Over flow fuel -

I have read and read - I know what my problem is (i think) but I am kind of hesitant on my next move -

Basically my kz1000 80 sat for about two weeks - I went to start it and fuel started to come out of one carb over flow pretty bad - I drained the fuel out of all four carbs (thinking rust) - But I think one of my floats is stuck -

I have been reading the repair manual on removing and cleaning the carbs - But there are somethings I am unsure of - From what I understand I remove the four screws from air and manifold side - Remove the throttle cable and thats it right?

Are there any warnings I should think about before I remove and clean these carbs?

What about throttle cable adjustment after I put the carbs back in?

Sorry for such basic questions - But no shop around here will work on my bike being that it is older than 10 years - Except this one shop that had my bike for 2 months to clean the carbs before (after the bike had sit for a year)


I didnt relize how sensitive these carbs are about gumming up - Seems to me once you have the bike running start it everyday and idle it for awhile - Man the leason I am learning -

Post edited by: modest911, at: 2006/01/09 20:04

Yeah, carbs are a snap to remove for the most part. If you still have the stock airbox they might be a bit trickier, but still not that hard.

After you get them off you can remove the 4 float bowls and give a general cleaning. I would remove your float valve, main, and pilot jets and blow each one clean with carb cleaner and compressed air.

To prevent this in the future make sure and run fuel filters between the tank and carbs.

Good luck. Any more questions just ask.

Oh and the cables are not that big a deal. Just pay attention to how they came off. When you put them back on you want to adjust them so they are not holding the slides open at all and you can get 2-3mm of play at the throttle grip.

You would also benefit greatly by picking up a service manual for your bike. Forget the bike shops in your area. These bikes are EASY to work on if you have a good reference.

This is probably a good read for you too... kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...ew/id,10339/catid,3/

Thanks for the assurance - I did get the service manuals off of ebay - They are all on cd - But I am kind of into pictures and they really dont have many removal pictures - Thanks again -

So I have to remove the airbox also - Yes airbox is stock

Thanks for the link I saw that one - But I need to get the carbs out first - haha -

Post edited by: modest911, at: 2006/01/10 07:18


Oh yeah I saw how to clean my gas tank on this forum - So i think I am going to do everything at once - Clean tank, carbs, inline filters, possibly run new gas lines -

Post edited by: modest911, at: 2006/01/10 07:21

You won't have to remove airbox. You will have to get it to move back about 1/2" to get any sort of room to remove or replace carbs. It's real real tight. Getting airbox boots back on is a real pain. I use to strips of sheetmetal and slide the carbs between when replacing. That is between manifolds and airbox boots. Have fun! :evil: :laugh:

It is not too difficult to get the carbs out of bikes, just a little time consuming. Main problem is just making room to manuver the carbs. Once you get them out and pull the bowl off (only do one carb at a time, that way you have a reference if you get lost). You will need to pull the pin out of the float and pull the float and then float valve/needle out. You MAY be able to just clean off the needle/valve and seat(the part that the needle goes into), but unless it is a new needle already I have always had better luck just replacing them. The rubber tipped ones after awhile seem to develope a ridge where they sit in the seat and the metal tipped ones kinda ding where they sit. One thing I did learn recently after replacing a float needle/valve was that sometimes the seat gets some corrosion,dirt etc on the rim. I used a drill bit that was about as big around as the float needle shaft and VERY LIGHTLY TWISTED IT IN MY FINGERS WHILE PUTTING IT IN THE VALVE SEAT. It clean the corrosion that carb cleaner did not remove and smoothed the seat up for the new valve. Before doing that it still leaked even after replacing the float needle. BUT BE CAREFUL you don't want to remove material, just kinda carefully smooth it up.

Okay - I took all of the advice - man - what a pain getting those carbs out - haha - I cleaned the carbs up - The jets are doing what they are entended for - I could spray carb cleaner in them and they would spray out the other end - The carbs where really clean - The bike that I have is a pretty clean bike so I wasnt to suprised when I took the carbs apart - got everything back in - Go to start it and my battery needs charging - my luck - wont have access to one of those until saturday - round and round I go - oh well at least I know how to remove/repace the carbs now -

Oh yeah the spark plugs are black - I am thinking thats not good - google here I come

Post edited by: modest911, at: 2006/01/12 21:45

If your airbox boots are cracked or very difficult to manipulate, I'd consider some new ones. In the long run, you'll save time and sore thumbs!

www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=303

And personally, if the plugs are black I'd replace them and run the bike a little before worrying. Even if the bike were fouling plugs before, after making a change (cleaning and adjusting the carbs) you can't assume that it'll keep fouling them. Grab a new set, get some time in the seat, and then check it out.

I just noticed also that if you have the original tag under the seat (the one with tire pressure, spark plug clearances, valve clearances, and so forth), it recommends the initial position for setting the carb screws. That's probably a good place to start, *if* you foul the plugs after getting a new set.

Hey, Another Atlanta metro guy. Makes three of us AFAIK.
I get through Alfretta sometimes taking the long way around to Canton as I like parts department at that dealer on upper hembree rd.

-Duck (a few blocks from little five points)
4/822-8255

GargantuChet - You read my mind - I was just coming on this board to find where I could buy the boots - They seem a little streched out at the ends - Also - I am guessing - But the tubs that go from carb to carb for fuel - Is that any tube that I could pick up from a part store? Plus I am going to get new plugs tomorrow - Nice -


Duck - Nice to meet you - I have a few friends out in East Atlanta -

You should use fuel line (usually black) between the gas tank and the carbs. For most anything else on the carbs (I'm not sure about emissions stuff) you can get clear flexible tubing at your local hardware store and save some bucks.

A bike shop charged me something like $5 for three feet of 3/8" ID tubing. I believe Home Depot's price was $2 for 20 feet.

Z1 Enterprises is a great place for parts. The owner (Jeff Saunders) is a site member here and a darned helpful guy. He stocks a lot of parts for our bikes, and the prices are reasonable.

The only bad thing I have to say about Jeff is that he needs to post some pics of his turbo'd Z1 for us to drool over. Preferably action shots.

Here's an old pic: