1st carb cleaning, wish me luck

[latexeses]

One thing I found that helped was getting some of the cheap Glad food storage containers for the fridge. Had one for each carb and all of the parts from that carb went into it's own container. The lid snaps on and keeps the parts inside if they are dropped. It happens
Made the job much more simple.
A supply of the little zip-loc snack bags are good to have too!
Go slow and careful. Stop and read some more if you run into something you aren't sure about.

[Cobia]

Hey Ambi,

I've cleaned/checked my carbs on y G four times now, one time unnecessarily because the problem was elsewhere. I have never had to replace a single part due to wear, it has 21k miles.
Here are a few tips that I follow:

-Keep all the parts for each carb together and put them back where they belong on that carb. I use a 16oz plastic cup for each.
-Make sure you see cleaning fluid flowing from every circuit and orifice in the carb. Every hole you spray in, with the straw, has an outlet somewhere, make sure it's clear.
-Clean every jet and needle and make sure every little hole in the jets is clean and you can see through it. I use a piece of guitar string to put through them.
-Don't forget the enrichment circuit at the bottom of the bowl. It's at the bottom of the bowl and it connects to the hole by the rim of the same.
-Check your diaphrams for holes.
-I put a drop of 3in1 oil on every thread of every item I screw back in, makes it easier for next time.
-And most controversial of all, cut your snorkel down to about 1 1/2 inch. This will make the removal of the carbs infinitely easier. Turns a 1hr job into a 15min job when you remove the airbox first.

Good luck

[bikerphil]

I like that snorkel chop mod, Robert.

[ambidextrous]

well, i went for it today

it was a total failure, and a success at the same time

i wish i had my camera because there are some things i wanted to show you guys

the first float bowl came off easy, the 2nd one wouldnt budge, it was somehow stuck on

im guessing the gasket melted, or fused somehow to the body

i moved on, the 3rd was a little tough to come off, and the 4th came off easy

long story short, i was never able to get the 2nd float bowl off, and apparently, the PO attempted to clean the carbs and broke off one of the float posts

i found that out when i was trying to tap the float pin out

their fix, was to somehow drill two tiny holes at an angle, and hammer what seemed to be some tiny nails in it!!!!

are you serious? i was furious

so, i cleaned what i could, replaced the float needle valve that i knew was leaking, quickly cleaned what i could because i did see some gunk in there

then put them back together and threw them back on the bike

at this point, i was ready to light the thing on fire, i didnt care anymore

so i turned the gas on, and the original carb that was leaking, no longer leaked, so thats good

but then the number 3 carb with the ghetto fixed float post started to leak, probably because when i was trying to tap the pin out before i realized it was rigged, mustve gotten jammed or something

this time i went for the angry pounding on the bowl with a screwdriver and it stopped leaking

started the bike up, and it was running smooth so i actually took it for a little cruise

i needed to let it run for awhile because i needed my exhaust wrap to 'cook' on

ive done a lot to this bike, and this really was a feel good to actually get to ride it around the block a few times finally

all thats left is some tidying up of the wires, get the headlight working, change all the fluids, and bleed the front brake

ill make a thread with my finished, or finished for now, bike

sorry for the long rant, and thanks for all the tips

im gonna take her for a little run tomorrow and see if the floats still are not leaking

oh, i also threw some seafoam in the tank too

figured i had nothing left to lose, and they couldnt hurt really

[Cobia]

I bet you do, Phil!!!!

Since I got the idea from you.....after resisting to do it for a while and finally realizing how much easier it makes the job of pulling the carbs.
Thanks, bud!!