watch those carb boot clamps!

[tab1324]

I have been working on my 79' a bit lately and had the original stock carbs mounted to see if they'd run well.. In my wish to get on and ride I decided to quickly swap them out with my 82 XJ units which are tuned and ready to go.. So last night I did just that in about 15 minutes and started her up and went out for a ride.. All was going well until I left the first stoplight on the highway which of course is where I cranked it up a bit.. All of the sudden as I went to shift into 3rd the bike revved up extremely and I ended up hitting the kill switch. I pulled over and after investigating I found one of the carb boot clamps was rotated sligthly so that the screw extending out of the clamp interfered with the throttle linkage and only when I hit the throttle hard did the linkage actually travel enough to get hung up on it. Of course my tools were at home and I couldn't get ahold of anyone there so fortuneately, a Harley riding buddy of mine came to my rescue. Just a few quick turns of the screw driver and back in buisness.

Just be carefull when putting carbs on. Make sure the clamps don't rotate inward. Better yet, have the screw connections on the top instead of bottom.

Tom B.

[81xsproject]

I did that the very first time I ever fired up my 11. Scared the crap out of me while I had visions of it blowing up before I ever got to ride it.

[strom]

Happened to me once or twice... 1st time I I couldnt open the throttle fully, the second time it stayed open 1/2 way. Needed only a blip at the handlebars and it was OK. Readjusted some time after. I think. Gotta check.

LP

[Jeff]

Been there.... done that! If you aren't carefull, the inner boot clamps WILL interfere with the throttle linkage and either rub against it ot stop it cold like a throttle stop. Usually happens while applying pressure to the clamp screw tightening it. They tend to slide back around a bit. Slotted strap hose clamps are the worst since the tightener is bulkier and they have that little tongue of slack strap sticking out.

[HobbyMan]

I alwayse set the clamps to that the outer are horozontal to get the screw driver on, then the inner clamps are angled just below the horozontal to make room for my hand and screw driver.

[Ken Talbot]

If you set the screws to the bottom on the velocity stack side, you can loosen them and remove the carbs without removing the tank. Doing the same to the screws on the manifold side keeps them out of the way of the throttle linkage.

[Goin Commando]

one of the carb boot clamps was rotated sligthly so that the screw extending out of the clamp interfered with the throttle linkage and only when I hit the throttle hard did the linkage actually travel enough to get hung up on it.

i had this happen to me once also, i was on a friends KZ1100 and i was goin fast! the kill switch is in a funny place on those, it almost took me too long to find it, it almost ended my life. i make it a point to aquaint myself with the location/operation of the kill switches on any bikes that i ride from then on.