update on idle!!!

[joe smith]

I am an idiot!! As you guys know I have been having trouble getting my xs to idle. Took the carbs off and sure enough 3 out of 4 idle screws were broke. Got new ones put them in after fighting and finally having a machine shop get the old broken off tips out for me. Put new ones in and it still would not idle. Well, I took the carbs off again sealed all of the boots and coated them with brush on electrical tape. For fun I pulled out the idle screws and sure enough they were broke off again!!!
One downside of being a powerlifter, things just don't seem tight!!
Any tips on seating these things gently?
Sorry for the rambling

[Bob S.]

Joe:

You should turn the screws in slowly and get accustumed to the feel of their very slight resistance. With no more than a smidgen of force they should screw most of the way in. when you feel the slightest increase in resistance they are likely bottomed out. As a check on this, you can count the turns that each screw takes to bottom out. If all screws are within one full turn of each other you likely have properly seated each one. If they are not requiring similar turns, take the suspicious one out and try again.

You are correct that it is very easy to overdue tapered screws that involve soft metals.

Hope this helps.

[Dennyz]

One of the advantages of a "Color Tune" is you don't have to bottom out the idle screws.