out the side door. When he got to his bike it was too late. The bs 34's were gone.

hoghaterkaw wrote:

On a stock motor the BS 34's are a good carb. But they are very sensitive close syncing and correct pilot fuel screw adjustment. Cheap sync tools will not even get you close to were the carbs need to be for good low speed response and getting the pilot screws set right is a big part of getting the Kawasaki style BS 34's to run well at low RPM's.

Well said and true. They can be tuned to give fantastic performance, but it is more difficult than slide carbs, and required lots more testing time depending on the engine/bike combo.

TeK9iNe wrote:

hoghaterkaw wrote:

On a stock motor the BS 34's are a good carb. But they are very sensitive close syncing and correct pilot fuel screw adjustment. Cheap sync tools will not even get you close to were the carbs need to be for good low speed response and getting the pilot screws set right is a big part of getting the Kawasaki style BS 34's to run well at low RPM's.

Well said and true. They can be tuned to give fantastic performance, but it is more difficult than slide carbs, and required lots more testing time depending on the engine/bike combo.

I completely disagree. The CV carburetors are the most forgiving. If you know what you are doing you can have them set up in minutes.

nads.com wrote:

Thanks for the good replies I'm satisfied with the bs 34's and don't even own a set yet. How can I tell if the carbs I look over are from a gpz? Last question I swear! I'll make up for it in another post though :laugh: If I see a gpz on the road I'll hide my bike under a bridge till it passes over. I'll pull up next to it and yank the carbs off with a coat hanger. Friend had them on his bike. First day out he was at a seaside tavern having one. The ship's captains' were looking at each other and nodding over their shoulder. He seen two guys go out the side door. When he got to his bike it was too late. The bs 34's were gone.

first of all, you never told us what bike these are going on. The GPz1100 never came with carbs, it was fuel injected. I built that bike from scratch and it only LOOKS LIKE a GPz1100. The GPz that did come with BS34s was the GPz750. The other 750s came with Keihin carbs. The KZ1000/1100 "J" series bikes came with BS34s.