Carburetor Question

W

wontonoodle

Member
Hey, what are some tips and tricks you can give to beginners who want to start taking apart then cleaning and afterwards maintaining there carburetors?
 
Read about how they work so you don't feel like you're just disassembling a random puzzle. Also, get the Haynes manual for your bike, it should provide a step-by-step guide to take your carbs apart. You can also watch a bunch of Youtube vids, there are a lot of really detailed how-tos.

Example: http://youtu.be/MdfH_kodoSU
 
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I don't know what it is about my carbs but the things have never been cleaned in 85k km and my bike runs like a champ. It recently sat nearly 8 months due to winter and a stupid suspension but still started up just fine 2 weeks ago.

The one time I thought they were getting finicky because the bike had a rough idle and was kinda stuttering turned out to be valves out of spec...
 
Take your time taking things apart. Go slow and notice where stuff goes. Keep your work area ultra clean.

if you need help - im more than happy to guide you though.
 
If you're touching the pilot jets or main jets, remember how much turn-in it was at. If you don't it will be a pain to bring it back to oem if you messed up. Don't touch the jets if you don't understand what you're doing
 
RockerGuy said:
If you're touching the pilot jets or main jets, remember how much turn-in it was at. If you don't it will be a pain to bring it back to oem if you messed up. Don't touch the jets if you don't understand what you're doing
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Good advice lol:rolleyes:
Purchase JIS screwdriver from Motion Pro for stellar head purchase. 2, replace screws with Allan head where applicable.
 
Before I got into carbs I bought a junked set that needed a full rebuild. I took my time taking it apart and taking photos and making notes. Just did a little bit every day.

Now I can do carb rebuilds fast, and for the most part, you will find most carbs are fairly identical in their makeup.

Carbs actually look more intimidating that they really are when you look at a diagram. Once you do your first one you will laugh at how easy it was.
 
inreb said:
Good advice lol:rolleyes:
Purchase JIS screwdriver from Motion Pro for stellar head purchase. 2, replace screws with Allan head where applicable.
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I replaced my screw with brass. Didn't want galvanic corrosion. Didn't found out if it worked or not?
 
RockerGuy said:
If you're touching the pilot jets or main jets, remember how much turn-in it was at. If you don't it will be a pain to bring it back to oem if you messed up. Don't touch the jets if you don't understand what you're doing
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The air / fuel mixture screw and Idle screws are the only ones requiring any attention in this manner. The pilot and main jets are simply bottomed out and torqued as required.

Cleaning carburetors can be a substantial task, removing / reinstalling them from the bike is often enough to discourage the below average shade tree mechanic once they've seen it done.

There is the risk of damaging components on installation and removal. The boots from the air box to the carburetors can be very delicate on some brands and in some cases poorly supported with replacement parts by the original manufacturer (cough, cough, Yamaha/Kawasaki), not to mention replacement costs.

Once removed, organization is everything. If working on a bank of 4 carburetors, you MUST identify each carburetor (simply mark each body and bowl with a unique number, say 1-4 starting left to right as mounted on the bike), and remove components in an orderly fashion so that they can be reinstalled into the same carburetor (4 margarine dishes, marked 1 - 4 works very well).

If you're simply looking to clean the carburetors, it is possible to do a reasonable job without removing the carburetors from the mounting rack (the fuel passages from one carb to the next won't benefit, but thats usually not an issue unless the bike has long been neglected).

As suggested, a manual specific to your model and a #2 JIS screwdriver (assuming the bike is of the 'big 4' japanese variety are good tools to help you along the way.

My personal favourite for bathing carburetor bodies was Pinesol, recently I've switched to 10% acid/vol (cleaning) vinegar. Using a chemical other than carburetor cleaner assumes you have the capacity to blow out the passages with compressed air.
 
theraymondguy said:
Once removed, organization is everything. If working on a bank of 4 carburetors, you MUST identify each carburetor (simply mark each body and bowl with a unique number, say 1-4 starting left to right as mounted on the bike), and remove components in an orderly fashion so that they can be reinstalled into the same carburetor (4 margarine dishes, marked 1 - 4 works very well).
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this is very sound advise....


P1120273.jpg



and a typical carb....

P1060244.jpg
 
RockerGuy said:
I replaced my screw with brass. Didn't want galvanic corrosion. Didn't found out if it worked or not?
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Terrible idea the brass with bond to the aluminium and be impossible to remove I made the mistake of putting brass valve stem caps on aluminum valve stems once. Had to use a wrench to remove them and they messed up the treads.
 
Scuba Steve said:
Terrible idea the brass with bond to the aluminium and be impossible to remove I made the mistake of putting brass valve stem caps on aluminum valve stems once. Had to use a wrench to remove them and they messed up the treads.
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I believe the oem was stainless. I wanted to try something different. Brass is pretty inert. I guess it would've stuck regardless
 
As far as mixing up parts goes, I believe you only really have to worry about putting the slides and float needles back into the same carbs... but as long as you're keeping track of everything else. Well, okay, inner carbs can be jetted differently than outer carbs on some bikes. Whatevs, I posted in this thread.

Wait, this might be useful: be super careful/gentle with the carb diaphragms. If you tear them and/or poke a hole them, for older bikes it can be a lot harder to find a replacement than just finding a new set of carbs. $$$
 
GateKeeper said:
even stainless will react and get stuck.....use a bit of anti seize, and they will come out easy peasy.....
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Mine were stuck like white on rice. I won't put the same thing if it happened the first time.
 
TwistedKestrel said:
As far as mixing up parts goes, I believe you only really have to worry about putting the slides and float needles back into the same carbs... but as long as you're keeping track of everything else. Well, okay, inner carbs can be jetted differently than outer carbs on some bikes. Whatevs, I posted in this thread.

Wait, this might be useful: be super careful/gentle with the carb diaphragms. If you tear them and/or poke a hole them, for older bikes it can be a lot harder to find a replacement than just finding a new set of carbs. $$$
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Pff, whatever. Everyone knows it's the outer carbs that are jetted differently than the inners. :rolleyes:
 
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