H
H-Bomb
Guest
First, a hearty thank you to those who suggested I rebuild the carbs myself, vice paying a local shop. It was your encouragement (and a little of $65.00 an hour labor rate) that helped me decide to take the carb cleaning on. Armed with a Clymer's and the well detailed guide provided here, I went about rebuilding the 2 carbs for the 450. It was not nearly as intimidating as I had pondered and went very straight-forward. I did clean and rebuild one at a time which I highly recommend to any other first timers. Long story short, they are clean and rebuilt and installed on the bike. 2nd push of the start button and POW! She fired right up and settled down to a nice purr at idle. Keep in mind this bike has not been ran in over 10 years, as told to me by the previous owner. I did all the necessary pre-start maintenance prior to taking on the carbs as I was quite comfortable with all that. One carb was filthy inside and showed evidence of water or condensation having been in there for some time. The other carb looked good to begin with but after cleaning, simply amazing. This bike starts so easily, in fact, it starts easier then my 2000 Intruder. So with it running so well, I figured take her for a spin. Off I went and she rode quite well, shifting smoothly through all 6 gears up and down. I only rode her for a couple of miles as I know there is other maintenance to be done to make her truly roadworthy. What a rush this project has been for my son and I! Total cost to rebuild the carbs at home: $29.00. The experience and learning alone is worth way more than that. Total cost spent on the project so far to include the cost of the bike: $312.19. My son and I are going to start refurbishing other odd and end parts and pieces. Our many thanks again to the folks at this site who have helped in answering our questions with info and encouragement.