Home > Features > 2001 Kawasaki Lakota Sport Hop-up Series
Lakota Sport Modifications, Part 3 K&N Power Kit
While our initial impression of the Lakota Sport was that it ran OK with no glaring carburetion problems, (except for sub 20°F winter weather, where it simply wouldn’t start at all) we decided to install a K&N Power Kit because we would need it the future for modifications like an exhaust system.
What we received in the K&N Lakota Sport Power Kit was (L to R) Filter Charger Recharge Kit, OEM style Air Filter, Jet Kit, and a foam pre-filter.
K&N Air Filter How we did it
Remove the black plastic plugs from the left side body work to access the upper two screws of the air filter cover.
Remove the OEM filter and plastic retainer and install the pre-oiled K&N filter.
Install the Pre-filter.
Reinstall the air box cover and the black plastic body plugs.
Carburetor Jetting Carburetor Removal
How we did it
Loosen the clamp on the intake and pull the carb back so it can be lowered. This gains you access to the black plastic cover retaining screw which holds the throttle cable. Note: on ours we could not remove it by conventional means. It was factoryover-tightened. We used Vice-Grips ®. Next ifyou will note the air box tube clamp on the backside of the carburetor. It isfacing left, blocked by the air box. Twist the carb right and clockwise. Insert a long shank screwdriver ahead of the air box and loosen the clamp. Next twist the carb so you can pry off the vent tube and unscrew the choke. Remove carb. Note: to drain fuel from the float bowl will require a 3mm Allen.
Reassembly
When trying to reinsert the choke piston it is easier to retract the choke piston via the handlebar lever then screw it into the carb's body. Also don't forget to reverse the direction of the air box boot clamp from the left to the right so it can be tightened from the right hand side.
Testing
Starting was unchanged from stock. You still can't touch the throttle until the machine warms up some. Once warm, throttle response seems sharper, and when shifting from gear to gear, the Lakota seems to pull harder. Our GPS confirmed that top speed had indeed increased to 53.1mph from 51.3 for a total gain of 1.8 mph just from jetting. And we were amazed that dropping the main jet from 148 to 134, that it didn't run lean! Talk about over jetting! Since the Lakota felt so much stronger, we were a little surprised that the top speed was not higher. Possibly the Lakota simply couldn't rev any higher because of the restrictive air box system. So, it seemed logical to raise the gearing with a +1 countershaft sprocket and see what would happen.
The factory countershaft sprocket is a 12T so we installed a 13T Sunstar Powerdrive countershaft sprocket # 34213. With the taller gearing (+8%), the Lakota felt even more snappy running through the gears. 1st was still low enough for rock hounding but 4th and 5th really let her fly. Our GPS recorded our new top speed of 54.5 mph for another gain of 1.4 mph. So, with the K&N power Kit and a Sunstar sprocket we gained over 3 mph (3.2mph). That is a 6.2% increase in speed not to mention the increase in throttle response!
Part 4 will cover the installation of a SuperTrapp IDS2 exhaust system.
While our initial impression of the Lakota Sport was that it ran OK with no glaring carburetion problems, (except for sub 20°F winter weather, where it simply wouldn’t start at all) we decided to install a K&N Power Kit because we would need it the future for modifications like an exhaust system. 
