need help with an 82 kz550c ltd

Bought an 82 kz550c ltd and a Clymer book for it. When I bought it it only ran with choke on so I took of the float bowls and cleaned them and all parts inside of them, it now runs even when not on choke but when I give it more than just a little throttle the rpms drop. Also some times at idle one if the carburetors leaks fuel from the overflow tube. I'm new to working on carburetors so don't assume I did a perfect job cleaning what I have cleaned, do you think I can fix this myself or should I get them professionally cleaned or rebuilt? Don't have much money so if I need to take it to a shop any ideas on cost would be nice. Tank was rusty so I rinsed it and put in a inline fuel filter.

Sounds like you need to do a complete carb rebuild. Those carbs have lots of small passages that can get clogged and affect performance.

If your carbs are still leaking after you clean them someome may have bent the tang on your floats. You should check your float heights while the carbs are already off the bike

Hello, product1982x, and WELCOME to KZr!

Here's one method for cleaning the carb pilot circuit:




Good Fortune!

Have you had any luck since the last post? Other than cleaning in/around the carb bowls, did you do any other cleaning? Check out loudhvx's signature for lots of info on the 550: kzrider.com/forum/my-profile/959-loudhvx

I'm having similar issues with my 82 kz550 ltd. After thoroughly disassembling and cleaning the carbs and putting back on, the bike bogs out after just a little throttle. I found vacuum/air leaks around the engine-side rubber boots. You can test for that by spraying some carb cleaner or pressurized air around the openings. I'm not sure how to seal it up though..

To be honest with my limited knowledge of carburetors I have decided to let a shop fix this problem for me. Just trying to get the money together for the cost. Local shop said cost would be around $400, could be more or less depending on how much work the carburetors needed. Most of the rest of my bikes needed work seems simple enough to me so I will post about those jobs when I do them.

If you're going to have a shop do the work be sure to have them add an inline fuel filter between the tank and carbs. Otherwise a little crud coming from the tank to the carbs will clog things again and you will be headed back to the shop with your checkbook. Ed

Guy who runs the local shop is master certified with Kawasaki bikes and he has been giving me a lot of DIY help. He was the one who told me to try and clean the carburetors myself and he already had me install an inline fuel filter. I just don't want to mess these carburetors up worse than they are. I figure if I can get them professionally put back together that's one thing I shouldn't have to worry about as much. Plus since the previous owners put aftermarket air filters on he can help me with any tuning it for that.