TOPIC:

I am in the process of working on my 82 CSR 650 as a winter project and to better learn bikes. I also own a 79 KZ650 as well as a 2004 ZRX 1200.

A local "friend of a friend" mechanic came over and told me among other things that my Mikuni carb diaphragms were shot even though they are nice and pliable with no tears at all. Claims that they are very hard to come by and he wanted $240 CAD from me to order new ones.

That or buy a set of used carbs from him for nearly $400 CAD

I am no expert but the carbs themselves are in pretty decent shape.

I watched a few Youtube videos and read through my manual. I soaked all parts in carb cleaner and them used my ultrasonic cleaner with some Dawn dish soap.

Am I being taken for a ride?

Thoughts?

Sounds like it.

As long as the diaphragms are smooth and not all wrinkled up and torn you can reuse the slides.

You might want to post some photos (and please don't forget to click "insert all" before posting.)

Thank you for the response.

Here are a few pics of the carbs including diaphragms too. As I stated, they are soft and pliable with no tears.

Would any one know off hand what model carbs these are and who sells the best rebuild kit?

Many thanks for the input and advice!

I think those are BS32 Mikuni's. And I agree that those slides look fine.

Can't say I'm a fan of "carb kits." They are full of aftermarket parts that sometimes are inferior to the originals. cycleorings.com sells an O-ring kit that will have most of the sizes you need, but not all. Z1 Enterprises sells float bowl gaskets. Main hard part to look at closely is the float valve. If you have your heart set on carb kits look for Keyster or Napco (sold under the Sudco brand name.) Both are better than most.

Oh, and the factory kawasaki manual for your bike is vastly superior to that clymers. Free downloads available here...www.kzrider.com/service-manuals

If the slides are fine but you'd prefer new diaphragms, JBM Industries has them. plus a how-to page for replacing them.

Something else you can do is hold each diaphragm up toward a bright light, and look very carefully for small pinholes of light coming through. If you do not see any, I'd say use em.

Those diaphragms look fine but just to be sure hold them up to the light (dont melt them ) and inspect for pin holes. If they still look good then avoid friend of friend.

If you know the o ring sizes then another source is the o-ring store

Photos show the classic Kawasaki version Mikuni choke plunger boots are falling apart. I hate those things since they cost something like $18 each to replace. The more common VM type boots are much more durable, I don't think they fit on the BS carbs though. Last time I came across this I used Suzuki parts to replace them. Good luck with all that.

Edit; on second though, the photo shows the boot loose but not necessarily torn. Hope that's the case.

Thank you for the input!

Yes all diaphragms show no light or pinholes when held up to the light.

I do need to order a few needle jets for my carbs (the mechanic "friend" walked away with them) mind you. Any suggestion as to who sells OEM parts or can I go aftermarket on items like that?

Appreciate the help in sorting my carbs out !

When it comes to replacing some of the jets, I think genuine Mikuni is the only choice to insure uniformity. I would check with Jets R Us, Z1E, and Partzilla.
Several members here have had good things to say about full kits from Keyster, but I do not know if they sell individual jets. Dynojet also makes very high quality kits, but you would need to replace the jets in all four carbs since theirs are numbered differently and their needles are tapered differently from stock.
There are quite a few online sellers who offer fakes and terrible substitutes that would have you go mad trying to figure out why your engine runs so badly.

Edit: Moments after clicking the reply button, it occurred to me that you may not know for sure that what your special mechanic friend gave back to you are the original parts. I would scrutinize them very carefully to insure that they are indeed what the factory service manual calls for. If they are not all correct, replacing all of the jets, including the needles, may be the best way forward. You may need to use a small magnifying glass as the numbers are rather small. If you are at all uncertain, post what you find.

Needle jets are no longer available from Kawasaki, and if they were they would be expensive. I'd go knock on that carb dude's door and demand your parts back. As far as finding new ones is concerned, ebay or aftermarket may be your only option. The stock needles are coded 4D30 and Jets R Us doesn't even list them (I suspect they are unique to Kawasaki.)

Perhaps it is time to introduce some confusion concerning the names od things.
Mikuni calls that long pointy thing that sticks out of the bottom of the slide, the jet needle.
The tube in the bottom of the throat that the jet needle moves in and out of is called the needle jet. At the bottom of that tube is the main jet.

Carry on.