1976-80 kawasaki Kz 1000 carburetor overview

[UncleBubba66]

Sorry, those carbs are actually 29mm Smoothbore carbs, Good luck getting correct parts. 1979 -80 carburetors have built in accelerator pumps. LTD carbs are 26mm Standards are 28mm.

[kz75081]

My first KZ was a '79 400 LTD.$2195.00 out the door when I made $3.25 pumping gas as an 18 year old.Then I traded at the dealer for a '79 650 SR.Ran the piss outta' that one and got sidetracked by women/marriage.I lived about 5 miles from a Kawasaki dealer and would stop in and look at the latest "Japanese Coffins." The new bikes with fuel injection and programmable engine controls are great.The steering,suspension,brakes are a whole lot better but I love crankin' my stock 80' cop bike .

[kz75081]

Valve clearances should be checked and adjusted.Staying at the "looser" end of the limit allows less frequent adjustment.("Slappy valves are happy valves.")29mm.diameter shims are used on the KLR 650 and some Suzuki motorcycles.Avoid excessive revving of unloaded engines-cam chain jumping and failure is very possible.Valve shim removal is possible without removing camshafts.Cleaniness is a must.Non hardening gasket sealer-(Permatex #2,Indian Head.) is used on valve cover/camshaft cover gaskets.

[kz75081]

Don't ever run a 1015 or 998(J motor) on 30w oil- 50 weight or better is preferred-Cylinder heads should be hot but your spit should never sizzle off the valve covers.Street bikes should be run on 89 octane ,Battery/stator/rectifier must be at least 13.3-never use resistor/graphite wires.Check the ohms-slow revving and sluggish top end can be electrical resistance/wrong/faulty coils.

[kz75081]

Champion brand spark plugs=N4C are cheaper and easily available.Gap @ .30. and check frequently for air/fuel mixture change.Brake fluid,(silicone) can sometimes be used to swell/shrink and locate leaks in manifolds/air filter connections.

[kz75081]

Any change from stock settings-4-1 header,individual air filters operation at 4000 foot plus altitudes require jet changes.Most open exhaust requires changes up to #110-130 mains and 19- 21 pilot jet sizes.Normally basic 4-1"header" exhaust requires an increase 2 (two) jet sizes.110 -112.0,112.5 ,115- Stock airbox flow has shown to be sufficient except for drag racing.

[kz75081]

Float level is checked on a bench by assembling float valve and float and inverting carburetor to a level horizontal position.. Proper fuel level is 3-5 millimeter below carb bowl body.

[kz75081]

Mi-koo-nee-(Mikuni) The switch to vacuum carbs came in '80 ('81 for the KZ 1000C Police.) These are VM26 carbs with accelerator pump on # 2 carb. Petroleum based " chem dip" is not used anymore-Hot, almost boiling water and lemon or orange juice,(citric acid) cleaner works as well and is water soluble and won't attack aluminum when rinsed.17.5 pilot jets and 102.5 mains were standard.Main jet clip was 2nd notch from the top. Never wash rubber carburetor parts in "carb cleaner."