CV 34 Polyester plugs

Hi Everyone,
1980 750 LTD w/ Keihin CV 34 carbs...

The polyester plugs that plugs the pilot jet access may be a little shrunken and I suspect they may be leaking. I was told by someone to get a rubber plug from Z1, but then someone else said not to because they will fall out because the polyester plug is actually held "up" by the float bowl.

Anyway, new polyester plugs are over $15/piece!!!! I was thinking about getting some of the yellow teflon tape (I think its for petroleum product use) and wrapping the caps with that and try to get a tighter fit. I plan on being careful to not let the tap fray or rip and get into the jet...

Any thoughts?

I would think that you need new O rings rather than replacement plugs. With the O ring on the plug it should be a snug fit. It's a good fitting O ring that holds the plug in place and not the float bowl. Even if you got new plugs you would still need O rings.

The O ring part # is 92055-1088 and I can see on the Kawasaki website that part is still active. Dont know what $ but knowing Kawasaki probably not cheap.

The O rings also come in the CV 34 carb rebuild kits from Z1 so if you are thinking of rebuild then you could take that route. I would think each rebuild kit may cost more than $15 and I have heard folk say that the kit O ring is a very tight fit and had to be sanded down.

Yellow teflon tape might be worth a try. I hear it is gas resistant. If you try the tape let us know how it works out.

Good luck

Hi JR,
Thanks for the reply. I was not aware you could get the o-rings seperate, I thought they were a one piece deal with the plug. I did in fact do the teflon tape... We will see how it holds up.

While I have you... I was doing the teflon tape job last night and was in the process of cleaning out the carbs too while I was in there. Now I can't remember the name of the jet (I think it was the secondary main...its not the main and its not the one with the plug) but it has what the diagrams called the main nozzle (#10, 92062-1101). I wasn't able to get this piece out. Is this pressed in or are mine just stuck tight? I am a little concerned that the pilot circuit might be gummed up on my #1... I can imagine how fun it's going to be to try and clean those passages out...

Hi apbling
The nozzle under the primary main which will have something like #62 marked on it ? - might need magnifying glass.

To he best of my knowledge and it is a few months since I took my carbs appart... this is screwed in . Not pressed. whatever you do dont force it. Shine a light and see if it has a slot for a screwdriver. I use a set of those mini almost watchmakers screwdrivers. If the bike has been sitting or the carbs never cleaned then they could be gummed up. Spray in carb cleaner and make sure you wear safety glasses when you do because that stuff wil shoot up where you least expect it asnd dissolve your eyeballs. Let it sit, do it again and see if you can unscrew. Spray cleaner in every hole you can find and poke each gently with a bristle or fine wire. Do it over and over. Cleaning carbs you have to do it as thoroughly as possible.

Best of luck


PS. Just trying to remember the internals of the carbs and wondering if possible to press down the nozzle with a small piece of wood from above ?

Good point on the safety glasses... carb cleaner stings a little bit, even if you're used to it!

I'll check again tonight, but I didn't think there was a slot in it. It looked like it was just sitting in there, but I didn't have a small enough hooked tool to try and grab it. I think a dental pick might do the trick.

I'm not sure we are talking about the same jet though...when you say the primary main, are you refering to the one where the diaphragm slide and needle is in? I was referring to the one next to it with the small jet that does unscrew, but there is a tube/nozzle whatever below it.

BTW, I see in a different post you said that if the float bowl o-rings expand to throw them in the freezer for 30 min and they'll shrink? I bought mine from Z1 new 8 mo ago and this is the first time they have been out since, and the darn things are nearly 1/4" too big on two sides (if the other two sides are in the groove). There is absolutely no way I can coax them into fitting...just too much slack. If I leave them in for more than 30 min could I damage them?

You're absolutely right. The nozzle under the primary main should drop out. I just could not remember for sure so rather than take my carbs off I had a look back through some pics I took 5 years ago and wallah ! there it was all notated by me. Sorry for any confusion It's the pilot under the plug which screws out.

Regarding the big O rings I dont know if it's the current material used or the alcohol in the gas but I have paid extra for the genuine kawasaki ones and they expand just the same as the cheap ones. I cant swear that leaving longer on the freezer will hurt. Dont think so. 30 minutes is about what I do. I did see a post where a guy said he threw them on the hood of his car in the sun for a few minutes and they shrunk down but that overcooking in this way and shrinkage was permanent. If I leave rings in freezer for 30 minutes they shrink but you have to work fast and one at a time or they start to expand again.

Good Luck

That pic is perfect! haha. So, the one that is notated screws out, needs small screwdriver is the pilot jet under the plug. The one that says should drop out is the secondary main, right? Isn't the primary the one with the main slide needle (you have labled that you haven't taken anything out of here) This secondary main actually is a small screw in jet with a nozzle underneath, which should drop out? Mine were in good... I will try and carefully extract them tonight if thats the case.

Nevermind, you were right. The jet with the main diaphragm needle in it is actually called the secondary. The main jet is the one that screws in and has the nozzle below it. Either way I'll try and get that nozzle out of there and run a wire through it to make sure the internal passage is clear. I can imagine how fun these carbs must be if you get an internal passage really plugged....

I can imagine how fun these carbs must be if you get an internal passage really plugged....

Yes... but they work really well when clean

Well, I got everything cleaned out and put on the bike... and same symtoms. Doesn't fire when choked and I think it is intermittent at idle. Improved as it warmed up. I haven't messed with the idle mixture screws yet though... when I tighten them down, does that make it leaner or richer?

On CV34's the pilot mixture screw adjusts the amount of fuel. So tightening them down makes the mixture leaner.

Thanks for the reply. I just wish I knew if it's missing because its getting too little fuel or too much fuel... When I pull the plug it looks good ie not fouled up or anything.