K & L Carb Kits

Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 1:48 pm

Hi. Has anyone tried the K & L carb kits for our bikes?

Would appreciate any thoughts?

Hawk Joined: Jun 05, 2017 Posts: 334 Location: New England

Much more experienced people will post, but I have had decent experience on several Japanese bikes. Problem with K&L is you will still need to buy some stuff that is not in the kits, like fuel tube orings, accel pump orings, etc. There has been reported questionable quality on some K&L float valves, but honestly the ones I have used have matched OEM dimensions exactly and have not leaked.

BUT, I find pulling and cleaning carbs to be an enormous investment in time, and I only want to do it once if I can. For me that means OEM, or OEM quality like the Randakk kits.

I have also learned, that you probably only need to replace the rubber bits. Jets can be cleaned, floats are usually good. So rather than throwing the parts canon at it, think about what you really need. If you just need a float bowl gasket, I think the K&L kit is fine, rather than paying high OEM prices for that part.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 2:43 pm

I initially became a Randakk dealer years ago because I found his products to be the best on the market.

I use his carb kits exclusively and can recommend them highly.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 6:56 pm

Yes, I recommend Randakk kits, and OEM (Keihin) float valve needles.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 10:32 pm

Vince, I have not had much luck with K&L. I ordered several fuel bowl o-rings and within 18 months they leak. Every single one of them (not at the same time).

Perhaps its the ethanol but quite frankly I got tired of changing o-rings annually. I tried Randakk's o-rings and never had another leak.

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:10 am

If you're talking about Blue Thunder (the bike) the orings are indeed leaking again. Must be the ethanol...

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:18 am

Thanks for the feedback... Really appreciate it.

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:43 am

djf18374 wrote:

If you're talking about Blue Thunder (the bike) the orings are indeed leaking again. Must be the ethanol...

Dean, BT has the K&L o-rings. I had the same leakage problem on my GL1000. Turns out the GoldWing and the F bike uses the same o-ring. I'll look to see if I still have some (lots of stuff to sort through) of Randakk's o-rings.

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 1:45 am

Great, I appreciate it. I'll be diggin into it after the NE spring ride.