on and off and on and off... I'm a pro at taking carbs off and putting them back on

[Ohioan]

I dipped and replaced the o-rings in the carbs on my 1982 GS 1100 GL.

When I put them back on the bike, cylinders 3 and 4 were flooding with fuel at idle. I thought maybe it wasn't getting spark. So I tested the plugs against the engine block, and sure enough SPARK! So, it must be a carb issue. So BAAAAACK off the bike the carbs go. I get in to them and lo and behold, I didn't get the pilot jets tightend down properly in those two carbs. So, BAAAAACK on the bike they go.

I start the bad boy up, now cylinders 2 and 3 looked like they were not getting any spark at all. I thought maybe one of the coils was bad. So I checked that by switching the plug wires around. She fired on 1 and 4, but not two and three again. by this time, I realized that I had forgot to tighten the clamps on the intake boots when I replaced the carbs the last time. So, tightened those bad boys up, and she fires up and runs good at idle.... for about 2 minutes... and then fuel starts leaking out of the air box. !%#$. I took the airbox off, and saw that it was carb #3 that was flooding the airbox. grrrrrrrrrr....... so BAAAAAAACK off the carbs go... now this is where I made a mistake. I had 2 options... 1. just take that carb apart again, and dip it. Or #2, check the float height and go from there.

I chose option 2. I checked the float height, and it was out of spec, (it measure 20mm. So I thought that must be it. so last night I put the carbs BAAAAAAACK on the bike. Start her up, idles fine.... for about 2 minutes, and then voila! fuel running out of the airbox.

BAAAAAAACK off the bike the carbs came. took the rack apart last night and dipped that POS in Berryman's. I got to thinking about when I dipped the carbs last.. I didn't dip carb #3 because of the plastic piece of the idle knob. But this time I took the knob off and dipped everything.

I rinsed everything off with a hose, and blew them out with air. When I get home this evening I'm going to re-bench sync the carbs and put them back on. HOPEFULLY that fixes it.....

Lessons learned so far,

1. Do things the correct, thorough way first.
2. make sure you put things back together properly.

[SKD]

lol, this is what i want NOT to happen. thanks for the heads up, i have learned from you..

[rustybronco]

When I put them back on the bike, cylinders 3 and 4 were flooding with fuel at idle.

So, tightened those bad boys up, and she fires up and runs good at idle.... for about 2 minutes... and then fuel starts leaking out of the air box.

Start her up, idles fine.... for about 2 minutes, and then voila! fuel running out of the airbox.

When I get home this evening I'm going to re-bench sync the carbs and put them back on. HOPEFULLY that fixes it.....

Lessons learned so far,

1. Do things the correct, thorough way first.

Buy four inlet needles or both needle and the seats and put them in it.

[chef1366]

I can switch jets in the carbs and have the bike running in less than 20 minutes.
No (*&^%$%^&* airbox though.

[Ohioan]

Airbox doesn't give me any problems. getting the carbs into the intake boots is the hardest part.

I forgot to mention, hook the throttle cable in the carbs before you get them in to the intake boots. Or else you'll fight with that cable for an hour before you get it.

I had so much trouble getting the stupid carbs into the intake boots, i was not about to remove them again, just to hook up the throttle... but it may have been easier... lol

I'm really learning as I go, but I'm seeing progress, so I'm happy. It's been fun learning about these things. Before I bought my GS I would have never had thought about attempting to work on carbs myself. I'm begining to enjoy wrenching....

[BassCliff]

Hi,

You are an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your experiences.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Ohioan]

Cliff, thanks, but I couldn't do it without you and your wonderfully resourceful site! And everyone here being patient with me, giving me hints and clues.


I've come to the conclusion that a lot of the questions about jetting and carbs could be solved by forcing every new member to go to this website.

http://www.iwt.com.au/mikunicarb.htm

That site has done wonders for my understanding of carbs...

[FlyingSteve]

I had so much trouble getting the stupid carbs into the intake boots, i was not about to remove them again, just to hook up the throttle... but it may have been easier... lol

I did that once and I'll never do it again... I literally spent an hour cursing like a sailor trying to get the damn cable back on lol.

[shibby_cbs]

alot of times i am the exact same way...im so excited to get whatever i am working on back together and operational that i ted to take shortcuts to get the job done faster and i end up having to take it apart again. luckily i have a.d.d. which allows me to work on things for hours on end without even realizing it so it dosnt usually bother me

[SqDancerLynn1]

Doing short cuts means doing the job twice!! Easier to do it right the first time!

[OldVet66]

A little dielectric grease on the inside of the boots make it a lot easier to get them in.

[Ohioan]

Well.. on again off again.. carb number three is still flooding back into the air box. I think my next option is a new valve and needle.

[rustybronco]

I think my next option is a new valve and needle.

All four please...

[TheCafeKid]

All four please...

Last I looked at Z1 they came in a SIX pack. But I agree. Replace em. Then double triple quadruple check your float height again. And make sure your measuring from the right place. And if you're using a temp tank to fuel the bike it needs to be nearly the same level as the tank would be when on the bike. Those float valves even when new won't hold back the fuel if the temp tank is set way higher than the tank ould be. They're not shut off valves with tight seals.

[bwringer]

Also, gas in the airbox is sometimes a sign that there's crud in the petcock (corrosion) that's making its way into the carbs and propping open the float needles.

Unless your petcock is new, I'd also replace that or you will be pulling those carbs off over and over and over and over and over...


For those playing along at home with chain drive bikes, it's worth noting that it's much easier to get the carbs and airbox in and out of a shaftie. With a bit of practice, you can have the carbs in or out in under 10 minutes, easy.