83 kz550 ltd air box woes

Hello guys. Just picked up this 83 KZ550LTD for a couple hundred bucks and cleaned the carbs and set the floats. Remove and Reinstall the carbs was no problem but I'm having fits with the air box boots. Can't seem to get the air box forward enough to secure the boots onto the carb inlets. Am I missing something here? Never had a problem with an air box that wouldn't go forward enough... Usually the opposite.

Now the only two bolts I've loosened are the two on the sides of the air box. Is there another I just haven't found yet? Or should I remove the bolts and try to fit the air box back then re-insert the bolts.

thanks

These boots harden through age, treat the bike to new ones youll be glad you did. You can try to soften the old boots with some herbal liquids, try s search on intake boots,

gppd luck

Thank you for the reply but the problem is not that the boots are hardened. I can't seem to move the air box up far enough so they reach the carb inlets.

Did the airbox come with the bike? Is this a chain drive model or Ltd shaft? From the diagrams at Partzilla the airboxes are different.

the air box came with this shaft drive bike. I don't remember but I think it was all tight when I took the carbs out. I'm sure they were. I think I'm just hanging up on something. You mention partszilla showing the parts. I'll look and see if there isn't a breather hose or something like that, in the way, I am missing or not routed correctly. It seems like I can get one side to fit and the other is too far away. So I'm thinking there must be something in the middle that is making it kind of pivot around. Getting old here and hard to bend down far enough to get a good look.

I just checked partzilla. I don't know why I didn't think of that. And there is a breather hose right in the middle of the top of the air cleaner box. When I get out to the garage I'll take a look. Thank your for the suggestion and reminder to check partzilla.

Ok success... turns out the #2 boot was not fitting up on the carb. Once I got it fitting everything went together fine. Also starts and idles now. Looking good so far. All lights work and charging good. Got the brakes fixed with new MC and pads.

Rear brake shoes. If it hasn't been done yet, you probably ought to replace the rear brake shoes. The adhesive that binds the linings to the shoes can fail over time, so a lining can come off and get jammed between the shoe & drum, locking the rear wheel. It happened to me so it does happen. Get oem or Vesrah (made in Japan).