HI all, new to the forums and am looking for some expert input on an issue that I'm having with my bike.

First, the standard stuff:
1986 Kawasaki 454 LTD (450cc twin)
Bone stock except for exhaust; running a set of aftermarket MAC slip ons; probably a bit freer flowing than stock
about 18000 miles
well maintained overall

The problem:
The bike starts, idles and generally runs well, but has a real hesitation/almost missing when running up throught the revs. This starts at about 5800 rpm (give or take) and will last right up until it gets past 6500. It sometimes really struggles to get up past that range, but once it does, bang, it again pulls hard and will wind up to over 100 mph no problem. Last year, this seemed to mostly happen on hotter, more humid days, but I've started to notice it almost any day I ride now. Now, if I get hard on the throttle from the start and wind up through the revs/gears quickly, this is not noticeable (swinging through the troublesome range too quickly to notice I expect), however if I am cruising at highway speeds, I am sitting right in the problem area in the rev range and if I try to pass a car, I could get into a bad situation if the power doesn't come on properly. Even cruising at highway speeds with the throttle not open full, you can feel a bit of a rough spot, but doesn't affect the general cruising too bad. In short, it doesn't seem to matter how far the throttle is open, if it gets to that RPM range, there will be a problem.

I have checked:
Plugs: proper plugs installed, gapped properly and generally look like they are burning clean
Valves: have been adjusted less than 3000 miles ago
Air filters: have been replaced not too long ago, cleaned with compressed air regularily

I am thinking:
That this is a fuel delivery problem, perhaps the carbs out of synch or not adjusted properly (air/fuel?).

I'd like to hear other peoples thoughts on this and what I should try to resolve or troubleshoot further. I'm not afraid to try, but I don't want to be going down the wrong road.

I think that covers it, looking forward to input from the folks here.

Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to the forums.....Sounds like you narrowed it down pretty good. I would say Carb cleaning time. Those old LTDs are cool tho'. When is the last time the Carbs were cleaned and re tuned?

Gotta love the old school stuff!! Grab us a pic of that thing if you get a chance..

 

Thanks for the input. Been a while since the carbs were cleaned and synched. I think that will be my first step.

Thanks for the comments about the bike. I remember when the LTD 454 came out in 1985, looking through the Kawi brochure and thinking how cool it looked. 10 years later (give or take) I just happend into one, wasn't really looking, but I was pretty jazzed. I like it so much I've been riding it for 10+ years now. Keep thinking about upgrading, but I would be pretty hard pressed to give up on the old girl. She's been good to me.

As for pics, don't have a lot of real good ones, but here's one of me taking one of my girls for a tour around the yard last fall (hope it works)...



[IMG]local://upfiles/2122/4EAC477041FD48B2893FC93916B85C84.jpg[/IMG]

 

Nice bro....clean looking bike. I almost bought another one a couple of months ago. On ebay and sold for $1800..She was mint too..

I bet after you clean those carbs, etc, she'll be back like new..... Let us know how it goes man..