Cleaning carbs

[Acton67]

So all the hardware came in today and I've got the small and large replacement diaphragms as well. These are aftermarket diaphragms and not OEM, I got them on the cheap. Only the diaphragms in the rear carb where exposed to carb cleaner and simple green. I dried them off and they don't seem to be warped/damaged in any way. These appear to be oem diaphragms. Do you guys think I should keep the stock diaphragms in the carb and keep the aftermarket ones just in case I run into any issues, or just swap them now?

[navigator]

OEM, just my opinion.
Keep the spares, many times the replacements have a thicker rubber and don't flex as easily.

[Designer]

OEM, just my opinion.
Keep the spares, many times the replacements have a thicker rubber and don't flex as easily.

+1

[Acton67]

Alright I was leaning the same way, thanks guys.

[hillsy]

As long as your original diaphragms don't have any tears or pinholes they would be the preferred ones - but make sure they both fit back in the carbs OK - If they have been soaking they may have swelled up and you might not be able to get carb tops back on properly.

Also the springs holding the slides down are quite soft and using a less flexible diaphragm could hamper the slide movement / fuelling which is another tick for the OEM ones.

[Lechy]

When re-fitting the diaphragm cover to the front carb, make sure that the small detent on the inside lip of the cover lines up with the small hole in the diaphragm. The rear carb doesn't have this.

[Acton67]

When re-fitting the diaphragm cover to the front carb, make sure that the small detent on the inside lip of the cover lines up with the small hole in the diaphragm. The rear carb doesn't have this.

I did note that. The diaphragms fit back in appropriately. Installed fresh hardware as well since I stripped a few of the old screws when removing them. It'll be a few weeks before I run the bike, doing a new paint job. I'll let you guys know how it goes (hopefully well!).

[Acton67]

Started the bike today. Seems like I reinstalled the carbs correctly. Will need to ride the bike a few hours to know for sure but so far so good, thanks guys.

[Designer]

Started the bike today. Seems like I reinstalled the carbs correctly. Will need to ride the bike a few hours to know for sure but so far so good, thanks guys.

Alright! Another Happy Ending !

If you think of it,...can you post some pictures of where you will now be able to Ride?

[Acton67]

Bike had issues running today. Noticed the rear cylinder seemed to not be running. Pulled the spark plug boot off the front cylinder and got the rear cylinder running with the choke pulled out but as soon as I pushed the choke back in it died. Should I pull the rear carb and check the pilot jet hole or. . . ? Didn't screw with the synch cable at all, looks like the previous owner actually jb welded the nuts on the adjusters in place so it wouldn't desync either.

[hillsy]

looks like the previous owner actually jb welded the nuts on the adjusters in place so it wouldn't desync either.

Oh dear...

[Acton67]

looks like the previous owner actually jb welded the nuts on the adjusters in place so it wouldn't desync either.

Oh dear...

[hillsy]

Hopefully that is not too hard to break free - you will need to ensure the bracket it is attached to is SECURELY held though. Maybe a bit of localized heat with a Propane / MAPP torch will help?

If you are taking off the carbs for cleaning you will need carb cleaner and a good supply of compressed air to clear all the passages / orifices. You will need to remove the idle mixture screws - from memory you tried to drill out one of these earlier on another carb body so you no doubt know where they are located.

[Acton67]

Hopefully that is not too hard to break free - you will need to ensure the bracket it is attached to is SECURELY held though. Maybe a bit of localized heat with a Propane / MAPP torch will help?

If you are taking off the carbs for cleaning you will need carb cleaner and a good supply of compressed air to clear all the passages / orifices. You will need to remove the idle mixture screws - from memory you tried to drill out one of these earlier on another carb body so you no doubt know where they are located.

That wasn't me. I recently cleaned both carbs with a ultrasonic cleaner. Left the throttle cables and sync cable on both carbs. I disconnected the lower throttle cables from the splitter in order to remove the carbs from the bike. I didn't do any adjustments to either throttle cables or the sync cable. All I did was remove the pilot jet float needle and fuel in filter and old gasket. Reinstalled a new gasket, fuel filter and pilot jet.

I haven't done any work on the idle mixture screws. I was hoping to just clean the carbs and leave the adjustments as they were.

[hillsy]

Hopefully that is not too hard to break free - you will need to ensure the bracket it is attached to is SECURELY held though. Maybe a bit of localized heat with a Propane / MAPP torch will help?

If you are taking off the carbs for cleaning you will need carb cleaner and a good supply of compressed air to clear all the passages / orifices. You will need to remove the idle mixture screws - from memory you tried to drill out one of these earlier on another carb body so you no doubt know where they are located.

That wasn't me. I recently cleaned both carbs with a ultrasonic cleaner. Left the throttle cables and sync cable on both carbs. I disconnected the lower throttle cables from the splitter in order to remove the carbs from the bike. I didn't do any adjustments to either throttle cables or the sync cable. All I did was remove the pilot jet float needle and fuel in filter and old gasket. Reinstalled a new gasket, fuel filter and pilot jet.

I haven't done any work on the idle mixture screws. I was hoping to just clean the carbs and leave the adjustments as they were.

OK sorry about the mixture screw drilling thing - I must have you confused with someone else.

You will need to remove the screw / spring / o-ring to clean the passageways behind it. It draws from the pilot circuit and your symptoms of only running on choke indicate this circuit is blocked (at least partially). Just putting it in an ultrasonic is sometimes not enough - if there is crud / varnish in the passages you need carb cleaner and compressed air. And do it 3 or 4 times to make sure because it's painful to get back in there once you have the carbs back on the bike.

[Acton67]

Hopefully that is not too hard to break free - you will need to ensure the bracket it is attached to is SECURELY held though. Maybe a bit of localized heat with a Propane / MAPP torch will help?

If you are taking off the carbs for cleaning you will need carb cleaner and a good supply of compressed air to clear all the passages / orifices. You will need to remove the idle mixture screws - from memory you tried to drill out one of these earlier on another carb body so you no doubt know where they are located.

That wasn't me. I recently cleaned both carbs with a ultrasonic cleaner. Left the throttle cables and sync cable on both carbs. I disconnected the lower throttle cables from the splitter in order to remove the carbs from the bike. I didn't do any adjustments to either throttle cables or the sync cable. All I did was remove the pilot jet float needle and fuel in filter and old gasket. Reinstalled a new gasket, fuel filter and pilot jet.

I haven't done any work on the idle mixture screws. I was hoping to just clean the carbs and leave the adjustments as they were.

OK sorry about the mixture screw drilling thing - I must have you confused with someone else.

You will need to remove the screw / spring / o-ring to clean the passageways behind it. It draws from the pilot circuit and your symptoms of only running on choke indicate this circuit is blocked (at least partially). Just putting it in an ultrasonic is sometimes not enough - if there is crud / varnish in the passages you need carb cleaner and compressed air. And do it 3 or 4 times to make sure because it's painful to get back in there once you have the carbs back on the bike.

I did also hit the carb with carb cleaner and compressed air. I took the pilot jet needle off and blew carb cleaner & compressed air through there.

[Acton67]

Hopefully that is not too hard to break free - you will need to ensure the bracket it is attached to is SECURELY held though. Maybe a bit of localized heat with a Propane / MAPP torch will help?

If you are taking off the carbs for cleaning you will need carb cleaner and a good supply of compressed air to clear all the passages / orifices. You will need to remove the idle mixture screws - from memory you tried to drill out one of these earlier on another carb body so you no doubt know where they are located.

That wasn't me. I recently cleaned both carbs with a ultrasonic cleaner. Left the throttle cables and sync cable on both carbs. I disconnected the lower throttle cables from the splitter in order to remove the carbs from the bike. I didn't do any adjustments to either throttle cables or the sync cable. All I did was remove the pilot jet float needle and fuel in filter and old gasket. Reinstalled a new gasket, fuel filter and pilot jet.

I haven't done any work on the idle mixture screws. I was hoping to just clean the carbs and leave the adjustments as they were.

OK sorry about the mixture screw drilling thing - I must have you confused with someone else.

You will need to remove the screw / spring / o-ring to clean the passageways behind it. It draws from the pilot circuit and your symptoms of only running on choke indicate this circuit is blocked (at least partially). Just putting it in an ultrasonic is sometimes not enough - if there is crud / varnish in the passages you need carb cleaner and compressed air. And do it 3 or 4 times to make sure because it's painful to get back in there once you have the carbs back on the bike.

Is this the screw your talking about? It's a different screw right?


wonder woman picture frame

[hillsy]

That's the idle adjustment screw - I'm talking about the idle mixture screws on the side of the carbs that meter the fueling for the idle circuit (pic borrowed from Lechy):



There may be a plug over the screw - you need to drill a small hole in the plug and use a drywall screw to pry it out. Be careful you don't drill into the mixture screw below the plug.

[Acton67]

That's the idle adjustment screw - I'm talking about the idle mixture screws on the side of the carbs that meter the fueling for the idle circuit (pic borrowed from Lechy):



There may be a plug over the screw - you need to drill a small hole in the plug and use a drywall screw to pry it out. Be careful you don't drill into the mixture screw below the plug.

If I remove the screw how do I set it back to factory settings when I replace it?

[Herb]

Before removing the screw, turn it in until it LIGHTLY seats (stops), count the turns as you turn it in. When you reinstall the screw turn it in until it lightly seats and then turn it out the number of turns you counted when you removed it. It helps to write down the number of turns when you remove it.

Be careful not to turn it too tight, you can damage the needle and the seat if you do.

My 1400 runs better with the screw out about an extra 1/4 turn but that doesn't mean that the 800 needs the extra.