K&L Carb Kits

I just got in some of the parts for my '82 GPz project, and sitting in the cold garage the carbs are so sticky that they're gummy.

The K&L Carb kits are really good quality as I look at them, and even come with two main jets, the stock 107.5 one, and the 110 jet that everybody bumped them up to, as well as the Canadian Jet Needles

On my '83 KZ750L3 the Kawasaki dealer charged me about $6.00 each for just the Canadian needles back then, so in 2014 dollars, I think $20.00 for the kit delivered to my door is fair.

Can't see replacing the high quality Mikuni parts with aftermarket. Carb kits don't come with all the needed O-rings either. Typically all you need for a carb rebuild is an O-ring kit from cycleorings.com (for Mikuni carbs) and maybe some float bowl gaskets.

I haven't broken out my micrometer, but the brass parts look like they come from whatever manufacturer produced them for Mikuni.

But aside from that, buying the O-rings and parts through Kawasaki's parts system would end up costing $100.00 per carb to rebuild, and not all the parts are available, so what is the alternative?

I'd like to replace the diaphragms, just due to age, does anybody have a source ?

GPzEric wrote: I haven't broken out my micrometer, but the brass parts look like they come from whatever manufacturer produced them for Mikuni.

But aside from that, buying the O-rings and parts through Kawasaki's parts system would end up costing $100.00 per carb to rebuild, and not all the parts are available, so what is the alternative?

I'd like to replace the diaphragms, just due to age, does anybody have a source ?

cycleorings.com has a kit. There is no reason to replace the jets unless someone damaged them hamfisting their removal. Also, the K&L kits don't contain all the various needed O-rings, so there is no avoiding chasing additional parts anyway.

As far as carb kits are concern, K&L is better than most, but the parts are not the same as OEM. Sometimes the jet numbers deviate from stock too. Jets don't wear, so just soak them in carb dip and put them back into service. Only significant issues I've seen with recycling parts is the float needle springs sometimes get weak; if they compress under the weight of the float you might want to get some new ones from Z1 or similar.

Regarding diaphragms, they are affixed to the slide and replacement is not rudimentary. There are aftermarket replacements available, but I'd wait until your old diaphragms get holy before going down that road.

Thanx - I will handle them very carefully.

I hate carburetor varnish.

This is a rebuild tutorial that may help. It was written based on some Suzuki GS carbs, but the Kawasaki Mikuni's are very similar... www.mtsac.edu/~cliff/storage/gs/Mikuni_B...Rebuild_Tutorial.pdf

I got these direct from Japan. 4 kits for $38+ship on flee bay.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configuration

kaw-a-holic wrote: I got these direct from Japan. 4 kits for $38+ship on flee bay.

I forgot to mention what they came with size wise. for my 77 KZ1000 they came with 102.5 mains, #15 pilot and a 2.3 needle and seat. Gaskets are nice and thick.

Jets can erode! If you have a jet that is a real dull color it is eroded! Usually due to it being dirty at one time