Frequently Asked (Tech) Questions

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Setting up the idle air screws on a Kawasaki triple: I happened upon your website and I thought I would pass along a tip I learned on my 1975 S3A 400 Kawasaki Triple! I purchased the bike in 1985, dead stock, with the exception of the 4 Bilstein shocks that came with the bike (SUPER rare, the previous owner had a friend...), I quickly became confused with the shotgun approach to setting the idle mix via air screws ("feel the exaust pulses, unplug two cylinders, adjust third until it JUST idles")...

Forward to 2003, my triple is awake after 13 years dormant in my garage, finally obtained correct main jets (#100), to match KnN's, and I came upon a modern approach to setting idle mixture, you see, I am a BMW master tech with a smog licence (That's right, a California Smog tech who owns a 2-stroke triple!), and I decided to set the bike up using the smog machine!

Using the gas readings menu, I was able to get all three cylinders to run at 2-2.5 percent CO at idle (HC was through the roof, 10,000 PPM!), but the end result was a very smooth idle, and excellent throttle response at sub-5000rpm ranges, and since the sparkplugs were effectively all on the same page, the high rpm performance was also enhanced! hope this helps someone... Chris Brown 

Cleaning control cables:To clean the internal of control cables - before lubing them - do the following: Attach the cable luber fitting, but in place of the pressurized lube use pressurized brake parts cleaner. Get ready for lots of guck flowing out of the other end. Does a tremendous job. John Boettger 

Yamaha TT500 petcock replacement: Hello, I just replaced the petcock on my 76 TT500. It was leaking. I wanted to use an XT500 petcock since the XT has a reserve, but as you know the XT uses a flange where the TT uses tapered threads. I ended up using the petcock off of a Yamaha QT50. It has the reserve and also uses the same tapered threads as the TT500. Here is the part number for anyone interested. 4L4-24500-00-00 Bill Ahrens 

When removing case screws for the first time: When removing case screws for the first time, I do not cut them any slack as it seems the heads will wallow out at the first sign of a Philips screwdriver. All I do is place a small amount of valve lapping compound on the screwdriver (or handheld impact driver.) this stuff is sold by Permatex and others and is used for final valve seating. The extremely gritty texture of this stuff will keep the driver tip from "walking out" of the fastener. Bill Wagner, wagnerhere@tgrsolution.net 

Solution for stuck carbs: Here is my solution to 'stuck carbs' on my Honda CL72.  First I tried soaking them out in solvent, detergent, and then boiling in water-vinegar, but after many days they still wouldn't budge--seems that they were oxidized. So I asked my chemistry buddy who teaches at the local university. He thought for a while, then suggested plumber's flux--as the flux reduces the oxides back to metal. So I loaded the carb's top and 2 sides with blobs of flux and put a low propane torch to the slide on very low heat, for just long enough to melt the flux and get it to flow.

One carb popped open after just a few minutes with some gentle nudging with a round implement. The other took some more work. I tapped the surfaces after heating them, then put an ice cube on the slide after heating to try expanding and contracting the crud apart. After letting the flux soak in for an hour, I was able to get the last one out. Eric Langer, ericlanger@comcast.net