\"TK\" carbs rare?

So, as I am battling with the carbs on 550, came across an auction on ebay for a set of "TK" carbs, the same as are on my bike. The lister said the "(he does) know that these carbs are difficult to find due to the fact Kawasaki used these "TK's" only on a limited number of KZ550's.

Is this true? Or is this guy trying to up the bidding by catching fools like me?

Those silver TK22's are not that rare. They were used on the LTD and Standard. The first GPZ used the same ones, but painted black (and different main jets). You can get beat-up rusty ones like the one on that listing for $15 or $20, but they are usually only good for parts. Most often they are missing some of the choke flaps and his look like a couple of the bowl-overflow tubes are bent, like they were dropped. If you only need parts, get it. If you want new rebuild kits they go for about $20 per carb and include needles, jets, and gaskets.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/09/27 13:02

All 550's use TK carbs of one type or another. So they are not rare for a 550. His gramatical phrasing is a little off, at the least.

Be careful of ebay auctions. They like to use buzz words in the title like 'rare' 'vintage' 'chopper' and 'cafe racer'

Find out the part number and one of us can run it for you to see if they are an exact match or not.

The TK carbs on my 550 Spectre are listed as only fitting an 83 or 84 550 Spectre, but Id bet most parts are interchangeable. I know the throttle cable is different for the Spectres so that could be all the difference

The auction he is referring to are for his type of carbs. They are the TK22's probably from a C like his or an A. (I know the auction because I also noticed the "rare" statement and had a good laugh.)

If they work, they'll work on his bike, but they looked pretty rough. I'd stay away unless you only need some parts.

DanOz7Five0 wrote:

Find out the part number and one of us can run it for you to see if they are an exact match or not.

The TK carbs on my 550 Spectre are listed as only fitting an 83 or 84 550 Spectre, but Id bet most parts are interchangeable. I know the throttle cable is different for the Spectres so that could be all the difference

The carbs on the Spectre (F1/F2), are exactly the same as the LTD Shaft (M1) model. They are the same bike, except for paint and rear shocks. They will fit on any later 550 (GPz mainly) and vice versa. However the GPz carbs have a few internal differences, and vary from year to year as well. 82/83 (H1/H2) carbs are different, and the 84/85 (A1/A2) carbs are different still. However, they are all swapable.

You can't interchange older style mechanical slide carbs with the CV carbs though, or vice versa, because the port spacing on the head is different. At least that was a fact when we talked about this around 2 years ago on old kzr.

Are there carbs that would work in the place of the TK carbs?

I'm redoing my 550 right now, and if theres something wrong *knock on wood*, what are my options?

Pyxen, just buy the kits, clean the carbs (pay close attention to the port-ways, rebuild, setup and be happy!

I will run fine and as long as your carbs are unmolested bow and you take care to pickle the bike in the winter, you'll be fine.

To interchange something else would take some machine shop fab'ing, cable work, prior fit checking, headaches and still you could get a nasty surprise. These carbs are well designed and work well with proper maintenance.

...okay then, I dunked all of my jets into some carb cleaner over night, and they came out all clean and shiny, et al..but when I went to put the pilot jets in, I turned 'em too far and crushed the end

What are good replacements for TK #32 pilot jets?

..newbie mistake, and I won't be doing it again!

This is the last thing I need to do to get my carbs back on the bike..well, this and turn the screws to spec.

Trav wrote:

You can't interchange older style mechanical slide carbs with the CV carbs though, or vice versa, because the port spacing on the head is different. At least that was a fact when we talked about this around 2 years ago on old kzr.

Actually, the center-to-center spacing is the same so it's not too hard to use the older carbs on the newer engines. You just have to slot the smaller/older manifold's mounting holes. I'm actually putting old mechanical slides onto a later CV head. I've already had it running as a test (in a non-rolling chassis). The ports in the head are bigger, but since the manifold-port is smaller and centered, it's not a problem.

Then a Dynojet kit (or other rebuild kits) will allow useage of pods. The CV carbs will produce more power though.

I had to sand some ridges off the manifolds to mate flat on the head. I also made some gaskets and used gasket sealer on the rubber side. I'll post photos when I get it going in the next year or so.

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/10/01 22:42

Post edited by: loudhvx, at: 2006/10/01 22:51

carb kits usually come with the stock size replacement jet