Will a K&N filter make my bike run too lean?

Hey all...1984 KZ700 with 8500 miles. When I bought the bike it had no filter or airbox piping, recently bought new pipes and a K&N filter (not pods). The bike kinda stumbles and has inconsistant power but the trend seems to be 1) lousy response at low RPM and 2) pretty good response at higher RPM. Could the filter be making the bike too lean to the point of causing it to run poorly? I bought it because it was actually cheaper than an OEM filter.
Thanks for advice.

It's not likely that the air filter would have that much effect unless your bike was right on the edge to begin with. If every thing else is good, ignition, valves etc. I think it's more likely that you have problems with the idle circuit which may be affecting lower speed performance till you get it to where you're running on the main jets.
KZCSI

Post edited by: kzcsi, at: 2005/12/04 00:48

I was under the impression that the transition from the idle circuit to the main jet was based on throttle position and not RPM. Is this correct? If that is true and my idle circuits were clogged, then shouldn't the bike have the most trouble at low throttle openings and idling and run fine at WOT?

The bike idles alright, although irregularly, and the idle RPM runs away (~4000 RPM) when the choke is engaged for more than 20 or so seconds.

Post edited by: masospaghetti, at: 2005/12/04 02:16

Do You have a service manual? If not get one. It's certainly possible that the PO has been changing settings. Without a manual it's impossible to get to a base line.
You're right about the idle jets being clogged but there's more to those low speed circuits than jets.

KZCSI