Carb Kit Capital, opinions/experiences

[Bonz]

Time for some opinions and experts... Experts meaning guys with sage wisdom that have tried different carb rebuild kits from different places.

I need advice if Carb Kit Capital is a good source, if they work well for those that have tried them, and what other options you guys recommend.

I'm going to rebuild the carbs on my 80 SG Special. Started dumping fuel from #3 carb into airbox, and I had them on and off a number of times over the weekend. I cannot find what the problem is, other than almost 31 year old float needles and seats. Each needle tip has a visible ring (to the eye, but not to my touch,) around it where it seats. The rings look the same on all the needles from each carb, but #3 is not sealing. I even swapped needles between the carbs, and #3 still loses fuel.

I "bench tested" the carbs before putting them on, and they hold fuel, but once on the bike and after I fired it up, then the leak begins. I used some fuel line attached to the carb fuel fittings, and stuck the other end of the line up into a funnel, and poured until there was a good amount of fuel reamining in the funnel, and the carbs would take no more. Jiggled the carbs around, to get out any air, etc, and they held fine. But #3 doesnt' hold it's cookies once on the bike.

So, that's where I'm at, and would like to hear what you guys recommend for kits, and if you think my issue could be something different than a float issue.

[bikerphil]

Good place to get them, P/N 48-1408

https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index...&category=carb

[Bullet]

I been buying a few carb kits of Carb Capital lately for customer's bikes.

Prices are right, kit packaging say's Made in Japan ( Tour Max ) , so far it's been all good. No problems, same quality as K&L.

Carb Capital operates and ships out of Stratford, Ontario, Canada, so may not be the best plan for get cheap shipping across the border ti the US.

Partsnmore, MikeXS or Georgefix on Ebay are good sources in the US.

[Bonz]

The thing about Capital Carb is they listed a kit for the 80 Special with the airscrews/springs and airscrew o-rings, along with the float needle, seat, etc.

If I could find the airscrew o-rings elsewhere (Mikes XS o-rings with their airscrews are not the same size, even though it says for a BS 34 carb. We have BS34II's I believe), then I'd easily go with a domestic source.

Any thoughts on the o-rings? FWIW, no small engine shop that I have checked with has them small enough.

[Bullet]

Georgefix's K&L Kits have all the right parts in them, including a new seat screen and extra jets and the correct idle screw O-rings.

If you shoot him a email after just after purchase, he will swap out main jets to a different size ( if you want that )

Price is right for 4 kits ..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-YAM...Q5fAccessories

[Bullet]

Time for some opinions and experts... Experts meaning guys with sage wisdom that have tried different carb rebuild kits from different places.

I need advice if Carb Kit Capital is a good source, if they work well for those that have tried them, and what other options you guys recommend.

I'm going to rebuild the carbs on my 80 SG Special. Started dumping fuel from #3 carb into airbox, and I had them on and off a number of times over the weekend. I cannot find what the problem is, other than almost 31 year old float needles and seats. Each needle tip has a visible ring (to the eye, but not to my touch,) around it where it seats. The rings look the same on all the needles from each carb, but #3 is not sealing. I even swapped needles between the carbs, and #3 still loses fuel.

I "bench tested" the carbs before putting them on, and they hold fuel, but once on the bike and after I fired it up, then the leak begins. I used some fuel line attached to the carb fuel fittings, and stuck the other end of the line up into a funnel, and poured until there was a good amount of fuel reamining in the funnel, and the carbs would take no more. Jiggled the carbs around, to get out any air, etc, and they held fine. But #3 doesnt' hold it's cookies once on the bike.

So, that's where I'm at, and would like to hear what you guys recommend for kits, and if you think my issue could be something different than a float issue.

How are you checking them on the bike ( sidestand, centerstand ) ?

When I put together my carbs, I checked them first, and had a couple leakers before I mounted them on the bike.

I made up a carb board mounted on a sawhorse ( level and plumb ) to mount the rack of carbs on to check fuel heights in the bowls .. (I use the liquid level method rather than setting float height, it's more accurate, and you know exactly how much fuel is in each bowl and the height of the fuel level)

Long story short .. I had to trim the inside of the bowl gaskets flush to the float bowls, as the float was hanging up on the gaskets.

I wouldn't do it everytime I drained the bowls and refilled them again, but after trimming the gaskets back, the problem went away.. no leaks at all since them ..

Don't know if you got the later style side drain screw bowls with the liquid level tube spiggot, but maybe you have the fuel level in # 3 a tad to high ?

Just a thought..

[Bonz]

I have the bottom drain plugs. I'll dbl check the gasket, hadn't thought of that since the floats have been doing fine for 30 years and not hanging up.

[bikerphil]

My bet on your fuel leak would be a bad O-ring under the needle seat. The 80 carbs are BS-34-III's.

[DGXSER]

Obviously it is something to do with the seal of that valve. I would strongly suggest replacing the needle valve and seat, which includes the o-ring.

Also, I once put the soft rubber inner lined automotive fuel line on the bike. Newly rebuilt carbs. Sealed like a champ off the bike. Upside down bench tested them, right side up fuel tank connected, worked great. Then I put them on the bike and one of them would overflow every time!! Got to the point I was ready to roll it down the back yard hill and set the thing on fire I was so frustrated. Then I found the culprit. Everytime I pushed that fuel line over the barbed fittings on the fuel T's it would grate some of that soft rubber off, which would then go to the float bowls, and then stick in the valve and keep it from closing. Changed duel lines and never had another problem out of those carbs, well, not leaking like that anyway.

Never bought form carb kit capitol, but I have bought many kits from Georgefix on ebay. Nothing but good things to say about the deals.

[CatatonicBug]

I like the kits from Z1 Enterprises. They come with all the parts except for new floats.

[Bonz]

Guys, all the responses are much appreciated!

Funny thing... BEFORE I had #3 stick, last Monday I pulled the tank to remove the petcocks, clean the fuel screens and go through the petcocks to be sure the internals were good as the bike was starving out at a half tank. I had a minor drip from the left petcock, I discovered. There was some wear on the rubber seal, so I just flipped it around front to back, re-installed and the petcock has a tight seal now. The fuel screens were clean as could be as well, so I eliminated that as part of my fuel problem. Octy diaphragm is working fine, it seals tight as well, and flows well.

As part of the tank removal, I replaced all the fuel lines in the octy the same time. It was the next day, Tuesday of last week, that #3 stuck, after I did a carb sync when I got home that night and the bike was HOT (90 degree day). I have had the carbs on and off, and #3 opened up at least 4 times since trying to fix the leaky bowl, so I feel real confident that it's not some of the old fuel line abrading off and getting in there to cause a sticky float or bad seal. I really believe it's just old parts and seals in the carbs.

As mentioned as a suggestion in another response here that was posted, I did check the float bowl gasket, and it does have some overlap into the float bowl, but why would that all of the sudden be causing a problem where there hasn't been a problem before?

I will trim the gasket back the little bit that it overlaps into the float bowl, and give that a try, what the heck, I'm so good at this that it will only take a few minutes to get it hooked back up and give it a try.

Any bets as to whether that will work? I'd bet that its not the problem, but it's a free fix to give it a try. Other than the cost of the gas that will run back out....

Otherwise, it'll be new carb internals as soon as I can get the stuff ordered. Probably go with Georgefix, as I have already ordered and received the petcock rebuild kit to have on hand for future use if needed, and the service was great.

[Bonz]

Update!

Hey guys,

The carb rebuild kits from Georgefix showed up on Friday, had them installed (only needed the needle seats and needles) by Saturday afternoon, sync'd the carbs, and man, what a fine running machine my 80 SG has turned into. I THOUGHT it was running well before, now it's like a sewing machine relative to the rough edge it has always had in terms of felt vibration in the grips and pegs. I believe the sync was the main thing that helped that, but overall it is running flawless.

As an aside, it was the needle seats themselves that are a push-fit (with the rubber o-ring) that were in very loosely and letting fuel run out and into the airbox, as a result of 30 year old o-rings. The new ones are a very snug fit, so I am very pleased with the kits from Georgefix.

I figured out my light throttle to no throttle transition that would cause the bike to bog, and run flat. Pulled the timing cover, the pick up coil wires were fine, so I lubed the base plate (if that is the correct term) and even though it appeared to be rotating easily by hand, it DID rotate even easier once I lubed it with a couple light squirts of a graphite-type lube (like used on car door locks). Took it for a ride, and the bogging is gone. Must have been just enough stickiness to keep the plate from rotating back, which would give it way too much timing advance, and thus the bog.

[Larrym]

Graphite, Lithium, Molybdenum, or even LARD if necessary...

I "bench tested" the carbs before putting them on, and they hold fuel, but once on the bike and after I fired it up, then the leak begins.

Hmmm.....benchtesting???





I prefer "floor" testing myself. Outside in the open air away from open flames if possible.

BTW: Great find on the sticky advance mechanism. I'd be psychotic if my superbike bogged down like a Ford Pinto running on three cylinders whenever I felt the need for speed.

[Bonz]

"Bench testing" is loosely used in this case by me... I was in the driveway, carbs resting on a large rag, open air and lots of concrete for the fuel to dump onto, which it did! Thanks for the reminder though, if someone did it on a bench in the proverbial work room, it would piss off the SWMBO very much... Especially with the "free flowing" type of carbs I had until the rebuild!