Kawasaki Zephyr 550 will only start with choke

[Nobby the Bastard]

At this point I'd be tempted to try the original float valves because they probably seat better.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[garacs]

[Robby]

From a skim over this thread, I have a few thoughts:

1. The quality of new parts is hit and miss. Use original stuff where possible, only replace it with new if you know the original parts have a problem.

2. Somewhere in your fuel system there must be a significant amount of crap, because you keep finding more filth in the carbs. My money is on the tank. They're a pain to get really clean.

3. Old, stiff inlet rubbers can be made soft and pliable by soaking them overnight in a 50/50 mixture of wintergreen oil and rubbing alcohol. I keep my mix in an old jar on a high shelf. It makes everything smell minty.

4. All of this stuff with tiny changes in carb settings and trying to read spark plugs that all look perfect - this feels like chasing ghosts. It should run fairly well even with the fuel system being well off - my old CB250RS ran pretty well with a gaping hole in the carb rubber, between engine and carb. I would be concentrating on hunting down the mysterious dirt and sludge in the fuel system.

[garacs]