1980 kz550 carb questions

Hey all,

I bought an 80 kz550 earlier this year. It's in decent shape, starts and runs and rides well. My issue is that it is running extremely rich. I get 60 miles to a full tank until it sputters and i have to turn it to reserve. It smokes excessively, all black smoke. I don't have a shop manual yet and simply don't know where to start. A little guidance from those that have done this would be great. Previous owner states he synced the carbs and put on pod filters.

Also, I plan to replace the old rusted out muffles, should this be done before the tuning? They are currently off.

Running too rich on a main jet would show up as other problems i.e not revving all thew way to the redline .

Get a UK Haynes manual if you can, very informative.

Check your float heights first , using a U tube manometer pipe from the carb bowls.

60 miles per tank plus black smoke is miles off.

Stick with it, thee kawi 550 are the best motors of the early 8 valve air cooled imo.

With the poor fuel economy & black smoke, for starters you're going to need to clean, check, & set the carburetors --- fuel level check, throttle slide adjustment, check the jet sizes if possible, make sure the choke flaps are present.... that sort of thing.

A novice bike mechanic probably ought to install the stock airbox. Otherwise, you'll need to verify what jets are installed. Any idea if the po rejetted for the individual filters?

The exhaust system provides back-pressure: if the mufflers are shot, replace them. You can probably find a set on eebbaayy. If the header pipes & manifold are okay, you could get some Dunstall replica mufflers --- JC Whitney or JP Cycles or etc.

I would start at the tank and check & set everything as per the factory manual. A lot of stuff is fairly straight forward. Tank - petcock - airbox & ducts - carburetors & carb holders - ignition system - compression check - valve clearance check. Do one thing - double check your work - then move on to the next thing. Replace the Rr brake shoes whenever you do the rear wheel.

Manuals. KZRider loudhvx has pdf manuals listed on his motorcycle stuff page. KZR topic --- see links in his signature