Oily gas runs out of the Carbs

I have been working on my 1980 KZ 550A1 for a while now. Have it running pretty good but a couple of issues have come up. First the background. 4-1 exhaust, pods, main jets 95, pilot jets original 32, original vacuum petcock, valve clearances are within the correct range, electronic ignition. I have cleaned the carbs multiple times.

The problems I'm having are:
1. When parked on side stand oily gas runs out the back of a couple carbs through the pods dripping down on the case.

2. On the highway at higher speeds (55-65) runs great for a while then starts bogging down like its running out of fuel. Do I need to adjust the air screws? The spark plugs have some black fowling.

What, a pod related carb problem? Unheard of! Oh, sorry, welcome aboard, I know I shouldn't have been such a wise guy; I just can't help it sometimes. I suggest you do a search on this site using the word "pods." There hasn't been a week gone by in the past 5 years that pod related carb problems haven't been discussed. There is yet another thread started just last week specifically on a problem with using pods on a KZ550 that you may find informative. Ed

Here's the link to the latest "My KZ550 runs like crap with pods" thread:

kzrider.com/forum/3-carburetor/467551-re...rap-wconical-filters

The leaking on the side stand is because the floats and valve needles are not sealing well. You should turn off the petcock when not running to prevent this... assuming, the petcock is good.

650ed wrote: There hasn't been a week gone by in the past 5 years that pod related carb problems haven't been discussed.

You LIE! Maybe like 2 weeks... MAYBE. :woohoo:

Yeah turn off the petcock always, or park on center stand if its easy.
You can pull the carbs and polish the float needles and seats really well, then bench test to see if they leak.

The high speed issue could be a poor float bowl vent/clogged vent tubes, or could be poor fuel flow, or float heights incorrect, or ... start with the simple things - one at a time.

Is it while floging the bike, or just cruising at high speed???

If just cruising... lean your mixture screws out till you get a nice crisp throttle response - usually about a hlaf turn leaner than the highest idle point for pod filters.

Good luck.

Oily gas? So now pods cause oily gas? :huh:

First things first, your float needles may have issues, like Tek9 said you can try to polish them or you can just buy new; Float & Needle Also you may need to rebuild or replace your petcock (I'd go replace with a manual one as the rebuilds seem to fail about as often as pods get blamed but with less press so to speak! :lol: Petcock info

As for the "black fowling" is it from rich or oil? If not sure there is a trouble shooting section that shows the difference in just about every manual marketed, I'm sure there is one here too.

Sort of interested in the source of the "oily gas", does the bike use a lot of oil?

What size were the mains that came stock in those carbs (I guess I should ask if they are the stock carbs too)? The bog could be fuel but I had a heck of a time with a bad reg and then a bad glass-mat battery that had me blaming the carb setup. Are those K&N pods, Emgo or what? If the foam type then be sure you don't have them too wet with oil.

Some photos and more info will help.

KZ_Rage wrote: Oily gas? So now pods cause oily gas? :huh:

:laugh: Actually, my pods comment was directed at the second issue and the question about adjusting air screws. The oily gas could be from eating greasy pizza (oh, wait, I'm thinking about my own digestive problems) or more likely bad petcock, bad float valve(s), or improper fuel level and over-oiled pods. If the problem happened also when when on centerstand it might be that carb "spit-back" is accumulating in the pods instead of flowing into the airbox to be re-ingested by the carbs, but it sounds like that is not the case. Ed

650ed wrote: ...The oily gas could be from eating greasy pizza (oh, wait, I'm thinking about my own digestive problems)... Ed

...actually pizza and beer is sounding good right about now... just need some football to watch and that would be perfect!

I've only put about 100 miles on the bike it seemed to run great the first 30 or so could go whatever speed I wanted no problems. I think the petcock might not be flowing well enough at highway speeds. I'm saving up to get a new on/off one as soon as I can. I turned out the air screws a little bit to see if I can get the plug fowling better.

Hopefully that may fix the gas leak problem when parked. May be the vacuum petcock wasn't shutting all the way.

The only reason I call it oily gas is it has a slight yellow tint and it doesn't just dry up. It feels oily. The pods are generic nothing fancy and they do not have oil in them.

Thanks for your alls help.

I'd catch some of that gas in a clear glass jar and let it sit for a day to see what settles out to the bottom. Might have some kind of coating or additive in the tank that is the source. Also look for little bits of rust and what-not, these will keep your needle from seating properly, a good set of float needle valves won't leak even if the petcock is leaking.

Many 550's with TK22 carbs run fine with pods jetted correctly.

I've seen more non-running 550's with airboxes than with pods. Would I then conclude that the airbox must make the bikes not run? Of course not.

Are you using the original, non-adjustable needles? That will make it run lean at 55-65 mph cruising in top gear. The commonly available rebuild kits come with adjustable needles. There is a link in my signature to TK22 carb info.

The airscrews should be set for best idle using the lean-drop method and a highly accurate tach. For initial setup, and assuming the carbs are all clean and functioning properly (in the airscrew area), for your setup I would start with it set to about 3/4 to 1-1/4 turns out. Further out is leaner. The best airscrew position is determined at idle only. You would not turn the screws to fix issues at other throttle positions. You adjust other things for that.

The 32 pilot jet will be somewhat lean, and can have a little affect on the cruising as well. But you will want to get the needle figured out before adjusting the pilots.

Sounds about right on the mains. 94 to 98, maybe 100 is the range you'll be working in, most likely. The final setting will depend on how the needle turns out.

If you have adjustable stock needles, then you will probably want the 3rd clip from the top.

Oh, and before any of that, you need to figure out your fuel delivery problem. My site has settings for the fuel level in case you get the rebuild kits, which you will likely need for the fuel valves. Z1 does sell the fuel valves separately, but for a few dollars more you can get the whole kit with needles and spare jets from Z1 Enterprises.

Also, if you are running a paper fuel filter, you'll want to swap it out for a metal screen filter or scintered brass filter. They paper ones develop flow problems over time.

650ed wrote:

KZ_Rage wrote: Oily gas? So now pods cause oily gas? :huh:

:laugh: Actually, my pods comment was directed at the second issue and the question about adjusting air screws. The oily gas could be from eating greasy pizza (oh, wait, I'm thinking about my own digestive problems)

one word:

OLESTRA