TOPIC:

I might have missed it but I am not sure what bike we are talking about. The newer bike you list should have Tekei CV carbs and the older one Tekei round slide. Each is jetted completely different. The jets will be a problem area. You won't find newer and larger pilot jets... period. You will need to reclip your jet needle down a slot and go to a larger main jet (depending on which type carb). What type carb do you have and what size is your current main jet? By the way, you won't find Tekei main jets either. You will need to buy Keihin small head main jets; the same style as on the Keihin CV40 used on a "big twin" except yours won't be as large. The number on a jet is its size in millimeters... a #120 main jet is 1.2mm opening size. A #17.5 pilot jet is .0175mm diameter hole. When you start looking for main jets, a Harley dealer may be able to help but they typically use #170 - #190 mains where you will be just over half this size so they won't stock them but MAY be able to order for you.

Wiredgeorge, the bike in trouble is my ´84 GPz550, with TK CV carbs.

I dont know what size are the current main jets, gotta disassemble the carbs and find out. Is there a stamped number somewhere in the jet to indicate size?

If this gets too complicated I may just forget about the pods and struggle again with those damned carb boots... But they are a mess already: bent, hard as a rock and with the edges chewed away, that´s why I was thinking removing all the airbox assembly and installing pods.

Unfortunately there is only one Harley dealer in Argentina and I don´t think that neither they have too many items in stock nor prices are gonna be affordable...

Wish me luck, will post my progress (I hope)

Cheers

PS: To all of you guys: Sign and submit the neo-retro KZ1000 petition. We definitely WANT that bike in the showrooms soon!

hey kawadruida,
I'm sure I've seen a post where somebody replaced old worn carb boots with black flexible pipe they found in a hardware store or plumbing supply store. Might be worth a look.

Thanks JR! Actually I was thinking about something like that as an alternate solution, taking of the boots from the airbox and replacing them with pieces of rubber hose of a suitable diameter stuck in the boot holes (please don´t get confused ).

That is if the pods happen to be more expensive that what I´m willing to pay for, of course.

Hope to get that screamer on the road soon...

I bought a stock airbox off of ebay as mine came with pods only and I wanted all the stock parts while they could still be had. i noticed inside the box there were what looked like to me to be short pieces of radiator hose...Maybe thats what they were using before?

Pumps: Did the airbox come with the standard carb boots? I don´t understand how anyone can leave unused bits inside an airbox, though...

I used bicycle innertubes on my boots/carbs and its worked amazingly well for 2000 km now.



Its a bitch to stretch them over the boots, but if you can get 'em to roll on the carbs, its very easy to install and remove if you need to. I've got some zip ties on them to make sure they don't come off.

This keeps the boots touching the carbs, but not shoved on. It also means you don't have to wrestle with them. Theres no leaking either. The innertubes are what are on the carbs, btw..its kinda like wrapping tape around the boots/carbs to seal it up/keep them together, but its so much better.

I'm gonna keep suggesting this to everyone who has trouble with hard boots



Post edited by: pyxen, at: 2006/11/29 08:20

Thanks Pyxen! You just showed me the light! Can´t wait to go to the bycicle shop to get my own inner tube!

As I understand, you "wrapped" the boots with the inner tube pieces, allowing about 1 cm. of "free inner tube" to slide over the carb, right? Simple, clean and good looking too!

Thanks again man.

Or if you get new carb boots (available?) they are softer and make it easy to take off and replace carbs.

Ambergrismoon: Replacement parts for these old Kaws are difficult to find down here, especially non mechanical parts. So we have to improvise a lot to keep our old iron running...

If you do some shopping in the right spots you can find the usual parts: pistons, rings, pins, gaskets, brake pads, filters, sprockets, chains and so. But when you break a speedo or tail light, lose a sidecover or just want to replace those old, dry and hard boots for instance, you´re facing a dead-end most likely. You must know how I envy (in the good way though) you guys in USA, where you actually can assemble an "old" Kaw out of new aftermarket parts alone! That´s plain amazing man, and having all those salvage yards, NOS parts and every imaginable source available must be something like heaven...

Yes, we Latin american KZ enthusiasts have a real hard time to keep our beloved bikes on the road.

I suppose that adds to the "gusto" of owning and maintaning them, right?

Cheers

Have you checked with www.z1enterprises.com for parts? I believe they ship overseas but you will have to check with them for specifics.

I just inquired about these very same parts from Z1. I was told they are likely available, but would have to be ordered in:

Duct, Air Cleaner Fr (4)
Buyakawasaki.com #: 14073-1083 $8.65ea

These would be for my '83 KZ550M1, which I believe has the same Tekei CV carbs as your bike, though buykawasaki.com would tell for sure.

I haven't ordered them yet - currently have the carbs off for cleaning. I assume I'll be issuing some choice words directed at the boots when I attempt to put things back together in my ~30 degrees F garage. My boots are not chewed up at all, but they are quite hard. I'm going to try some WD40 and see if that helps, then probably try to get them back on with the help of a hair dryer.

Not sure if Z1 would be able to ship to you or not, but they sure have been pleasant and helpful to deal with from my perspective.

Good luck!