The original bike first appeared with Amal carbs and as the bike was improved it finally ran with Hilbourn fuel injection running on Nitro. Experience and finances meant I would be using carburettors running on petrol ,but using Kawasaki carbs were out of the question due to their cost; anything related to Z1s or Z1000s commands high prices these days.
The obvious choice were the carbs fitted to the Suzuki GSF1200 Bandit model as these have been around for years so there is a good supply of them on the market. Having obtained two sets and offering them up to the Kawasaki cylinder head showed up a potential problem. The air inlet spacing of the Bandit cylinder head is different to that of the Kawasaki Z900 head and the Suzuki rubber inlet stubs have a different bolt spacing so can't be used either. Trying to fit the Suzuki carbs to the Kawasaki inlet rubbers didn't work either as the diameter of the Suzuki carbs is too big to fit.
The difference in spacing is about 5 mm and by luck it was found that the inlet rubbers used on the Kawasaki GPz600R have an offset of 5mm and are the same size as the Suzuki rubbers although are a push-on design and not bolted on, so all that was needed were some inlet stubs and I'd be in business.
The photos below show the stages in the production of the stubs ending with the carbs fitting the Kawasaki engines perfectly.
The obvious choice were the carbs fitted to the Suzuki GSF1200 Bandit model as these have been around for years so there is a good supply of them on the market. Having obtained two sets and offering them up to the Kawasaki cylinder head showed up a potential problem. The air inlet spacing of the Bandit cylinder head is different to that of the Kawasaki Z900 head and the Suzuki rubber inlet stubs have a different bolt spacing so can't be used either. Trying to fit the Suzuki carbs to the Kawasaki inlet rubbers didn't work either as the diameter of the Suzuki carbs is too big to fit.
The difference in spacing is about 5 mm and by luck it was found that the inlet rubbers used on the Kawasaki GPz600R have an offset of 5mm and are the same size as the Suzuki rubbers although are a push-on design and not bolted on, so all that was needed were some inlet stubs and I'd be in business.
The photos below show the stages in the production of the stubs ending with the carbs fitting the Kawasaki engines perfectly.
Attachments
Difference in carburettor spacing
Picture1.jpg (121.99 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Picture1.jpg (121.99 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Inlet stub material
Picture2.jpg (62.14 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Picture2.jpg (62.14 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Tube turned to accept inlet rubbers
Picture3.jpg (81.79 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Picture3.jpg (81.79 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Stubs progressing
Picture4.jpg (116.88 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Picture4.jpg (116.88 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Completed stubs after cutting and filing
Picture5.jpg (128.64 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Picture5.jpg (128.64 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Finished inlet stubs
Picture6.jpg (166.32 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Picture6.jpg (166.32 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Carburettors fitted to engines
Picture7.jpg (197.43 KiB) Viewed 23908 times
Picture7.jpg (197.43 KiB) Viewed 23908 times