Topic: KZ550 v. CR26's

[Motoguy23]

I've been reading that the CR26's give a lot more power to the little 500's and 550's.  I've also heard stories of people using KZ550 carbs with a little modification on the CB's and working just as well.

I guess what I'm getting at is if its worth dropping $800+ on CR's or can I find a set of KZ's and modify them and have them work just as well?

I'm going down to motorcycle graveyard (Sport Wheels in Jordan MN.) on saturday to see if they have a set of either strapped to a bike.

[Tugboat]

Where did you hear this about the KZ carbs?

[Motoguy23]

well I did a search on here and just googled around.  Also a guy at work used to have a Cb550 and was telling me about things people used to do "back in the day".  Then again, he could be full of sh*t.

[lone*X]

Changing carbs by themselves will not flow any more than the stock setup.  To take advantage of the CR's you really need to improve the whole air pump package, a bigger cam, some good head work, and a tuned exhaust.  Its a lot of money for CR's when the stock carbs with a re-jet work very well with the cb650 cam and a good exhaust.   Never heard of the KZ carb swap but by itself probably wouldn't make a lot of difference. 

[Motoguy23]

I already have a webcam in there and getting the exhaust soon and probably going to get the head ported over the winter.  So if I do get them they will be matched with a higher flowing system.

What about tuning?  I've heard the CR's are easier to tune than the stock carbs.

[seanbarney41]

KZ550 carbs are probably Mikuni VM26 (they came on a lot of other bikes too and should be a good match for a hopped up 550)...they are more tuneable, not easier, i.e. they have more adjustable parameters and are less sensitive to non-stock air intakes.  It will be tough figuring out how to mate them to Honda intake rubbers...throttle cables, etc.

[Deltarider]

Changing carbs by themselves will not flow any more than the stock setup.  To take advantage of the CR's you really need to improve the whole air pump package, a bigger cam, some good head work, and a tuned exhaust.  Its a lot of money for CR's when the stock carbs with a re-jet work very well with the cb650 cam and a good exhaust.   Never heard of the KZ carb swap but by itself probably wouldn't make a lot of difference

. 
+1 You are aware that the KZ 550 valve timing is a lot different than the CB500/550?

[Retro Rocket]

Seems like there are a lot of people here that think better carbs will do nothing without other mods, well thats just not the case. It is quite common to pick up a couple of horse power or more, by using better carbs alone, there are a lot of far better carbs around than the stock Honda ones. I had an old K1 750 in the early 1980's and i noticed an immediate difference after fitting Mikuni VM29's, {off an old 900 Kawasaki} can't remember what jets and needle settings we went with but it was more responsive, had a better top end and was definitely quicker. If Sean is correct and the Kawasaki carbs you are looking at are VM26's i would give them a try, you may have some fun making them fit but it isn't impossible. Don't forget to post results here....

[Motoguy23]

I read on a thread here that the carb spacing for the GS750's are a direct match to the head of the CB550's but wont have to have the funky bends in the intake manifolds.

[Retro Rocket]

I read on a thread here that the carb spacing for the GS750's are a direct match to the head of the CB550's but wont have to have the funky bends in the intake manifolds.

Not too sure about the GS750's but i have an old set of CR31's that suit Kawasaki 900-1000 and GS 1000, and i need special manifolds for them as they are wider than the Honda 750 carbs...

[Retro Rocket]

Just found this thread, have a read mate...

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=107707.msg1210148;topicseen#msg1210148

[FunJimmy]

I read on a thread here that the carb spacing for the GS750's are a direct match to the head of the CB550's but wont have to have the funky bends in the intake manifolds.

Several members on the board have installed Mikuni carbs from KZ and GS bikes.

The spacing is virtually a direct match to the CB550 intake ports, but will require custom straight manifolds to work. If you read some of the forums in the High Performance section you will see how they have sorted the manifold issue out.  I choose to go with new CR26 carbs and the difference is amazing. When I ordered the rack, I had the spacing setup to match the ports and fabed up straight shot manifolds too.

Cheers
FJ

[bwaller]

The KZ550 carbs are too small. The VM26's were used on Kawasaki 900's & 1000's for a while.