Where to find carburetor repair kit for 1968 T500 Cobra???

[ericsattic]

Greetings it's been a while since I have posted anything on the board and hate to ask a seemingly basic question but can anyone please tell me where I can find a Keyster (or other brand) carburetor repair / rebuild kit for the 1968 Suzuki T500 Cobra (stock rebuild, not Ivan's even though from what I hear all his are GREAT)? Before responding quickly please recall the Cobra has 34MM Mikuni Carburetors whereas the 69-75 Titans have 32MM carbs. I am not certain if the carbs use all the same internal parts but at a minimum it would appear the float bowl gaskets are different. See the two feeBay listing links below - the first link is from the Cobra king himself in Connecticut and he sells the keyster kit #KS-0026 and says its only correct for the 69-75 Titans. I sent him a PM asking if it was correct for the Cobra and/or if he sells the kits for the Cobra and he said no! I am going to follow up with a call to him to clarify but he has not gotten back to me and I want to move forward. The second link is from another seller and they claim their kit is correct for all 68-75 T-500s! I cannot find any other listings anywhere else which claim to be a kit exclusively for the 1968 Cobra. I am embarrassed to say I have a 1970 T500 but I am too lazy / busy with other things in life to pull its carbs apart and compare them to the Cobra to see if the parts (and float bowl gasket) are the same. So can anyone help? Regards, Eric

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-GT500-T5 ... f3&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Carb-Rebuil ... d8&vxp=mtr" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ConnerVT]

The parts for the '68 are not interchangeable with the '69-75.

Here is a good resource for the part numbers. I doubt anything in an Keyster/whoever aftermarket kit covering multiple years will be of any use to you: T500 Parts Book

[Bloop2]

Greetings Eric,

Yes, the float bowl gaskets are specific to the Cobra along with the additional O ring for the float chamber.

I had the same problem looking for parts for my Cobra. None of the people listing kits for carb rebuilds realize the kits won't fit on the Cobra carbs. I managed to get a couple of sets of gaskets and O rings for the carbs from Paul Miller a while back. He occasionally lists them on Ebay. I think they were about $19.00 bucks for two gaskets and O rings. I also got some O rings from the O ring store, forget what size I ordered but can dig it up if you need the size.

I also managed to get the drain plug gaskets from my dealer along with the pilot air screw (13269-15010, used on 68 to 73 carbs), #410 main jet ( standard size now after technical bulletin from Suzuki, originals were #390). The rest of the jets, needles on my carbs are in great shape. This is all I have been able to find.

Cheers.....Fred

[oldjapanesebikes]

Ivan could supply both the correct fuel bowl gasket and the o-ring (I sent him a set to copy), but prefers to sell them as a part of his performance kits, which is understandable as the cost to have them made wasn't trivial. Any of the ones I've seen on eBay are old stock and a bit 'perished' - not sure about the ones that Paul Miller is selling.

Perhaps if someone were to ask Ivan if he would change his mind ?

[ericsattic]

THANKS everyone for responding to my thread. I went back into eBay and found the gasket and O-ring set for the 68 Cobra - see the link below. So my next question is how about replacing the internal carb parts / jets etc... for the 68 T500 Cobra's 34MM carbs? Do the internal parts (everything except the gasket) from the 69-75 T500 Titan carb kit (32MM) work for the 68 Cobra? I am doubting they will, I sent a message with that question to the vendor for the below gasket / 0-ring set but its Sunday and tomorrow is a holiday. So I am curious if anyone on the board might be able to answer that question. And if not, where the heck does one get replacement jets etc... for the Cobra's 34MM carbs?!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201234522851?ss ... Track=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ConnerVT]

See my previous reply.

Virtually none of the parts from the '68 and the '69-75 are interchangeable. Completely different animals.

The eBay seller in your link is Paul Miller.

[Coyote]

You wouldn't want Keyster anyway. They are notorious for producing junk kits. Especially the main jet needle. About the only thing usable in their kits is the float needle and seat and their float bowl gaskets are OK --- sometimes. Everything else goes in the circular file. Maintain all the stock parts you possibly can.

[ericsattic]

Again, thanks for the replies to my thread. I am aware who the seller is for the gasket kit. Now I know the parts are not interchangeable for certain and that's posted here on the board for others to also see. I have just been made aware of a potential source for replacement carb parts so I will update if that all works out. FYI my carbs are working but they need to be cleaned and I have found its always nice replace the internal parts if one can find good quality replacements.

[tz375]

Doesn't Ivan offer a complete kit for the Cobra that makes a huge difference to rideability?

[oldjapanesebikes]

Doesn't Ivan offer a complete kit for the Cobra that makes a huge difference to rideability?

He does, and it does, although I don't have enough miles on mine to be able to be specific. Take a look at this link for the dyno curves - note that he also includes a range of new jets in the kit along with new needles for tuning purposes, so I know you can buy new components. The needles he makes himself. Good guy to deal with - recommended.

[ericsattic]

Hello all I want to finish this thread for closure. I was able to take care of my 1968 Suzuki T500 34mm carburetor issues. There are aftermarket float bowl gaskets and large O-ring replacements available but getting new internal jet parts as part of a kit does not appear to be easy. My internal parts were in good condition so I kept them after thorough cleaning. But my bike was still not running right after cleaning the carbs and my experience with that in the past is that putting all new internal parts / jets solves the problem in many instances. In this case I am glad I had someone else look at the bike and help before I went nuts trying to buy hard-to-find internal carb parts. What he found is that the ORIGINAL rubber intake manifolds (between carbs and cylinders)were cracked and letting air in! You could not notice unless you grabbed them and moved them around but he was right. So I recommend always checking those on the older original bikes; what a bonehead I am. It hurt a little to take to take an original part of the Cobra but I did and replaced them with brand new reproductions from Paul Miller. When I got them they looked beautiful and they solved my crappy-running bike problem!

On a related issue after fiddling with the carbs so much and tuning the original "air boot" (between the carbs and air filter box) was all cracked and shot. It too may have been contributing to the problem, but its not likely. Anyway, I took the original air boot off my 1970 T500 project because its in great condition and that's on the Cobra now. To replace it I bought a reproduction air boot from Claus Studios (eBay user djia) and I must say it's an exact replica of the original rubber one right down to the Suzuki logo on it. As he says its made out of durable polyurethane. Its still flexible but a bit stiffer than rubber and a lot more durable than the original. For what it's worth ALL years of the T500 use the same air boot even though the carb sizes changed. Best Regards, spring can't come soon enough, Eric