standard airbox

hi,

so i have juts finished a clean and rebuild of my carbs on my 77 kz650, it had been stood for 13 years or so and two of the float bowls looked like they had birds nesting in them. they are all cleaned, bench synched and back on the bike, unfortunately i managed to break one fo the airbox rubbers whilst refitting the carbs, (it actually shattered as it was that old and brittle).

I was toying with the idea of replacing the standard airbox with pods, howwvere after reading advice from many of you on here, it seems that the re-jetting, air swirl on highways, wet weather issues etc..make it more hassle than its worth. I am happy to trust Mr. Kawasaki's judgement on these matters as they deemed the airbox good enough when they built the bike.


If this is the way to go, where can i get some nice, supple rubbers and has anyone managed to get these onto the bike with the carbs and airbox still in place?
(Also, was it just the fact the airbox rubbers were so stiff and brittle that made the carbs so hard to remove and re-fit? I found it pretty frustrating to be honest).

The bike does have a 4 into 1 on it and its running standard main jets, is there any need to rejet for a 4 into 1 pipe.....or is it a case of 'if its not broke don't fix it?'

Also, just for the record, i have my gas tank currentlt sitting with two gallons of evaporust in it, I'll be sure to let you guys know how that turns out in case any of you wonder about that stuff, (at the price of it i would let someone else take a chance on it for me if i hadn't already taken the plunge).

Thsnks in adavance for the always great suport and advice on here.

Here they are:

www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=331

Good call on keeping the airbox. When you get your new boots just pit them into the airbox, fold them in half slip the carb bank back in and un-fold the rubbers onto the carbs. It's really easy. I wouldn't do it any other way. Note: CSR boots are too short to do this with and instead I push them into the airbox. As for the jetting. Do you know if it ran good before being put away or was it put away because it was not running so good? Good luck

Thanks for the advise, as i thought i will keep the airbox.
As for how the bike ran before it was put away....i have no clue as the guy was pretty vague, (but it was cheap enough to take the chance), the bike was a non runner when i bought it and since the carb cleanand tune it sounds pretty good on the stand, although i have not tested it under any load as the brakes are shot.

perhaps its a case of try it and see, at least with new rubber the carbs will come off significantly easier in case it does need a re-jet!