Unobtainium Kawasaki 440 LTD air box filter cleaner cure.

[STINEY]

Long story short....these Kawasaki 440 LTD motorcycles need the factory air filter to run right. They simply do not like the airbox removed and pod filters stuck on the carbs, nor do they like just the airbox without the snorkel over the battery. When that snorkel is missing they also run like poo.

And ALL of the snorkels are missing for some reason. None to be had, if you do have one you better be darn careful with it, they are uber-rare.

So I came up with a simple and cheap cure for our bike, a 1982 model.



This is what we have to work with. When we bought this bike, the PO had "fabricated" a complex restriction out of a beer carton with a pair of 1" holes kinda chewed into it. When I raised an eyebrow and pointed to the beer carton piece, he told me that it actually needed that to run. He was right, but dang what a crude fix.





So here are the pieces that are always missing. #11011, 11013, 11012. See the twin holes on the end of 11012? Those are a pair of 1" holes (or 25.4mm if you prefer) that some sneaky engineer at Kawasaki tried to trip us Americans up with. The filter itself is rather simple and non-restrictive, but those holes are key.



I did some measuring and checking out clearance pod filters on BikeBandit.com. The area needed is either two 1" holes or one 1.4" hole......BikeBandit had 1" pods on clearance for a few bucks each so that's the path I chose.

Then I went to the hardware store for a pair of 3/4" EMT conduit connections pieces. .99 each, throw away the conduit securing screw, grind off the screw boss, and the pod boot fits very nicely. Snug but not forced on.







The inside even has a slightly radiused step that makes a nice small venturi. Should flow air nicely.





Next is to make a piece that fits the factory airbox where the snorkel would slip onto and be screwed in place. Looking around I found a piece of old floppy disk storage that has a nice 90* bend and might cut well enough for this. If not there is a junk microwave oven that has some sheetmetal that will work nice as well.



Stay tuned, more to come.

[TheSilverBuick]

Yeah, when I had an '87 Ninja 600, the air box was missing and it had the four filters, which fit like crap. I looked for a while for an airbox, and as you said, none to be found, anywhere. I ended up getting a different air box and was going to attempt to make it work, but ended getting rid of the bike first.

[JOES66FURY]

my air box was trashed...I fitted pod filters but the carbs have been jetted and it has the V&H exhaust....it likes the pods much better than the busted up air box....

[STINEY]

Some measuring and scribing, followed by a little hacksaw work, gave me the piece I need. Used a carbide bit in my cordless drill to put the holes for the pods in and the screw mounting holes.




Added the mounting screw holes and installed it.

[STINEY]

Installed a tach cable and new seat cover while I was at it. Wow...........that seat cover is an excercise in gymnastics. My boys said it looked like I was wrestling alligators, but it does look nice with an unripped seat cover.

Now to sell it.

Edit - sold late-May, buyer was thrilled. These really are the perfect beginner bikes.

[freakoswave]

Hi ! I joined this site just because I saw this write up on the LTD 440. I recently picked up the same bike but 1981 that looks identical except mine looks like shit ! I was wondering where you got a seat cover for it ? Also if you have any tips for getting it running right mine dies when the choke is off...I literally found mine in a barn with horses and Im trying to get it running right to enjoy this season. Oh and my snorkel is also missing I like what you did with yours, I have to see where I can hack off some plastic to fit on the air cleaner housing. Thanks in advance!

[STINEY]

Thanks!

The seat cover came from BikeBandit.com, it was around $60. Be ready for a rodeo putting it on, pick a sunny day and leave the cover in the hot sun for an hour before you even start.

The carbs most likely need a good complete cleaning. That means removal, as you simply can't get everything with them on the bike. And don't mess with the covers on top of the carbs, nothing under there to clean and those thin rubber diaphragms are easily torn and also unavailable. They can be patched with PlasticDip from the hardware store though.

Remove and clean all the brass jets, a bristle from your wire brush works well for poking out the tiny holes in the Jets and will not screw up the hole size like a drill bit can.

Be careful not to tear the rubber boots holding the carbs to the engine. They could already be torn and that could be part of its non-idling issue. They are available new, and are relatively cheap, again I think BikeBandit has them.

Good luck!

[foureyedmike]

Ahh, motorcycle carbs... I've fought them... and won and lost.

If you can't find something plastic to hack up, you can always buy ABS sheets and use epoxy and a heat gun to fab something close.

I'm sure you know this already, but a hand impact driver is your friend... and you might need an easy-out. Why do they use f'ing JIS phillips head screws!?!?

And don't split the carb rack if you can help it, unless the fuel rails leak.

The last step is to sync the carbs. There's lots of plans online for how to make a carb sync, or you can buy them. My homebrew syncs weren't so great, so I bought one.

EDIT: If you need to do it, and DIY carb cleaning doesn't work, the next step is to have the carb put in an ultrasonic cleaning tank. A few shops have these, at least around here.

[STINEY]

Good advice Mike.

Yeah, I loathe those screws too. Reminds me, I have one screw to get on our '83 Honda 110 ATC. The outer clutch discs need replaced, and the cover has one screw I can't get the impact down the recess enough to get. Grrr...

[foureyedmike]

Hahaha... life gets especially miserable when the impact driver fails. I think the EZ-out always saved me.

Good luck with the ATC. If you have a really high quality screwdriver, maybe you can get that last screw?

Gotta ask - are you replacing the LTD 440 with anything cool?

[Beagle]

six inch phillips bit for your impact won't fit down there? On my impact whack it with a hammer japanese screw remover , it's a 1/2 drive with a 5/16 socket for the shank. I imagine you could put a 1/2 => 3/8 adapter and a 1/4 inch socket on for a bit adapter if you had to, or just a 6" bit in the electric impact gun. If you don't have the gun, here's your excuse... oh, I suppose you could put it in your 3/8 pneumatic impact with a 1/4 socket if you don't wanna spend the money. Don't have a 3/8 impact? BUY ONE. You need one. Really.

If that's the only thing keeping you from splitting cases, I'd say a 5/16 drill will solve your problems... I can't remember exactly, but wasn't the clutch pack external on a Honda 50/70/90/110 or is it the cover you're trying to get off?



that's a number 3, I think you need a 2 though.

[foureyedmike]

You know, even a bit like that in a hand (hammer/sprung type) impact driver could get you some mileage. The hammering had the dual action of compressing the phillips head in while applying torque.

I'd be a bit afraid with an electric or pneumatic impact gun - they have tons of torque (arguably a little too much), and I could foresee some stripping. I don't have air tools, but really, that hand impact driver was my 'magic bullet' for bike maintenance.

[Beagle]

oh yeah. My step one on used bike purchase was to go to the Bates store and buy or order a socket head screw (allen) kit for it. Chisel and hammer and impact driver...




if you were lucky, you were the first person to get a crack at it and the impact would work. If you weren't, it was chisel work. I've been known to drill the ones you couldn't get a chisel on.

I don't have a problem with a pneumatic impact as long as you can REALLY lean on it. It won't strip if it can't push the bit out of the slot and I don't own a gun that will push my fat ass out of the slot if it's not already mangled. Sometimes even the mangled ones relent.

The deal on the impact was, mine uses 5/16 bits, not 1/4" ... a 1/4 x 6 bit is pretty common, but a 5/16 x 6" bit is not something you'll find at Lowe's Depot.

random thought - I love it when those stupid screws turn loose with that uber-satisfying TINK sound they make, then throwing them unceremoniously into the "Gawd I hope I never have to use these" bucket and replacing it with an allen head screw. That's the same bucket you always seem to be digging through at 3:00 a.m. to get some project finished enough to go do whatever you couldn't wait another 3 days for the right parts for. haha.

Oh yeah, random thought that actually loops back to the topic of this thread... Stiney, did you ever try to jet the 440 with pod filters? None of the Jap stuff I had liked an open element air filter without fattening up the jets a _lot_ or having to jack with the needle as I remember it (vague memories).

[foureyedmike]

I got brave and re-used the phillips head screws. Probably shouldn't have, but that's someone else's problem now

The 'tink' sound was beautiful. It meant the easy-out could stay away for a day, and that I wouldn't have to go find tiny metric screws from somewhere. Like you, I still have a random assorted box of M2, M3, M4 and M6 bolts in the shed... and a blown-up Suzuki air cooled motor!

Getting the carb rack out of the bike was never fun.

We should start a motorbike thread in the 'general' area.

[Deaf Bob]

I find tightening a whack before loosening helps them come off easier..