Since I replaced the head gasket on the wee beastie she's been a bit of a dog at the 1/8 - 1/4 throttle so I finally got around to having a look the other day and she's been quite lean at that point. I've already got the needle on the lowest notch so as rich as she will go, and a quick conversation with Tom at mikunioz.com confirmed these carb's are OEM'd so he can't help me with a richer needle.
I decided to see if I could do something dodgy to lift the needles a bit more yesterday and did so by replacing the spacer on top with a couple of my shims, but the bad news is I also found two very small tears in each diaphragm. I haven't noticed any specific symptoms from this that I'm aware of but I suspect it's contributing to my issues at the low throttle openings as it's a bit rough/hesitant until I crack the throttle. It's running lean, not rich though so I think I've been a bit lucky so far.
Anyway, I'm trying to decide the best course of action given I can still ride her now but it will only be a matter of time until those tears get worse and put me off the road.
JBM Industries have replacement diaphragms... $US19.50 each plus $US27 shipping.
Tom at Mikunioz.com told me he could set me up with VM32's with suitable jets for about $430 posted to me, or VM33's (wheelstand at strange places he says) for well over $500.
Later GS500 carbs will slot straight in but I don't know if they will take my K&N pods.
If I'm going to replace the carbs an upgrade would be the best bet naturally but the price of new carbs is a bit off putting at present and will seriously limit the already limited Katana fund...
So... any other thoughts/suggestions out there? At this point I think the replacement diaphragms are the sensible way forward unless I find a pair of GS500 carbs dirt cheap.
I decided to see if I could do something dodgy to lift the needles a bit more yesterday and did so by replacing the spacer on top with a couple of my shims, but the bad news is I also found two very small tears in each diaphragm. I haven't noticed any specific symptoms from this that I'm aware of but I suspect it's contributing to my issues at the low throttle openings as it's a bit rough/hesitant until I crack the throttle. It's running lean, not rich though so I think I've been a bit lucky so far.
Anyway, I'm trying to decide the best course of action given I can still ride her now but it will only be a matter of time until those tears get worse and put me off the road.
JBM Industries have replacement diaphragms... $US19.50 each plus $US27 shipping.
Tom at Mikunioz.com told me he could set me up with VM32's with suitable jets for about $430 posted to me, or VM33's (wheelstand at strange places he says) for well over $500.
Later GS500 carbs will slot straight in but I don't know if they will take my K&N pods.
If I'm going to replace the carbs an upgrade would be the best bet naturally but the price of new carbs is a bit off putting at present and will seriously limit the already limited Katana fund...
So... any other thoughts/suggestions out there? At this point I think the replacement diaphragms are the sensible way forward unless I find a pair of GS500 carbs dirt cheap.
