quick carb question

hello,
i have a 81' kz550 and i have the worst time getting it started. but once its warmed up it will start real easy. sometimes when i cant get it started, ill pull the carbs off and blow compressed air through the jets even though they never look clogged. then i will put it back together and it will start up almost immediatly.

do you think my carb is just getting clogged up after sitting?? im gonna check my gas tank to look for debris and prob clean my petcock and replace the in-line fuel filter.

just something i was thinking about. any opinions?

buzz

Carbs probably need cleaning and adjusted, then balanced, then idle adjusted.
If you clean them very well, including the pilot jets, make sure everything is free of varnish and rust, replace the orings and adjust them with something like a tiny drill bit used to set the height adjustments, then warm up the bike and sync the carbs with a manometer. Once synced, adjust the idle down to around 1k rpms, then turn each air mixture screw in and out, one at a time starting with #1, slightly until the engine revs to highest rpms, then adjust the idle stop knob back to 1k rpms. Adjust the #2 carb the same way. Once you get all four adjusted this way, it should idle very smooth. You will find that it will start very easily after all this. Make sure your manifolds aren't cracked and allowing air into the intake. This will cause the engine to rev and could damage the engine over time. You can shoot carb cleaner spray over each manifold while the engine is running to see if you have air leaks. The engine will bog down when you hit a leak. Also, make sure your vacuum ports are all secure with no leaks or open ports. Hope this helps! Good luck!

Post edited by: fergyfer, at: 2006/01/23 12:42

Your KZ550 probably has the same problem mine does..missing choke flaps. Remove the carbs and look in the back of the carbs with the choke "on", you should see four gates with four shiny little flaps, odds are those are gone, if they are you will see a "D" shaped opening. I've learned how to start my bike with the missing choke flaps (they aren't availiable).

thanks for you help guys, ive been planning on doing a real good carb clean and adjustment, but have been waiting on some new pod filters so i can do it right the first time. there are choke flaps, so thats not the problem.

thanks again
brian

Hey Brian, you may have to re-jet if you go from the airbox to pod filters. I don't recall, but those carbs might have adjustable needles... You might be able to just adjust for the pods... don't know...

Just look at my sig line, I have pods on my KZ550, and Keihin #393 series jets fit perfect in those Tekei carbs. I have #100's in mine, works just fine. I did play with the needle setting, but really didn't have to.

I don't know how that got posted twice, but I removed the duplicate...

Post edited by: fergyfer, at: 2006/01/24 11:21

:blink: mmmk


There is a slim chance you won't have to rejet, I tried playing with needle settings after installing pods but it never was quite right. I kept getting nasty mid range hesitation. After going to bigger mains everything was much better, I hope this info helps.

Post edited by: DasTeufel, at: 2006/01/24 13:55