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Hello from Srsupertrap in CO

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30 Jun 2020 11:13 - 12 Jul 2020 10:31 #829442 by srsupertrap
Hello from Srsupertrap in CO was created by srsupertrap
My name is Steve aka srsupertrap; I have been riding and wrenching motorcycles since the 1970s. I grew up in New Jersey and have lived in Colorado since 1999. I am a Medical Device Quality Engineer. My brother handed down his 70 Yamaha R5 350 to me at 17. I learned the necessity of reliability modifications earlier on especially with plug fouling. Like many of you, I was influenced by Kawasaki’s Z1.

I drove a pizza delivery truck part time in my junior year of high school. I met Big Al who managed a Pizzeria in Waldwick, NJ and owned a 75 Z1B. Big Al influenced me with his motorcycle camaraderie. Back then NJ required new riders to be escorted to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV ) road test by an endorsed motorcycle rider. Although Big Al & I lived in different counties, he agreed to meet me at the Lodi DMV for my road test. I arrived by myself early for the scheduled test. I was sweating bullets with five cars ahead of me before my road test but no escort. I heard Big Al’s Z-1 exiting Rt. 17 before I saw him. He bypassed the line of waiting cars and pulled up next to me, killed the engine and asked me if I was ready. I smiled relived, said yes. I think that is what brings us all together on forums today: passionate about bikes and willingness to help.

Although not too active, I am also a GS Resource Forum member dating back to 2007. I still own a modified GS1000E. After I purchased a highly modified but dead 1981 GPz550 in 2013, I joined The GPz550 Forum in 2014. I documented the GPz550 restoration on the GPz550 forum. Unfortunately my user name was changed from srsupertrap to n/a. Not sure what happened there. I also sell some stuff on Ebay too under the same name. I have been selling parts for Dr. Kieffer’s M.D.retired race mechanic. No vintage Kawi stuff though.

Looking forward to joining the KZ Rider conversation and adding where I can. My GPz550 picture circa two weeks attached.
Thanks,
Steve

1981 KZ550 D1
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Last edit: 12 Jul 2020 10:31 by Street Fighter LTD.

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30 Jun 2020 13:31 #829450 by Mikaw
Replied by Mikaw on topic Hello from Srsupertrap in CO
Welcome Steve... thanks for sharing your story... Nice looking bike... seems to be a lot of 550 bikes here recently... lots of helpful members...

1976 KZ 900 A4 kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/613548-1976-kz-900-a4
1976 KZ 900 B1 LTD
1978 KZ 1000 B2 LTD
1980 KZ 750 E1
Kowledge Speaks, But Wisdom Listens.
Jimi Hendrix.

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  • DoctoRot
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  • Sustaining Member
  • Oh, the usual... I bowl, I drive around...
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30 Jun 2020 17:10 #829466 by DoctoRot
Replied by DoctoRot on topic Hello from Srsupertrap in CO
What engine mods are on that 550? I can see you got some sweet flatslide carbs.

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30 Jun 2020 19:59 #829479 by 650ed
Replied by 650ed on topic Hello from Srsupertrap in CO
Bike pic......



Ed

1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)
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01 Jul 2020 06:52 - 01 Jul 2020 19:01 #829497 by srsupertrap
Replied by srsupertrap on topic Hello from Srsupertrap in CO
Thanks Mikaw for the welcome.

DoctoRot wrote: What engine mods are on that 550? I can see you got some sweet flatslide carbs.

Those are Mikuni TM series TM27D1, e.g. 27mm. Mikuni sold them in mid 1980s just for KZ550/GPz550. I believe the kit came with new push/pull throttle & custom intake boots. They are simple to tune but from what I can tell most GPz550 owners & racers like Corey Clough do not run them. They are no parts anymore for these Flatslides so I am always looking for parts :)

PS: Anyone else running these Flatslides?

1981 KZ550 D1
Last edit: 01 Jul 2020 19:01 by srsupertrap.

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08 Jul 2020 06:08 #830073 by blorgfreth
Replied by blorgfreth on topic Hello from Srsupertrap in CO
Currently rebuilding an 82 GPz550. I found a set of these carbs in decent condition, but the orings and bowl gaskets are leaky, so working on getting better seals first. Looks like I'm going to need to hand-cut the gasktets.

Have you determined if jets at least are available? What about vacuum nipples for syncing? Carb #2 has a vacuum port pressed in for the petcock, trying to decide if I want to drill that out for the others, or put a nipple into the rubber boot. (It seems like nipples for the former are easier to find, but drilling these carbs dos not seem like a great idea.)

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12 Jul 2020 08:45 - 12 Jul 2020 08:53 #830458 by srsupertrap
Replied by srsupertrap on topic Hello from Srsupertrap in CO
I purchased O-rings in quantity from McMaster Carr and have extras so feel free to contact me. The main and pilot jets are standard Mikuni slide carb jets . Mains (N100 series) & Pilots (VM28/486) .

Don't drill anything. The Carb #2 vacuum port is for the petcock vacuum hose connection. I cannot explain but the 82-83 GPz550 carb boots or ZX550s will not work with these carbs. The TM27D1 will fit but as we know there are no vacuum nipples. This might sound bold from a newbie but just scrap your GPz550 carb boots. Buy a new set of Z-1, KZ900, KZ1000 carb boots with Rt & Lt vacuum tubes. I bought a set from Amazon which are Made in China but have the Rt & Lt vacuum ports built in. That is one problem solved. Next, the TM27D1 do not slide right in the Z-1 carb boots like the GPz550; the boots IDs are smaller and must be modified. I milled out the ID of the Z-1 carb boots with my trusty Dremel & sanding bit. This modification took about an hour with slowing milling and measuring with a digitial caliper. I must say the results were very good.

There are no custom carburetor boots for this predicament so IF you want to run the Flatslides with nipples this is the easiest method I know of. Hope that helps.

1981 KZ550 D1
Last edit: 12 Jul 2020 08:53 by srsupertrap.

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12 Jul 2020 09:02 #830459 by blorgfreth
Replied by blorgfreth on topic Hello from Srsupertrap in CO
Thank you, this is incredibly helpful.

The person who sold me these carbs included custom aluminum carb mounts with boots. They actually fit perfectly, but those mounts don't have a vacuum port. I could drill out the aluminum, but I don't really trust myself to get it right. The chinese mounts you mention are pretty inexpensive, so I think I'll get a set of those for this syncing process, and then switch back to the custom parts. (or not, just sticking with the chinese parts might work well enough...)

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13 Jul 2020 14:39 #830590 by blorgfreth
Replied by blorgfreth on topic Hello from Srsupertrap in CO
Hi, so I took your advice, and the new mounts with the nipples arrived overnight!

I've got the carbs synced. Bike starts easy, idles pretty well, but give it any gas and it revs very high and won't come back down without the kill switch. I've checked there's no vacuum leak at the boots, are there any other things I can check? Is this a jetting issue? I would expect the idle to be the same, regardless.

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