how do you adjust the needle clip, '78 kz1000 ???

When I go to adjust the needle clip to raise or lower the needle during carb adjustment, I'm used to a 2 stroke bike with screw-top carb tops. I just unscrew the carb cap and then pull the throttle slide out of the carb body and have immediate access to the needle and the needle's clip that adjusts the needle position up or down.

So how do you do that on stock 26mm Mikuni carbs for a stock carburetor on a 1978 kz1000 standard model (not LTD or z1r, just the standard model which is what I have here.)

Because I don't even SEE a needle clip when I removed the top cap from these carbs. Is there a needle clip, or do you somehow use the little nut at the top of the throttle slide linkage that I found to be inside the top of the carb body?

I need to richen-up the needle, so if there *was* a needle clip, I would move the clip downward on the needle in order to have the needle be higher by one step in the carb body -- that's what I'm trying to do, for a 4-into-1 Kerker pipe and airbox modification -- it's too lean in the current stock needle position.

How do I adjust the needle height in these carbs?

On my Mikuni BS-38, you have to take the "top" off the carb
body and lift the vacuum piston/rubber off from the top. The needle assembly is inside the vacuum piston and comes out from the top.

Do you know if you're running stock jets ? Some are non ajustable if it had a clip you would see it. I think you need to up your jets

take the carb's off the bike first then take off the the top's you will see a thru rod that has an 8 mm headed bolt in it that has a lock tab bend the lock tab down and take out the bolt then you can move the slide up and down with no resistance you will see two no.1 philips screws, remove them in order to do this easily you will need a long thin bladed screw driver once you have them out you can then lift up the hold down plate and then you can remove the needle with thin needle nose pliers or tweezers. lowering the clip position richens up the mid-range raising the clip up lean's it out hope this clears things up for you one other thing buy a good quality screwdriver for this and onluy use it for this as these screws are very easy to strip the heads on and could be an absolute nightmare to get out.

WGcarbs.

Jetting for the A2 w/pods and 4 into 1 is pretty critical. You need #120 mains, #20 pilots and reclip to 4th slot on jet needle. The bike is LEAN from the factory. The method above is correct:)

Thanks guys, that did the trick. The saving grace: even though I saw the 8mm bolts that secure each carb's throttle slide to that rod that sticks through and across the entire bank of carbs -- I hesitated to loosen it.

I thought "sheesh, I betcha it'll be a pain to synchronize the throttle linkages once I loosen them from that rod."

The saving grace was that the ROD IS THREADED, and that those 8mm bolts *screw right into the rod* so my concern about having to line up/synchronize the throttle slide linkages correctly onto that rod was unfounded.

Thanks for your help, I moved the clip from position #3 (the middle position) downward on the needle to position #4, thus raising the needle in the bore of the carb and richening up the 1/4 to 3/4 throttle-position of the carbs.

Saved my ass on that one, I had no clue. 'Gripped with fear' and whatnot.

Good deal Bro..

does the bike run better now that is the main thing.

timebomb33 wrote:

does the bike run better now that is the main thing.

This one's in progress, it came to me not-running, but ran 'great' (hmm...) for the prior owner, an old guy, I mean older guy I'm 50 fer gosh sakes. He did short highway miles for 10 years back and forth to work. It's not running now, and I took the carbs off for the required cleaning and was SHOCKED to find all stock jets in it and suspected -- then confirmed with you folks' help -- that the needle clip was also in the stock #3 mid position.

Shocked he said it 'ran fine' and that it had stock jets because of the following mods he put on it:

- 'hotter cams'
- bored out to 1137cc
- electronic ignition
- bike was at sea level for him and still is for me
- Kerker 4-1 street baffle pipe
- rearmost plastic-box-with-2-holes-in-it air intake was removed, only the box with the air filter element's in there now.

My guess is it ran lean for him, I don't trust the old plugs for a reading as it sat for awhile. I'm getting closer to having it running and will post about it.
A 1978 kz1000 'A' standard model.

I put in #120 main jets (it had the stock #105 main jets for him)

I put in #20 pilot jets (it had the stock #15 pilots for him)

And with you folk's help I just lowered the needle clip
to position #4 to richen up the midrange of the carb.

Will keep you all updated. My big concern now is -- after all these years will the electronic ignition still work? I don't know of any preparatory steps before hooking up the new battery and kicking it over.

Is there something I should do to the wiring harness or the electronic ignition or something else to maximize the chance that the electronic ignition will handle the shock of being run again after a decade of setting?