Carbs, Carbs, Oh those Carbs!!!

Took the old gal for a test drive the other day. Things went pretty well 'cept for the whole runnin' thing, lol! She was sputterring at low rpm accelleration, then hanging at mid-range (not returning to idle). I had cleaned the carbs earlier but have since learned about the choke system and don't think I got that quite right. To my knowledge, everything is stock (87 KZ1000 Police). Can't find much info on the Mikuni Round Slide carbs with throttle plates(?). I believe throttle cables and idle adjust thumbscrew were properly set. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

i would be looking at the pilot circuits again it sounds to me from the symptoms you have described that you still have a partial blockage somewhere in that circuit.

kilgore wrote:

Took the old gal for a test drive the other day. Things went pretty well 'cept for the whole runnin' thing, lol! She was sputterring at low rpm accelleration, then hanging at mid-range (not returning to idle). I had cleaned the carbs earlier but have since learned about the choke system and don't think I got that quite right. To my knowledge, everything is stock (87 KZ1000 Police). Can't find much info on the Mikuni Round Slide carbs with throttle plates(?). I believe throttle cables and idle adjust thumbscrew were properly set. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

I would tend to agree with timebomb33 here...

Take the carbs off and do a complete teardown and thorough cleaning. Then reinstall them, and everything from the airbox tip to the exhaust tip AIR TIGHT.

Maybe this will help... 87 KZ1000P Mikuni BS34 CV carb diagram:



Good luck!

Carburetor Rack Assembly:

Thanks you guys! One big problem - <i> every single screw </i> at carb caps is frozen solid. Tried soaking in bolt remover oil and even a heat gun - no go. Gonna slap carbs back on and see what happens. I'm waiting on air box hoses and intake manifolds from Z1. I'd really rather not drill out all 16 screws at carb caps, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

kilgore wrote:

Thanks you guys! One big problem - <i> every single screw </i> at carb caps is frozen solid. Tried soaking in bolt remover oil and even a heat gun - no go. Gonna slap carbs back on and see what happens. I'm waiting on air box hoses and intake manifolds from Z1. I'd really rather not drill out all 16 screws at carb caps, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Can you get a grip on the screws with some vise grips? It will bung up the heads, so you'll need to replace them, but they're easy to replace.

try Kroil, they will loosen.

You realize that the Japanese Philips screw driver is a different standard from the European Philips screw driver standard... close mind you, but no cigar.

That's why the screw drivers in the bikes tool kit always seem easier to use than the stuff from the local hardware store and why they don't damage the screw heads.

Someone else can pipe in with the official name for the two standards.

Best of success,
Bill

Ahh... That felt good.
I bit the bullet and went ahead and drilled and EZ outed 14 screws ( 2 actually came off w/screwdriver). Needle jets were a little funky but all orifices were pretty clear. Cleaned everything up nice.
Now the hard part - waiting for UPS shipment of parts from Z1!
Thanks again everybody for the advice/help.

bill_wilcox100 wrote:

You realize that the Japanese Philips screw driver is a different standard from the European Philips screw driver standard... close mind you, but no cigar.

That's why the screw drivers in the bikes tool kit always seem easier to use than the stuff from the local hardware store and why they don't damage the screw heads.

Someone else can pipe in with the official name for the two standards.

Best of success,
Bill

I believe you are referring to the JIS screw. They are usually identified by a raised (or indented) dot on the head face.

May wish to consider possibility of replacing with allen screws.

Good Luck!

Thanks Skyman "JIS" it is.

"Japanese Standards Association (JSA) promotes industrial standardization and quality control through development and publication of the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS)..."

Patton wrote:

May wish to consider possibility of replacing with Allen screws.

Good Luck!

I bought a set of carb screws from Z1 and they worked fine. But looking back, I wish I had gone in the Stainless Steel Hex Head screw direction with mine. Maybe because KZR'ers are in and out of their carbs more often and the Hex Head is more user friendly both on-the-bike and on-the-bench.

Anyone gone in the SS Hex direction and if so what supplier, sizes and prices did you use? I know they will be much more expensive than the original Philips (star) screws but screws are not the most expensive things anyways.

Best of success,
Bill