Motorcycle Repair: 1985 ninja 900, float bowl, gpz900

Question
Hi Wayne.. I have a 1985 gpz900 ninja. i got it in March of this yr. it ran great and i ran 4 tanks of gas through it and every thing was great.Then one day i went to go riding and it wouldn't idle and ran rough. i took the carbs apart and cleaned them.. now it idles but well and when i take off it's ok at slow speeds but when i try to give it more gas it runs rough and sounds like it is only running on 2 cylinders and back fires as i try to go faster...when i get back and stop the bike i notice gas coming out of the filter from the # 1 carb.. is this a easy fix or is it something i need the dealer to fix... Jamie

Answer
Jamie,
first thing to check if you want a good running bike
is the compression, it should be at the specs
kawasaki lists in the manual. Unfortunately,
I don't have the manual right now.
So, I am going to give you some averages.
Compression should be 100 to 150 psi
and most important close to the same on all cylinders.
If cylinder #1 is low, that's a problem.

Check your spark plug color, black is too much
fuel and light colored is not enough fuel.
Are the plugs good and wires on the right cylinders.

Maybe the float needle on #1 is stuck or float level
too high. The float can be set to close the float
needle valve earlier or later, this controls
how much gas is in the float bowl.
Make sure the carbs are plugged on good, an intake air leak
will make it backfire.
Try tapping lightly on #1 carb float bowl,
maybe the float is just stuck and causing gas to leak.
Try some new plugs, you never know, sometimes the
cure is simple.