- Posts: 29
- Thank you received: 0
New to all of this.
- spearsgaryhi
- Topic Author
- Offline
- User
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- brianpclarke
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 92
- Thank you received: 0
I just got my first 76 900 and recently cleaned the carbs. It was kind of intimidating beforehand, but once I got down in there, piece of cake. Mine was leaking pretty bad as well. If it is leaking when the bike is sitting there then you might want to turn your petcock off. My petcock has only 3 settings: OFF, ON, and RES (reserve). So when the bike is parked, the petcock should be in the OFF position.
As for buying a rebuild kit, Jeff at Z1 told me I was better off just buying the gaskets and keeping the jets original. They clean up pretty easily and it saved me a lot of money. When dismantling the carbs, do yourself a favor and keep everything as organized as possible. Some suggest one of those daily pill-boxes, or a fishing lure kit.
I took the advice from the forums and soaked the carbs for a couple of days in an orange cleaner I purchased from home depot. Once I pulled them out, you could see all the crap that was caked in there. I used an air compressor and a small wire brush to clean them and then briefly soaked them a second time, and they came out as clean as new.
Little advice: Take your time! When taking the carbs apart, and putting them back together! You dont want to have to do it twice, believe me.
If you have the original air filter and airbox (not the pods), it is a pain in the ass getting the carbs off and on the bike. Try to be as gentle as possible with the airbox hoses between the airbox and the carbs. They rip pretty easily and arent all that cheap. Also can cause performance issues if they do crack/rip. There are some hints in the forums, like heating them with a hairdryer, or folding them back on themselves. It makes it a ton easier to have an extra set of hands there as well...
Congrats on doing it yourself! As you said: you will appreciate it much more, and learn something new in the process. Also, keep a couple of cold beers close by. This will help tremendously if you get frustrated, or serve a dual purpose for celebration.
-Brian
1977 KZ650C
1976 Kz900 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- spearsgaryhi
- Topic Author
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 29
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- kaw74z1
- Offline
- User
- 0 to 60 in 15 minutes.
- Posts: 115
- Thank you received: 0
1974 Z1 with a MKII And a 1105 big bore kit 10.5 to 1 comp. Andrews 2x cams ported head dyna s with green coils V&H sidewinder pipe airshifter 4in.over arm
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- timebomb33
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 4288
- Thank you received: 10
1973 z1 2-1974z1-a,2-1975z1-b dragbikes1015cc+1393cc, 1977kz1000,1978kz1000,1981kz1000j, 1997 zx-11, 2000 z12r,1428turbo nitrous pro-mod and a shit load of parts thats all for now leader sask.,CANADA
I THINK MY POWERBAND BROKE
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Bicycle Lee
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 319
- Thank you received: 0
I second Brian's advice to take it slow. Mark everything you remove. Take pics if you need or want to... it all helps in the long run... Can't really be too organized when it comes to an internal combustion engine. Lots of little, very important parts.
I would bother buying the rebuild kits (that's 80-100 buxks you could save) until you assess the damage. They may not need them. Just stick to a checklist; are your floats adjusted correctly? Are your float bowls full of gunk? is everything moving freely?
You didn't mention having a specific problem with them before, so maybe just a good once over and cleaning is all you need. There's some really good carb guys on here, so don't hesitate to ask.
Cheers and have fun (good luck too)
1978 KZ1000 police
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- spearsgaryhi
- Topic Author
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 29
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- spearsgaryhi
- Topic Author
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 29
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- kaw74z1
- Offline
- User
- 0 to 60 in 15 minutes.
- Posts: 115
- Thank you received: 0
1974 Z1 with a MKII And a 1105 big bore kit 10.5 to 1 comp. Andrews 2x cams ported head dyna s with green coils V&H sidewinder pipe airshifter 4in.over arm
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- spearsgaryhi
- Topic Author
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 29
- Thank you received: 0
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- vincentmoy
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 26
- Thank you received: 0
I'm setting out for my adventure on carb cleaning
I have a couple question though.
1) You guys talked about new gasket. I am wondering if it is the Carb Float Bowl O-Rings?
2) If I disassemble the carb for clearing, do I need to re-sync the carb?
Thanks!
Vincent
1980
KZ750 LTD
Miles: Unknown (speedo cable broke)
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Patton
- Offline
- KZr Legend
- Posts: 18640
- Thank you received: 2098
Hi all,
I'm setting out for my adventure on carb cleaning
I have a couple question though.
1) You guys talked about new gasket. I am wondering if it is the Carb Float Bowl O-Rings?
2) If I disassemble the carb for clearing, do I need to re-sync the carb?
Thanks!
Vincent
Hi, Vincent -- Be happy to help out within this thread or otherwise, but thinking you might get better more specific responses by starting a separate topic within the carb forum, and including some detail about the particular make and model of bike involved to reduce uncertainty and guessing about which type carbs.
Some carbs have floatbowl gaskets which may be re-used repeatedly. Others have an o-ring that's sometimes good only for a single use.
With mechanical slide carbs, usually a good idea to bench sync while off the bike.
Good Luck!
1973 Z1
KZ900 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.