Reed petal life?

dave32 · Post by **dave32** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:17 pm

just wondering how often others change there reeds?
Its a consumable part (limited life) like pistons/plugs/bearings and such yet you hardly hear of anyone actually bothering to change them unless its for a Different make like Boyesen/Harpowa or fitting another reed block such as V force.
I know its not a Road bike like the KR1 but for a h***a RS its recommended by HRC to change them around the 300 mile mark along with the piston etc.
Considering how many times the reeds are opening and shutting there bound to lose some of there Flex,but is it a noticeable thing?
one thing i noticed was when i ran my RS at Mallory a few times i would come home take the reed block out and the corner of 1 of the petals was always broke away,it didnt matter if i ran the early type (like the KR) that used a stopper plate or later type without.
NO noticeable sign of burning,engine was running at correct temp,jetting was good and the reeds were brand new.
I had a similar thing happen on my KR at donnington,the cornres had broke up,i checked the stopper height and it was 12.5mm not 11.5mm which i think is the stock setting?cant find nowt in the manual only about reed warp,weird.
When i think back to how many miles on road bikes and MX racing ive done and never had any probs it makes you wonder whats going on?
So anyone else had any reed problems/experiences/ideas related?

mj43 · Post by **mj43** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 7:14 pm

My motor was trashing stock reeds in a race meeting. V force would last a season

Howie · Post by **Howie** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:04 pm

I don't ever remember having to change a reed on any of my 2 strokes.

But its a good point dave, think I might check mine next time the carbs are off (soon, cos I've got a niggling over flow prob at the mo

)

Luders · Post by **Luders** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:13 pm

fuel overflow Stu? That will be related to your float valves. When were they last replaced?

You'll also find the higher the level of tune, the more work the reeds will be doing out on the race track.

Reeds on a road bike will last years.

Howie · Post by **Howie** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:21 pm

fuel overflow Stu? That will be related to your float valves. When were they last replaced?

I've never replaced them on my Kr1 Ben

But TBH, when I cleaned out my fuel tank last year, I don't think I got all the rust out.

The O/F problem comes & goes you see. I have a pair of inline filters as well as the tap filters, so I'll check them for crud too.

Luders · Post by **Luders** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:32 pm

Take them out and give the valves a clean, there could be the smallest amount of crud causing these symptoms.

I had this issue once and those cunningly routed overflow pipes put fuel down all over my back tyre.

Just like to say thanks for that one Kawasaki!

fred · Post by **fred** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:37 pm

i checked mine with a eye glass when i rebuilt the engine and they looked fine n sat flat ,as id`e read what mark said bout corners failing ,i could imagine mine are originals road bike.
borrowed this from you mark (i keep going back n reading your stuff)

dave32 · Post by **dave32** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 1:32 pm

I wonder if the V force last longer cause they only open half the amount so less work per reed (around 6mm compared to 12 for the KR1).
Interesting on the TZ 250 i have the reed stop height is only 3mm on one cylinder and 6mm on the other,and they have never caused any problems or shown signs of wear.
Also the price is good,
Yam TZ £12 per side
h***a RS £under a fiver!