dies without choke, but the carbs are clean!

abrambila wrote: 1978 KZ650 D1... rebuilt the carbs with the kit from z1....

If the kit included new jet needles, perhaps they have an incorrect taper.
Could reinstall the old jet needles, and test run for effect.

Good Fortune!

It's all stock and there is no vacuum leak (any more ) . I looked at the needles and as far as I can tell they are identical to the old ones.

any chance it could be a petcock issue? i did notice that it works slightly better running on the on position rather than the prime position (when the vacuum is working). This seems odd to me as the idea is that prime just dumps gas. generally, the petcock does work. prime makes gas pour out, on and off stop the flow.

In the Diagram I posted for your carbs, is #47 & #48 in the correct position?

hey, I did see that. My carbs are a very slight variation on that diagram in that they have clips on the needles rather than a spring and spacer. I currently have the clip on position 4 which is one step richer than the stock position 3.

#15 is the "Clip" for mixture adjustment. Go to Kawasaki.com and look up the info for your bike, looks like those carbs should have the Washer and spring. What are the #'s on the Needles that you took out, or are running?
Are they #5CN15, #5CL10, or #5CL16? All three are listed for your bike. Does your Carbs have the accelerator pump?

my understanding is that the carbs run either the plate and clip (45/46) or the spring and washer (47/48) and this is why they're in boxes on the diagram (like the air/pilot screws). mine has the plate in there and it looks like there is no space inbetween that and the top of the part #17 that regulates airflow through the carb.

no accelerator pump on the carbs. The needles I put in were the ones in the z1 rebuild kit. i'm not sure what the numbers were.

Patton - if i have no air or carb cleaner coming out the #6 orifice, what can i do to remedy the situation? Tried compressed air air at 125psi. Tried soaking in carb cleaner.

Anything else you recommend?

BlackEyeCafe wrote: Patton - if i have no air or carb cleaner coming out the #6 orifice, what can i do to remedy the situation? Tried compressed air air at 125psi. Tried soaking in carb cleaner.

Anything else you recommend?

This is a very old thread and you won't get a reply from Patton unless you are a medium as the sadly passed a while back.
Probably best to start a new thread and explain your issues there for a better response.

Sad to hear that. Thank you for letting me know