Air leak on the intake boots

81 kz 440 Beltdrive

Hello all, I have discovered an air leak where my intake boot meets the cyclinder. I took off the carbs and torqued it down tight. It was loose and I thought it would fix the problem. I didn't, althought did get better. I am going to try and make a couple of gaskets for the boots. Has anyone done this or anything else to sove this problem? Thanks. Tyson

I suggest you purchase new carb holders. Any other way of trying to resolve this issue could result in a holed piston. I would also caution you to not operate the bike till the new carb holders are installed for the same reason.

Thanks for the reply.

The Carb holders I have are only a month old. I read somewhere that the dealership was fixing this problem by adding a gasket. I have done this and there is no more air leak. Bike runs well. But your respose has me worried.
This may sound like a stupid question but what is a holed piston. A piston with a hole in it? How does this occur? Thank you for all the help. Tyson

You should use some sort of sealant between the boot and the head. Yamabond or a really light caot of silicone.

I use high temp silicone in addition to the gasket and all's well.

I have had good luck with high temp RTV silicone, Had a KZ1000 that popped after down shifting, the sealent took care of that. but if you have time and money, new parts is a good path to take.