Pre Kat: After carb rebuild questions on temps and petcock position (lost knob)

[ntauthority101]

After about a month of work/ordering parts/research/fiddling with the bike, I finally got the carbs rebuilt with a K/L rebuild kit. Now upon inspecting the carbs it appears I have a jet kit. If I recall correctly (should have taken pictures damnit), I have about 3 different notches in the needle with the c-clip in the middle; could someone tell me which jet kit that may be for reference?

Now, I have set the A/F screws about 2.5 - 2.6 turns out, purchased and installed new fuel lines and I also have a cleaned K&N air filter which was not by installed by me (prefer stock filter but I can live with it). Which may explain the previous owners opting for a jet kit (again not sure if stock jets or jet kit). The carbs have been bench synced as well with last carb hole half way covered, legit sync I plan on getting done at a shop if I can find a good one, else I will bite the bullet and buy the motion pro.

So now the fun starts, and thats not sarcasm! I have the bike all buttoned up, and prepared for first start. Previous owner lost the petcock knob and I turned the petcock in the middle (ON) position...or so I thought it was. She didn't run on all cylinders in this position, only 1 and 2. I then turned the knob all the way counter clockwise and she ran like a dream, off choke, right at about 1300-1500 rpms with no throttle. such excitement!
I measured the temp of the pipes about 5 inches from the cylindar with an infrared and they were all around 300F-325F after about 5 mins of running with some light throttle blips.

Edit: After a GREAT cruise on her for the first time in a while, she stays around 400F-410F which I believe is damn near perfect, but please correct me if I'm wrong

1.) Is this a normal temp or is that too high/low?
2.) Does anyone know the petcock positions without the knob?
3.) Upon a quick throttle blip, she doesn't respond right away, idle stays the same until another throttle blip then rpms shoot right up like its supposed to...any ideas about what could be causing this one? Vacuum? Carb sync issue?
Edit for 3.) She just needed warmed up a bit more
4.) If this all sounds good and she runs well, is there an immediate need for a vacuum sync?

Any info is greatly appreciated and I can take pictures if need be. Thanks for all the past help in this venture! Can't wait to ride the Wild Kat again!

[92xjunker]

No problems other than the POS K&N filter and yes a proper sync needs to be done. Temps seem high but, movement is required to cool the cylinders and head.

[shpielers]

+1 proper sync needed, will be smoother. Doesn't have to be RIGHT now, but ...it should be.
Don't run it too much longer than 5 mins without the bike moving, can overheat.

[B-Man]

...{Snip} Don't run it too much longer than 5 mins without the bike moving, can overheat...{/Snip}

Question - Living in California, how do you deal with situations when traffic is stopped or very slow ? I know you guys can do the lane splitting thing but I always thought that was a pretty risky action.

Just curious.

[shpielers]

Lane split. Its not dangerous unless you make it so. Going significantly faster than traffic is what'll do it. Go 10-15 mph over traffic and you should be fine. Gives you enough time to react to things, and youre going slow enough you are visible in car mirrors, and can stop if required. I do it literally every time I ride, CA traffic is horrendous.

[ntauthority101]

Okay great, thanks for the info guys! I'll be taking her to a shop ASAP for a check up to make sure everything is good and properly sync'd up. Now the only thing I still need to figure out are the positions of the petcock with no knob. There's no mark that distinguishes the positions.
@92xjunker: Would these temperatures indicate a rich or lean situation? Hopefully a carb sync will help with this. Let it be known that I live in Ohio and we are experiencing around 90-92F weather at the moment.

[arsenic]

A lean condition is always hotter than rich.

[ntauthority101]

Thanks for chipping in arsenic, also your carb screws are looking good on those old carbs
I will do more research shortly here on correcting this potential lean condition, however what would be the recommended course of action I can take in correcting this?

[shpielers]

Ditch the K&N filter and go back to stock would be suggestion #1. Number 2 would be get a jet kit. #3 would be do an idle drop procedure (write up is in the wiki).

Since you weren't sure if you have a jet kit or not, pull the carb needles. If they have 1 slot for the e-clip to go, they are stock. If they have several, you have a jet kit. Or a euro/Canadian spec bike.

If you really want to go crazy, you can run it on a dynameter and find out exactly where you're lean. Low rpms would be A/F screw settings (idle to 3k), mid would be...I don't remember actually...high rpms (9k+) would be main jets.

[ntauthority101]

I plan on getting rid of the K&N before the carb sync. Also, I definitely have jet kit as the brass plugs on the A/F screw were previously removed. Is there anything special to note while tuning for a stock filter with a jet kit? What are the typical A/F settings with stock filter and jet kit? I have pics of the main jet with the float bowls removed if that would help with jet kit identification. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

[arsenic]

I remove those brass A/F caps for every set of carbs. Stock jetting or jet kit. That means nothing. You HAVE to adjust those, jetting doesn't matter. 2.5 turns out.

[ntauthority101]

I remove those brass A/F caps for every set of carbs. Stock jetting or jet kit. That means nothing. You HAVE to adjust those, jetting doesn't matter. 2.5 turns out.

Okay just fyi those carbs weren't from you just the screws for the carbs. But I gotcha, thanks for the info!!!

[arsenic]

I know the carbs aren't from me. You wouldn't have a post about them not working if they were.

[92xjunker]

Not, sure if you have a jet kit, euro or Canadian models came with multi slotted needles. US models didn't. If I'm correct 3 slots is OEM euro, 4 slots is factory pro and 5 slots is dyno junk. I think the 1100 Kats also came with adjustable needles stock.
I'm sure Chris will correct me if I'm wrong...

[ntauthority101]

Not, sure if you have a jet kit, euro or Canadian models came with multi slotted needles. US models didn't. If I'm correct 3 slots is OEM euro, 4 slots is factory pro and 5 slots is dyno junk. I think the 1100 Kats also came with adjustable needles stock.
I'm sure Chris will correct me if I'm wrong...

Okay interesting, I'm thinking it did have three actually, but I'm just shooting in the dark at this point. I'll have to take a look once I take that tank off before getting her tuned. Thanks for everyone chipping in!