1980 KZ550 LTD carb issues

Hi guys i'm 15 and just picked up my first motorcycle. It's a 1980 Kawasaki 550 LTD. I bought it in non running condition on the idea of fixing it by my birthday next year. I'm pretty good with engines and am restoring a truck as well right now. But, on to the problem. First thing I did is replaced the battery and checked the electrics. All of them work with the exception of the horn and the bike turns over and has spark. This bike hasn't been run since 05 and had some gas still in the tank. The petcock is ok and the tank isn't too bad either. I pulled out the carbs and took a look at them. My stepdad and his dad always complained that the bike was an awful cold starter but ran just fine when it got going. When I looked at the carbs, I noticed the choke assembly was missing the spring loaded things that gradually allow more air in, therefore negating the effect of the choke. I'll attach some pictures as well. So what should I do with it? Is there any way to replace/fabricate the parts? I also need gaskets for the tops of the carbs. Also the throttle is pretty sticky and raises and lowers the slides very slowly. And on another odd note, while looking in the bowls, only the two on the right of the bike are nasty and corroded as heck. On the right, the jets are clear and there is minimal corrosion. Also, the boots on the left side were hard and brittle, while the ones on the right were soft and malleable. Any opinions would be great, thanks.

Those flaps are for the choke, and the bike often will not even start without them, since it's the same as having no choke on three cylinders. You can try to make new choke plates that are 100% sealed off, then you essentially have a maechanical choke. It makes it easier to start, but you have to let it warm up a littl longer or play with the lever as it warms up.

Check my signature for details on the TK-22 carbs (that's what you have), and a manual if you don't have one.

Also, make sure to check my signature about the timing chain adjuster warning.

I used a two part epoxy to fill the holes. It has worked well for a few years now!

+1 on the epoxy. For years I just always stuffed a rag into the intake on the airbox under the seat. Worked good enough, but when it got below 50 it was always a pain.

I'd make sure the carbs are spotless clean... you'll have to pull the bowls off and jets & floats out to make sure every passage is clear internally. I have had issues with the pilot circuit getting plugged. Just follow Lou's site, its darn good. Make sure you unplug the air/fuel screw and take it out while cleaning to ensure everything is clean. Wouldn't hurt to either take the slides out (this is time intensive) or if you can get them moving freely by squirting carb cleaner down the slide. They should open and snap shut quickly.

Once running the 550 is a really fun bike. It was also my first bike I got when I was 17.

Thanks for all the replies, i'll post pictures and results when i'm done

Good luck. You'll really like the bike once it's running well. Good power, lighweight...the only downfall is it's a small bike. I outgrew it a bit in college (too much pizza and beer) and looked funny riding it. Also, the cold bloodedness can be a pain sometimes, but depending where you live it might not be a huge issue. Also, parts aren't as available for it vs some other models. Alot of the 650/750 parts swap with each other and the big ones are more popular, but overall still a great bike!

welcome have the same bike same year same size and its also an ltd and like you its my first bike one big difference i am about 25 years older then you
like the bike its about the right size for a beginner big enough to move you fast enough but not so big it will easily get away from you so have fun
the first thing you need to do is clean the carbs then clean the carbs then clean the carbs then before you put it all back together clean the tank and make sure you add a inline fuel filter
but it is a fun bike so enjoy it

Thanks for all the replies, i'm really excited to get this thing on the road now!

Anyway, I rebuilt the carbs and cleaned them. Got the things all back together and mounted on the bike. The bike would start on full choke and full throttle and would only run for >30 seconds before slowly dying. I had a problem initially with getting the bowls to fill up and originally that's what I thought was wrong. The bike would only start with the petcock on PRIME. So for a couple nights I would just kinda start it up a few times for a little encouragement. So last night I sprayed some starting fluid because I liked hearing the bike rev a little. So I gave it a decent amount and foolishly started it choke open with the throttle half open. Instantly firing up to 6 thousand RPM I let go and it died but also combusted the remaining starting fluid with it the airbox. It blew the filter off and it burned for about 15 seconds before I got it out. It burned a little longer under the airbox but not much more. Ever since then it would start, but die within a couple seconds. So tonight I looked for a vacuum leak or something. I found that the attachment to the intake boots were loose and leaking fuel on the one side. So I tightened it up to as much as I could which seems pretty good now. The battery was slightly dead from me cranking quite a bit. So I tried starting it to find it kicking over and starting for a bit on open choke and responding to throttle. Started it on open choke once and gave it gas and it went to about 4-5 thousand. So I kept trying and it was just kicking itself over a couple times trying to start but it couldn't. So I used some fluid. I know I know stupid stupid. It didn't even bother starting this time just did the same thing again. Got it out quickly again. But now it just cranks without really much combustion. The battery is pretty low though and i'll try tomorrow on a fresh charge but i'd like some opinions and or suggestions. Definitely a possibility that I screwed up the carbs i'm no expert with them. Needle height and Fuel/Air mix are set to factory spec. Also, on my new choke flaps that have been epoxied, tonight before that damn fluid I was able to try to ease off the choke while it idled and when I tried to take it down from full it just make a noise and killed it. Sounded like it just had a big gulp of air since the flaps now completely seal it and that's what killed it. Also I know fuel is getting to the plugs because whenever I pull em theyre wet. Bike has spark checked many times, not sure on compressiion. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you need any pictures/videos/more or clearer information don't hesitate to ask i'll be around the bike this whole weekend. Thanks

Well for starts it sounds like you may have a Vacuum issue. Do you have a small hose running from the #2 carb intake manifold/ Holder vacuum nipple to the petcock vacuum fitting? This is needed to have the Petcock turn on automatically once running. No other of these vacuum nipples need be connected but can't be left open. You can hook the Stock vacuum lines back to the Air switching valve, that's 1&4 hooked to a TEE then up under the tank to the Air Valve. Or you can just plug them. Real common for the Manifolds to be cracked separated etc, on these old bikes. That will cause a vacuum leak, which is no good. If it is lean, then it will back-fire through the carbs. But here are other reasons for it as well. Have you got a service manual? If not Loudhvx has one in his signature which is posted above. If you can check compression, that would be a great starting point. You could have an issue with the Valves being to tight/ not seating, that's a Back-fire possibility.
When doing your Carbs, did you check the Fuel level with a Clear piece of tubing? If the fuel level is off that will cause all kinds of issues. This must be done to make sure of the carb settings.

It was out of gas so I filled it back up. Checked and adjusted some hoses and now it runs. Clutch is a little sticky and I have an exhaust leak thats in need of fixing. Super excited for the bike! Is there any way to remedy the cold-bloodedness of this bike? And thanks for all the awesome help guys.

These bikes were pretty cold blooded, but you can richen up the low mixture with the Pilot Screws. Maybe another 1/8 turn or so. It will drop your mileage slightly, but will help the cold running.
Another thing to check is the Voltage to the Ignition coils. The 80 550 I had was loosing well over a volt at the Fuse panel, at the Main Fuse. I replaced the Fuse in the FuseBox with an In-line Fuse holder. The bike ran much better, started easier, more power etc.

As earlier suggested, and if not already done, would check out:

Click > home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb/TK22mainPage/TK22mainPage.html

Good Fortune!