Accessing the Needles and VM26/28

Can anymore give any insight as to how I can access the needles on the vm 26/28? I'm doing a rebuild/cleaning and can't figure out hos to get into the slides.

Also, are there any markings indicating whether they are 26's or 28's? I've got a '78 kz1000 A2A.

Thanks!

You should have vm26's on that bike if they are stock. There are some small and I mean very small stamped numbers on the flange where the carb attaches to the rack. They will need to be very clean in order to see the numbers.

As to removing the needles:
First remove the top cap from the carburetor, and look down on top of the slide. You should see some small phillips head screws in there. Remove said screws and the cap with the throttle linkage pulls out. Then you should be able to push the needle up through the top of the slide.

testarossa wrote:

You should have vm26's on that bike if they are stock. There are some small and I mean very small stamped numbers on the flange where the carb attaches to the rack. They will need to be very clean in order to see the numbers.

As to removing the needles:
First remove the top cap from the carburetor, and look down on top of the slide. You should see some small phillips head screws in there. Remove said screws and the cap with the throttle linkage pulls out. Then you should be able to push the needle up through the top of the slide.

You will need to remove the bolt in the throttle linkage to get the actuator to come out of the barrel.

Good point. I was assuming that the carburetor was separated from the rack for cleaning.

They should be testa but I know a guy that knows a guy that is scared to tear them all the way down because there are so many "moving parts"

dude it aint that bad, the one problem I had was one of the phillips head screw wouldnt budge, what a PIA that was, the tiny circlip on the needle will jump in the floor on u too if ur not careful but other than that in aint too bad

here... everything you need to know about carbs... Includes the OEM VM Tuning manual....

Measure the carb ports that attach to the head side manifolds... Will inform you if 26 or 28mm carbs...


kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_docman&...d&gid=461&Itemid=108

Thanks to everyone and Old Man Rock for the guide. I've torn into a number of carbs in my day but that stubborn screw had me 2nd guessing. Maybe a little tap with the impact screwdriver while on my lap and it'll free up...

use a propane torch and lightly heat it up that will free the screw up. If you hit it you may end up with more than a stuck screw.

yea like knocking ur throttle slide out of round, ask how I know this

Kawifan wrote:

Thanks to everyone and Old Man Rock for the guide. I've torn into a number of carbs in my day but that stubborn screw had me 2nd guessing. Maybe a little tap with the impact screwdriver while on my lap and it'll free up...

I had the same issue and just drilled off the top of the phillips screw. The threaded bit came out nicely once the head popped off.

I've just finished removing the slide and moving the "C" clip up 1 position (to the highest).

There are a lot of small steps and I did this with the carbs off the bike & held in a vice. To remove the slide it is necessary to remove the small (8mm) retaining bolt on top of the actuating arm. I ended up breaking this during re-assembly. I took the carb off the rack & this meant that all the other bits needed to be removed. Take care to note the position of the throttle stop screws that limit the movement of the slide itself.

I have a workshop manual and had read as much info as I could find. Still found the adjsutment of slide height to be very tricky.:S