DO carb's have to be completely taken apart to be "dipped"

[samp615]

Just got a gs1100gk off craigslist. I know little/nothing about carbs. The bike runs ok on choke, with a little backfire and roughness, but doesn't run well without choke.

The guy said he cleaned the carbs, but who knows. He also said he forgot balance them. The boots and claps look new, so maybe he did clean them.

So anyway- if I take the carbs off can i just dip them whole to clean them and then I can balance them without any tools? Also do I need to order any new parts? I have zero idea how to get the carb off and everything apart but am willing to learn!

[Steve]

Just got a gs1100gk off craigslist. I know little/nothing about carbs. The bike runs ok on choke, with a little backfire and roughness, but doesn't run well without choke.

That tells you right there that they need to be CLEANED.

The guy said he cleaned the carbs, but who knows. He also said he forgot balance them. The boots and claps look new, so maybe he did clean them.

H probably sprayed something on the outside so they looked clean.
You can't "forget" to balance them,.
What are "claps"?

So anyway- if I take the carbs off can i just dip them whole to clean them and then I can balance them without any tools? Also do I need to order any new parts? I have zero idea how to get the carb off and everything apart but am willing to learn!

NO, you can't dip them "whole". There are parts in there that will dissolve in the "dip" that need to be removed. You need to get new replacements for them, anyway, but it's a LOT easier to remove an intact damaged part, rather than trying to chase all the goo that is left over from dissolved o-rings.

Yes, you will need to order new o-rings from cycleorings.com, just make sure they are the appropriate rings for your carbs.

Everything you need to know about removing the carbs will be found in your service manual. Additional help can be found on BassCliff's site. In your last post (previous thread), you were directed to BassCliff's site. Evidently he has not seen your posts yet to give you the full Mega-Welcome, but you are still welcome to browse his site for all the help that is available. Virtually all the wisdom that has been made available on this forum has been archived on BassCliff's site, so bookmark it and refer to it OFTEN.

.

[chuck hahn]

Yes..completely disassembled, old orings removed, GENERAL rule of thumb is a 24 hr soak for each body and the internal bits. Use a toothebrush and scrub the bowl areas very well after the soaking. The bodies should have all the holes flushed well with carb spray and then lots of compressed air..do it till your sure youve over done it and you should be ok. Get a PM off to Robert Barr for the oring kit and be sure to get the intake boot orings as well. Wire brush the groove in the boots to be sure it is clean before installing the orings.

[oldgrumpy]

strip carbys toooooo clean ..

hi i,ve got a 1980 gs1000e with cv carbys ,,, i did strip them and left them in yamaha carby cleaner for 3-4 days ,,,,then drained it out ,,,blew out the carbs and left them in about 5-6 litres of prem. unleaded ... ,,blew them out then re-assembled them they work great ,,, before dipping them make sure you remove the needle/diaphrams and put them in order in a piece of cardboard ,,, , well worth doing regards oldgrumpy

[wkmpt]

FWIW, take the time to do it right. It honestly doesn't take that much more time than not stripping them down completely, and if you're willing to put in a little more effort on the front end, it will save you hours and avoid massive headaches on the back end.

I've cleaned carbs the "quick and easy" way, and I have done them the proper way.

I will always and forever more spend the time to strip them down proper. It's worth it completely.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. samp615,

Sorry I'm late to the party. We'll start with this: You have a 30 year old motorcycle that needs 20 years worth of maintenance. Do it all up front, correctly, properly, the first time, so you and your bike can be insanely happy. If you take shortcuts I can guarantee that you will have many recurring problems and endless frustrations. Read all of the information in the links below. It will save you much time, effort, money, and heartache.

So let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[snicrep5]

,,,blew out the carbs and left them in about 5-6 litres of prem. unleaded ...

DONT USE GASOLINE AS A CLEANER. As a former firefighter, ive seen one horror story where someone had an open gasoline container around that caught fire .He kicked it and got engulfed. Sorry to be a buzz kill. Just theres never any reason to use gas to clean. this isnt the 1950's.
Now back to your regularly scheduled thread!

[Dave8338]

I use gas to clean MANY things. No smoking, grinding, ect and your fine.

IF you can't follow these simple rules...refer to the above post.

[snicrep5]

I use gas to clean MANY things. No smoking, grinding, ect and your fine.

IF you can't follow these simple rules...refer to the above post.

just dont do it , theres no reason for it. im sure you are safe, but by that reasoning, leave a loaded gun around too. as long as you dont touch the trigger. Besides, who wants to get the smell on them. people under estimate gasoline because its so common. vapors are heavier than air. It can travel along the floor from an open container until it reaches an ignition source (like a pilot light) and BOOM! sorry agin for hijacking the thread. I now shut up and let you make your own decisions now.

[850GT_Rider]

I use gas to clean MANY things. No smoking, grinding, ect and your fine.

I now shut up and let you make your own decisions now.

Hey, if someone wants to write his own nomination for a Darwin award, who are we to question that?

[Tazman001]

Cleaning carbs

with gasoline. Works fine if the proper precautions are taken. Gas, if used before carb dip, will get off a lot of the gunk that will contaminate the carb dip. Using gasoline isn't necessarily going to "write his own nomination for a Darwin award". But before I use gas cleaning them with a degreasing solution is always in order. Just my 2¢.