1977 KZ-1000A1 Needle Jets

Ok, quick question from someone who doesn't know, I recently had my carbs overhauled on my KZ-1000 and they gave me back all the old take off parts in plastic bags. I "think" they used K&L kits for this, but I am not sure. I noticed looking at the bags full of parts and gaskets that there are no needle jets in them. Does the K&L carb kits have replacement needle jets in them? If not, is there a source for replacement needle jets and why are there a couple of different needle jets listed for my bike in the Kawasaki parts listing? Thanks,
Rick H.

The way I read the parts diagram is that they list the A1, A2 and A2A all in the diagram. The first part #26 is for the A1. You want the O6 needle jets.

As for where you can find them...they may be available on ebay. They may also be available through a Mikuni parts outlet but be sure to get them for the right series, which I think is 243.

Normally I buy Keyster rebuild kits (Z1 Enterprises sells them) because they have the needle jets. Unfortunately they have a lot of other stuff that I never use, like 6 different main jets and 3 different pilots. But I've found their stuff to be great quality, so I pay the price.

+ 1 for the Keyster stuff.
Very high quality stuff that comes with all the parts you need plus more.
Getting the needle jets separately may mean having to buy genuine Mikuni though but i'd send a message to a keyster stockist first to see if they are available individually .

Why replace the needle?

Particles in the gas who has «sanded» the needle over time?

Yes. The needle does rub against the jet which ovals it causing a richer running.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationNOS KAWASAKI 1977-1981 KZ1000 NEEDLE JET 0-6 PART# 16017-097

I don't think those parts wear much. The needle itself is anodized aluminum which is softer than the brass and it's rare to see worn needles.

Needles and needle jets on '77 KZ1000 are the same as Z1...made of brass. And yes, they definitely wear as zed1015 mentioned. On the other hand, main jets and pilot jets see very little wear, yet people almost always change them out when doing a carb rebuild.

The needle jet helps to atomize fuel as it flows around the needle and exits the top of the jet. A worn needle or worn jet (or both) will not have optimal atomization. This results in more plug fouling and worse gas mileage. My Z1B went from 45 mpg to 60 mpg when I changed the needles and needle jets and accelerates like a beast now.

I have to correct myself in that the "needles" are the parts that weren't replaced, the jets were from the looks of what is in the plastic bags. The needles in the carbs do appear to be plain old brass. Perhaps I take too much stuff to heart, but after reading multiple entries on the forum about replacing the needles I thought it would be a good idea to check and see if mine were replaced after they were overhauled by a repair shop. I hate to throw another wrench in the works, but when I took these carbs in to be rebuilt I asked what kits they normally used and was told K&L. I mentioned why not Keyster and the reply was they had too many problems with the Keyster kits. I didn't pursue further inquiry at that point and perhaps should have to find out what the problems were.

In retrospect I wish now I would have done the overhaul myself as I think I could have done just as good a job as they did. Nothing special was done to the carbs such as vapor blasting or anything, they were cleaned in carb cleaner, which I have a 5 gal bucket of for cleaning certain firearm parts and maybe cleaned briefly in an ultrasonic tub. It wasn't a matter of not doing this type of work before, but it has been a long time since doing this and I thought it better to have some "pros" work on them. The carbs weren't all that bad to begin with, but jumping from a $300.00 initial estimate to $600.00 final bill was a hard pill to swallow. Discovering the needles weren't replaced for that price just makes it worse and I also discovered they never took out the float bowl drain screws to replace the O-rings on them. All in all a lesson learned on many fronts. I could have bought a rebuilt set of carbs that a forum member had for sale cheaper and had a spare set of carbs to overhaul as a re-learning experience. If my knees would still allow it I would kick myself.....

Rick H

Forclarity, the needle jets are the ones sticking slightly up in the venturi tunnel. The needle slides up and down inside the needle jet. The main jet and diffuser sits in the orifice immediately below the needle jet and the pilot jet sits beside the main jet/diffuser.

In my experience K&L kits do not contain needle jets but they do contain needles (without clips), o-rings, main jets, pilot jets and float valves.

The Keyster KK-0157NR set contains the needle jet 0-6

www.motorradbay.de/kz1000a1-kk-0157nr-ke...a70e956c727eb78a9401
www.kawaschrauber.de/shop/product_info.p...j-1977&SESS=ymhikvot

Well after some looking I found my receipt for the carb overhaul job. They used K&L kits # 18-2608. From what I can tell looking on the internet these kits do not have the long needles for replacement. They do have the bottom jet that the needle slides into though. The Keyster kits do have the needles and are slightly more money than the K&L kits. I did some quick checking and Partzilla doesn't have the OEM needles and on Ebay the prices for OEM stuff is all over the map up to 50 bucks a piece. Little much for my taste. I will keep looking. Could buy new Keyster kits and use the needles and have a bunch of spare parts LOL. Does anyone know the correct part number for the KZ-1000A1 needles? There are a couple different numbers listed in the Kawasaki parts manual. Thanks everyone....
Rick H.