Carb Noob Epilogue

[Steve]

How did you ever get the 1/4" line on there? The fittings are 7 mm. 1/4" line is 6.25 mm, 5/16" line is 8 mm, which requires a clamp.

Most of the fuel hose you get from an auto parts store is also very thick-walled and pressure-rated. The OEM fuel hose is thin-wall and very easy to use.

Don't be put off by the price they charge when you get some, though. It's about $12-15, depending on where you get it, but you get about 6 feet of hose and you need less than one foot to do the bike, so you have plenty of extra.

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[almarconi]

Took another ride. Think I went too far on the idle. Now it stays at 900 or so, but feels a bit sluggish at lower speed. Struggles off the line.

Not much more you can do until you vacuum sync the carbs. Once you sync them take it for a ride.

[MisterCinders]

How did you ever get the 1/4" line on there? The fittings are 7 mm. 1/4" line is 6.25 mm, 5/16" line is 8 mm, which requires a clamp.

Most of the fuel hose you get from an auto parts store is also very thick-walled and pressure-rated. The OEM fuel hose is thin-wall and very easy to use.

Don't be put off by the price they charge when you get some, though. It's about $12-15, depending on where you get it, but you get about 6 feet of hose and you need less than one foot to do the bike, so you have plenty of extra.

.

It was a struggle to connect the 1/4" line, and my half-assing it caused it to jump off. It pops right onto the petcock though. v0v It was too fat to fit the vacuum port, so I stayed with the original line that came with the bike.

I don't mind shelling out a couple bucks for OEM line, where can I find it? Z1 had the 1/4 inch stuff.

Current Status

After the wild swings in performance so far, I pulled the carbs again to check the needle settings. I know that one slide was missing a piece (the flat 3-hole washer within the slide) and now I have some spares, so I can tighten that up and check the needle clip positions.

Pods/Jets

I am going to order K&N Pods and some bigger jets and plug those in while the carbs are off. I noticed that the both sets of pilot jets (the ones in the rebuild kit and the ones on the bike before) are indeed #15. The ones on the bike, however, have visibly larger side holes than the kit jets. They almost look like the holes expanded with wear. I kept the old jets for 3 of the 4. The forth jet was a bit banged up on top. Seriously, it looks like the last person to pull apart these carbs used an impact driver on the different jets, as all the screw heads are trashed.

With pod filters and VH exhaust, I think I should go up a size or two in pilot jets. Any ideas how many sizes to go?

For mains, I am thinking 120s, per the recommendation ITT.

Even with new o-rings, the drain plugs seem to be leaking fuel a bit, so I am going to root around there and try to tighten those up as well.

Head Smoke?

Although not as bad during the second ride, I am still seeing light wisps of smoke from the head/exhaust connections, especially off the No. 2 exhaust. I know the valves are shimmed to spec. The smoke troubles me, and I fear that I may end up going deeper into the rabbit hole to sort out (or pay someone else to sort out) piston rings. When I get the compression tester, I'll know more.

In the interim, what exactly does this smoke indicate? Bad exhaust connection? Bad mixture? A ticking time-bomb?

[almarconi]

I think I should go up a size or two in pilot jets. Any ideas how many sizes to go?

You should be fine with stock pilots.