Kzkrazy wrote: I bought a '78 KZ400 with Pods and do not have the OEM airbox to throw back in it. My plan is to buy the rejetted Mikuni V32 kit for it eventually but I don't have the funds at the moment. I have no idea if the previous owner rejetted it or not and I don't know how to tell. My plan is to get new pods on it because they are junk and later this summer get the new carbs on it. Am I going to cause any long term issues running this without it being rejetted with pods? Everything I have read is that you do not want to put pods on this without a carb swap or major recalibration. Thanks.
32s are too big for a stock 400; VM30s would be much more suitable. Pods and a stock exhaust shouldn't require dramatic jetting changes, but you'll want to work with the shop selling the carbs to work out the jetting.
Pull your spark plugs and look at the color. Google for a color chart to see what a 'normal' plug should look like. Lean is bad: your bike will run hotter and may discolor the chrome on the headers. You can also burn valves over the long term with a lean mixture.
I would buy the carbs and the pods at the same time to ensure you get ones that fit. (You can work with the shop on this, too.)
With aftermarket carbs you will almost certainly need an aftermarket throttle cable. Be sure to account for that in your budget, as you may need to have that installed (since you said you're not mechanically inclined).
Or you can go on ebay and look for a KZ400 airbox. There are quite a few available and they will be much less expensive than new carbs and pods.