carb removal/installation

so with the air box the fitting is pretty tight for the carbs, i was wondering what the easiest way is, or what page it is in the shop manual, also is there any ups or downs for using Air Filter Pods? i doubt id go with them i wanta keep it original

The difficulty is very likely a result of hardening of the air ducts between the air box and carbs. You should plan on replacing them with new ones, because the new ones are very pliable and they make installing the carbs 100 times easier. According to Kawasaki.com they are still available. Also, check to see if the air box is secured in any fashion to the frame. If it is, you may be able to disconnect the fasteners and move it back just a little. I don't know how the KZ900 is set up, but this can be done on the KZ650. The carbs should come out on the right hand side of the bike (as you are sitting on it).

There are tons of postings on this site regarding pods. Suffice it to say you will become a carb guru in trying to jet them to a point where they work as well as the air box, and many have experienced pod related problems with wind, rain, downward pressure on the carb holders, etc. I would definitely keep the air box. I've owned my bike for 36+ years and only removed the carbs twice. So spending the extra 10 - 15 minutes that the air box takes when removing or installing the carbs is no big deal; especially when compared to the hours spent fiddling with rejetting the carbs to try to achieve satisfactory results.

While you have the carbs off I would highly recommend replacing the carb holders (they attach the carbs to the cylinder head). When they get old they develop fine cracks on the mating surface at the cylinder head and cause idling problems. If you decide to do this I would URGE you to soak the screws that hold them to the cylinder head with Kroil for 2 or 3 days and to use a JIS or JIS modified screwdriver bit. Those screws are NOT Phillips screws, plus they tend to bond to the cylinder head after many years and can be a real bear to remove. If you attack those screws with a Phillips screwdriver bit you will wreck them and have a hard time getting them out (think Drills, Easy-outs, Machine Shop. etc.) Mine had not been touched for 32 years. I soaked them with Kroil for 3 days and used my JIS modified screwdriver bits, and even though he screws were very tight, they came out with zero damage to the head or screw head slots. Here's the scoop on the JIS bits (see link below). Ed

kzrider.com/forum/21-tools/532335-budget...ewdriver-tips#532335

Everything Ed said....especially to replace the air ducts and carb holders! It's well worth it, it will save you lots of problems in the very near future. If you don't do it now you will very soon anyways. I know $$$$...but....you just gotta do it. Might as well replace the clamps too if yours are rusty and all bent up like they usually are.

Parts 1,2,3,4,5 in this drawing. Like Ed said, available from Kawasaki.


Parts 26,27 and clamps, 17. Z1Enterprises sells a set of these clamps for $10 if you don't have to have OEM. They also sell the holders, 26,27.


Something that helps me remove/install my carbs (KZ1000) is to remove #22 (air box stay). It lets the airbox move around just a tiny bit more but it makes a difference.


Like Ed said the real trick to removing/installing the carbs is to replace the air ducts. Z1Enterprises sells some of these parts, and if you call them they can get OEM Kawasaki parts too. It makes it easier to get everything from one place...for me anyways....and they beat my local KAW dealers prices on OEM parts. Can't beat that.

Click here > Air Box Hoses at Z1 Enterprises

Good Fortune!

So i replaced the carb holders because i figured they would really make a difference in idling, but i was reluctant to buy new air ducts mostly for the cost, i used some gorilla tape and raped the hoses up tight but there could still be a couple of small leaks, would this effect my mixture and make it hard to sync up my carbs? im think about taking it to a shop soon to do a full tune up starting with a carb sync and seeing what else they can find?(maybe valve adjusting? what ever else 25 years of sitting could throw out of wack)

There is no such thing as a small leak. If it does not leak, you can move on to finding the next issue(s). If it leaks at all, you need to backtrack and fix all the leaks, then begin the move forward again.

so if the airbox hoses have a small hole it will mess everything up?

Order to fix an old bike and do a tune up

check valve clearance
Clean tank
clean carbs
fix air leaks

if your carbs are good and clean it should run good enough to sync unless your valve clearances are off

the bike runs and is ridable, i just think i have a small leak in one of my air ducts i was just wondering if it could throw off a carb sync i dont wanta pay 80$ 2x

According to Kawasaki.com the ducts that go between the airbox and carbs are still available. Partzilla has them for $17.32 each. There are 3 different part numbers. Let us know if you need them, Ed