Will have the carbs back soon

[Bellerophon]

Rick West at Oldskoolcarbs emailed me today that he shipped my carbs. I can't wait to get them on the bike. Rick sent me a link with pictures of my actual carbs before and after. He does amazing work. Link attached.

http://s591.photobucket.com/albums/s.../mar%20xs1100/

[3Phase]

Wow! Those are some seriously well-cleaned and polished carburetors!

[mro]

Looks to be a very nice job done to your carbs.
If you don't mind, what did he charge ???

[81xsproject]

Very shiny, indeed. OOOOOOO, SHINY...

[Bellerophon]

Looks to be a very nice job done to your carbs.
If you don't mind, what did he charge ???

Thank you, I'm pretty stoked about it. Rick charged what I though was a very reasonable $275 to rebuild the carbs.

[somesuch]

Very nice! (but I should raise the price for the carbs I have in the for sale section )

--Nick

[EricHa]

Any update on the carbs? Thinking of sending mine to Rick as well.

[mro]

I’m not knocking anyone who has their carbs done “professionally”. Some of the guys out there do a top notch job cleaning them and R&R a few parts and maybe setting the float level.
Just because you like to ride an old bike doesn’t mean you have to like working on them.

But the carbs will still need to be tuned for your bike, (pilot screws and sync).

The Single biggest issue I have found for guys who are new to working on old motorcycles is that they do not pay enough attention to detail or try a short cut that seems logical to them at the time.
For me it’s more a pain to take the carbs off and put them back on than servicing them.

For leaking carbs after they have just been cleaned most of the time it’s caused by a dirty fuel tank or old fuel lines flaking off and getting caught in the float needle. In line filters help but fine particles can get past them and it only takes a tiny bit to allow gas to drip or flow out of a carb.

With no special tools you can do this in a single evening in the garage.



And while you do not have to make or have a set up like this ....
It’s not hard to bench test the carbs to be sure they aren’t leaking.

[EricHa]

Time is the factor for me. If I had time to tear my carbs down and go through them now I would. Job, wife, kids, roof the house, paint the breezeway, fill and seal the driveway, mow the yard, tile the bathroom, on and on and on.........I may have time in the fall/winter, but the carbs need work now, and are not high on the list. Pilot screws and sync is no problem.

Plus, I know they will be right the first time. I usually have to do things twice.....or more.

[Bellerophon]

I have re-built my own carbs before, but in this case I saw the value in a professional who has the tools, ultrasonic cleaning, and deals with these carbs all the time doing the work. My carbs are now in better than new condition and that has value to me.

[mro]

Wonder if you can guess what I do for a living

[DGXSER]

If you have more money than time and want it done by others, then by all means do. I personally find I enjoy wokring on the bike almost as much as riding it. But do beware, there are many folks who have had "pros" work on their carbs only to find they broke stuff and screwed them up worse than before any one had touched them. And yes, that goes for dealerships as well. Most of the folks working at dealerships have never seen a carb in person and have no idea how these work.

[Jamie]

Just wanted to put my .02 on this subject. Rick has done two (2) sets of carbs for me and he does fantastic work. Very professional, prompt and honest through all of my communication with him.

Before coming across Rick, I had the worst experience ever with a "so-called" carb expert (btw, not speaking of MRO), so please do not confuse him with my bad experience. Some people give others bad names and it sounds like Rick West and MRO are some guys "we can" count on to do a professional job!
Thanks
Jamie

[mro]

[QUOTE= (btw, not speaking of MRO), so please do not confuse him with my bad experience. Some people give others bad names and it sounds like Rick West and MRO are some guys "we can" count on to do a professional job!
Thanks
Jamie[/QUOTE]

Yup, better watch that mro guy lol

Not many XSes in the Bay Area.
I probably have more in my garage than there are left here.
Last couple "side jobs" I've done were on other bikes, one a 650 Night Hawk and one a week or so ago was getting a S&S Ultra 117 cu in running.
(4 1/8" pistons and 4 1/8" stroke )

Only for XS riders do I allow them to help when I work on their bikes so they learn as we go. They I work for free, but when I do everything I charge a little less for XSes than Hardleys and others.

[Bellerophon]

Well, I worked on the bike all weekend. Got the carbs on and it's absolutely poring fuel out the air box. Obviously a stuck float or somesuch. I'll send Rick an email and see what he thinks. I can't bring myself to tear it down again this weekend.