Carb Questions

[96desertXII]

Would it be safe to "assume" as with other brands......the earlier the carb, the less "emission" related choking is present?

What I mean is will the 86 carbs be a better setup in relation to jets and needles vs a later model carbs....or is there no difference?

Also is there a carb rebuild kit available?

[biggersm]

I'll give this a quick (if not necessarily a knowledgeable) bump. The XII only went through the most minor of changes for the production run but I don't remember anything about changes in the carbs. I know you live in California so there is a good chance that you own a California edition Voyager with a canister hanging in front of the tank. I owned the same thing so my sympathies go out to you. There is a way to bypass the California edition but someone like Carl Leo would have to talk you through it.

[debron]

Carl told me not to bother changing out the California system as both performance and gas mileage are the same. I believe my '95 is a California model even though I live in Oregon and bought the bike from a person in Washington. It has a California Dept. of Defense parking sticker on the front forks.

As to the carb issue, I believe all the carbs are the same as Maw Kaw doesn't change anything they don't have to during a production run. And I haven't seen anything in the service manual referring to carbs from one year vs. another.

[OldKawDrvr]

Would it be safe to "assume" as with other brands......the earlier the carb, the less "emission" related choking is present?

What I mean is will the 86 carbs be a better setup in relation to jets and needles vs a later model carbs....or is there no difference?

Also is there a carb rebuild kit available?

I purchased 4 carb kits on Fee-Bay. $31.00 each The irony is my problem was with the fuel pump, not the carbs. I used them any way. I had to justify the time to R&R the carbs!

[96desertXII]

Thanks for the replies........new to Kawa, I have had ALOT of Honda's, mainly 750 SOHC. They had a lot of different carbs in there 9 year run with the first year, 1969, being the most performance oriented carb. So I was just wondering if there was a "better" year for carbs on the XII.

This winter I will tear down the 96 for some upgrades, mods, and repairs that it needs. At that time I will loose the smog controls and get it down to the basics for care free riding.

[biggersm]

If it is a California edition it is correct that there is very little to gain by removing it. No extra power and only a couple of extra pounds of stuff. I do recommend looking for the canister however and seeing how it is connected. The rubber strap that holds the canister in place on ours wore out (dry rot) and the entire canister was only hanging by the hoses. The canister is a rectangle box with three hoses coming out of the top of it and it sits forward of the fuel tank.

As for the carbs I'm pretty sure they were the same for the entire model run but if anyone is more knowledgeable please chime in. Carl Leo used to have a mail in carb swap. I'm not sure if he still does that.

[jre258 in SoDak]

As for the carbs I'm pretty sure they were the same for the entire model run but if anyone is more knowledgeable please chime in. Carl Leo used to have a mail in carb swap. I'm not sure if he still does that.

I asked Carl earlier about the rebuilt carb swap deal. He said that he didn't have any sets left to trade, but he would rebuild my carbs if I sent them to him.
Jim

[chevyman1]

From what I read the California carbs have a different profile needle I Believe there is something in the tech section on that.
Also there is like 6 different size jets in the parts listing for the Voyager.
My 90 was bought in PA and it was a California bike.