81 gpz550 Engine choking after shifting into second

hello. so when im riding at lower speeds and shift into second the engine chokes a bit and feels like it is about to stall. if i blip the throttle it finds its rhythm and goes. sometimes even with a couple throttle blips it continues to choke and a couple times the engine did stall. i cleaned my carbs and the engine sounds great, idling and on stronger revs, but still if i shift into second and sometimes third it chokes a bit before finding its rhythm. the carb boots were cracked so i taped them for now but there are still some exposed cracks. new boots are on the way and i will be changing them but i dont think thats the problem any ideas what could be going wrong?

thanks

mike

At what speed and rpm are you shifting into second. These engines don't like low rpm and will bog if your shifting to soon.

shifting at id say about 12-15 mph and 4k rpms

I'd wait until those new carb boots come in and then go from there . While the carbs are off I'd open them up and check for debris. Some new plugs wouldn't hurt and check the air filter. Hopefully the bike is stock so you don't have to hassle with rejetting for pods and/or a header. That complicates the whole "flat spot" discussion immeasurably.

so now i feel like a real noob. didnt mention that the bike has pods on it (bought it with pods already on it and its my first bike so i didnt know any better at the time). carbs are squeeky clean and when i cleaned them i noticed that the main jets are 94's. after reading your msg last night i went down a rabbit hole and opened my mind up to the world of carb jetting. so id imagine that 94's which are stock (unless maybe he drilled them out?) are not spraying enough gas to match the air going through pod filters.. after i bought the bike and started riding it i noticed that the previous owner had the idle adjust set very high - bike would idle at 2500-3000 RPM. im assuming it was set like that so that the engine doesnt cut out when idling due to incorrect fuel mixture. when the idle was set high i wasnt experiencing this problem of choking after shifting gears, although i would assume that the idle adjust has no impact to how the bike runs when its in gear. after dialing back the idle adjust the engine has cut out on me a couple times before it gets warmed up.. it will cut out and needs to sit a couple mins before it will start again, almost like its flooded but obviously thats not the case because if anything its not getting enough gas.. so to confirm - the idle adjust would have nothing to do with the choking after shifting gears?

The idle mixture has little effect on higher rpm, however, what you describe points to a seriously lean condition at the least.
Adjusting the idle so high is a lazy way of compensating for clogged low speed circuits and / or leaking carb holders. Carb holders that have visible cracks are almost certainly leaking like crazy. Electrical tape will not help, since most of the leaking will be where the holder is supposed to seal against the head. Those have to be replaced. Trying to make adjustments or changes in jetting while the carb holders are leaking, will be an exercise in frustration.
While you are waiting on the new parts to arrive, carefully check the fuel level in each carburetor using the clear tube method described in the factory service manual. Also, pull the float bowls and be absolutely certain that none of the passageways have any obstruction. The low speed circuit has especially tiny passageways that are easily clogged. I find that the smallest E string for a guitar works pretty well. Also write down exactly which jets are in each carburetor. That way helpful folks here will know what you are starting with and can give better advice on how to proceed.
Carburetors can be intimidating, but there are some really experienced folks here who can help you through it.

In case you have not seen them yet, Lou's web pages have a wealth of information about 550s. Click the links on his info page...

www.kzrider.com/kunena/profile/959-loudhvx

just got the call from my local shop that my new carb boots are in. will be putting them on tomorrow and going from there. many thanks to all of you who have helped with your responses. bikes are a new experience and a learning curve for me, but it has been a lot of fun. things seem very intimidating at first but all of the knowledge i can source in this forum makes everything seem doable. shoutout to loudhvx as well who has responded on other threads with dumb questions ive asked hahaha

While you have those carbs off make sure to clean those low speed circuits . If they are not clean you wont get it to run right .

Heres a thread on how to spray them www.kzrider.com/forum/3-carburetor/59856...-cleaner-in-cv-carbs