If someone were to ask me if there's a single thing that causes the most problems it would without any doubt be carburation, particularly on multi-cylinder bikes, so this won't be the last time we return to this subject across multis and twins.
The bike may have been laid up for years, maybe in less than ideal storage ( if at all) with old fuel in the tank and carbs turning into a stinky varnish, then a hard glaze blocking jets, fuel tap, sticking floats and slides, and causing one headache after another.
However , if you want to get the best out of the engine there's no alternative but to keep at it and in fairness its seldom you can't rescue the carbs and have the bike running like a top- even if it seems like you'll never get there at times.
Once you have cleaned everything , replaced needle valves, jets, gaskets etc as necessary, and the carbs are ready to set up, the most critical initial settings are the fuel levels-everything will flow from that and if they're not right the bike will never run as you hope.
Kawasakis of this vintage ( and maybe later-I dunno) don't use the usual vernier/rule method of setting the float levels, but a small level tube that screws into the float bowl drain plug and allows you to see the actual level of fuel in the bowl-then adjust the float accordingly. Its a little tedious but essential if you want your bike to run well - so its worth doing.
Once set up we'll pop the carbs on the bike and synch them up.
This particular old girl was supplied by my friend Jim Wolfe at All Brands Motorcycles in Muskegon, Michigan and is making a really nice bike so thanks Jim.
If its a little repetitive I've put some teasers in the vid to show how the recommission is coming along-so watch it all. :0)
Thanks, Rod
28 май 2021
