TOPIC:

Okay I have been searching every end of the deep dark web all this week for my answer but cant find anything concrete relating exactly to my problem or in a KZ550 exactly. Mostly my searches end up at overflow issues not really the issue here I believe. So I guess here goes...….. 1981 Kawi KZ550LTD has a 4 into 1 header and megaphone exhaust and I am currently installing pod filters and a dyno jet stage 3 kit. Since getting the carbs basically all apart and cleaned thoroughly and installing all dyno jet related components as well as carb rebuild kits and setting the base settings according to the dyno jet charts I have a fuel issue. I put the carbs on and hooked the fuel feed line form the petcock up and then switched the petcock to pri (PRIME) to fill the bowels in order to start the bike. After a second or so I have fuel spitting out of the mouth of the carb. Its a nice round small stream right out of the little brass round hole in the center of the lower mouth of the carb. Turn it back to ON with bike off and it stops. Starting the bike with petcock ON it does same thing. Squirting fuel. Browsing through my service manual this is the air jet as they call it. So the fuel is filling the bowl and then going up the main through the emulsion tube and streaming out of the air jet orifice. Is this float height related? I have messed with the float levels for two days now and still streaming out of this hole.

ANY ideas would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!

Thanks
Tyler

Sticking float.

It sounds more like a defect in the fuel valve or assembly, although it could be a grossly mis-adjusted float level. There is not too much adjustment necessary on a simple rebuild.

I think you will have to pull the bowl and see if you can stop the flow manually by pressing up on the float etc.
If you pull the carbs and support them level somehow, you may be able to use water to see if the fuel valve is leaking badly. Gasoline can seep through openings easier than water, but it sounds like you have a large flow of gasoline. Water would probably show this.

It could be, as Nessism said, a sticking float, or there is a bur on the needle seat of the fuel valve, or the seal is missing, or the needle is upside down, or the worst case scenario would be a cracked carb.

Here is a link to a site about your carbs.
s3.amazonaws.com/gpzweb/TK22mainPage/TK22mainPage.html#home

As far as the sticking I have taken the carbs off already and the bowls off, the floats will flip back and forth nice and smooth. I then inspected the needle and seat which were brand new with the rebuild kit and no defects are apparent. So in thinking this, the carb was just fine before the rebuild so I put the old needle and seat in thinking maybe the new were defective. The floats were never adjusted as long as I have owned it and there was no fuel leak anywhere before.

Thanks for the fast replies guys!!!!

ALSO carbs were gone over thoroughly flashlight and all no visible cracks or anything they are in really nice shape for their age and like I said just fine before the rebuild...…..

Did you wet set the fuel levels after replacing the needles? Fuel will spit out of the idle air jet if the bowls are allowed to grossly overfill from a stuck needle or incorrect float adjustment. I just went through same thing when setting up my carbs after a rebuild before I set the floats.

HNewDawnKZ550LTD wrote: ALSO carbs were gone over thoroughly flashlight and all no visible cracks or anything they are in really nice shape for their age and like I said just fine before the rebuild...…..

I hope you find the solution to the problem, but I must ask - if they were fine before the rebuild why did you feel compelled to rebuild them? This is not the first time I've read of properly operating carbs experiencing bad problems after being rebuilt. I guess I'm one of the believers of the theory "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Ed

jayrodoh……………...I did not wet set them. I believe that is what I am running into???? Fine before the re-jet and new needles and all and now I got the leaking issue. I took the bowls off to test and see if I can push the float up manually and stop the flow of fuel. I did take the bowls off and I can stop the fuel flowing if I manually close the float. So it seems to me that the floats may actually be off because I have to push it up pretty far before it stops pouring.........

650ed.........The reason I am doing this is because I have a aftermarket exhaust as well as switching to individual pod filters. I am installing a carb rebuild kits as well as a dyno-jet stage 3 kit for the pods and 4-into-1.

Kinda sounds like you put the floats in upside down and they cant shut the fuel off to the bowl

I checked that as well warren3200gt........But the adjustable tang for float height is facing the float needle pins. That would mean the floats are correct orientation.

Are you sure you have the correct float needles? There are a few different lengths and if the kit ones are incorrect ie short ones the floats wont lift the needle high enough to shut the fuel.

warren3200gt................Yes they are correct. I called dyno-jet to confirm kit PN#'s and the lengths.