CV & VM O-ring Sources

[grcamna2]

subscribed,I hope they're good quality.

[mikerophone]

Guess I’ll need to read up on cycle orings being no more, I’m out of the loop on that one but always found Robert’s kits to be high quality, well put together and he was always helpful!

Hope he’s on to bigger and/or better things, and glad to know there are some other options out there people are having success with.

[93Bandit]

In an attempt to keep all the info in one place, I found this today when searching for float bowl gaskets.

K&L is selling oring kits with float bowl gaskets. Looks like everything you need to rebuild a set of BS carbs. I may order one to compare to the BS o-ring kit I ordered from the other ebay seller linked in post # 8. I've used the VM kit from post # 8 and it worked well. Haven't tried the BS kit yet.

Either way, for all o-rings and the float gaskets, I think it's a good deal. The gaskets alone are ~$15 depending where you purchase them and the o-ring kits are $17, so you'd save $5 getting this K&L kit and get everything you need in one package. If anyone has tried these I'd like to hear your feedback.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/29341687235....c101113.m2108

[Nessism]

In an attempt to keep all the info in one place, I found this today when searching for float bowl gaskets.

K&L is selling oring kits with float bowl gaskets. Looks like everything you need to rebuild a set of BS carbs. I may order one to compare to the BS o-ring kit I ordered from the other ebay seller linked in post # 8. I've used the VM kit from post # 8 and it worked well. Haven't tried the BS kit yet.

Either way, for all o-rings and the float gaskets, I think it's a good deal. The gaskets alone are ~$15 depending where you purchase them and the o-ring kits are $17, so you'd save $5 getting this K&L kit and get everything you need in one package. If anyone has tried these I'd like to hear your feedback.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/29341687235....c101113.m2108

Agree. A decent deal...assuming the O-ring kit is complete, and fits.

[uk gs nut]

I can say the O rings & mixture screws & fuel T seals that Brian supplies, UK Ebay seller. Are fine, they cured all the leaks and issues I had with my VM28 carbs on my GS1000. I have used a couple of his O ring kits.

[mikerophone]

Good to know, sounds like eBay it is. I’m also curious if anyone else can confirm the right gaskets and o rings are in the K&L kit. My son in law’s 750T will need the carbs gone through soon enough so if I pick one up, I’ll circle back and update this thread.

Thanks all!!

[93Bandit]

Good to know, sounds like eBay it is. I’m also curious if anyone else can confirm the right gaskets and o rings are in the K&L kit. My son in law’s 750T will need the carbs gone through soon enough so if I pick one up, I’ll circle back and update this thread.

Thanks all!!

Order the K&L kit with gaskets and let us know!

[mikerophone]

Ordered!

Should be able to confirm in about 3 weeks.

[Nessism]

For what it's worth, I've got O-ring kits in stock now for both CV and VM type carbs. I have no experience with the K&L kits, but the CV kits sold on ebay by retro-motorcycles don't fit.

[93Bandit]

For what it's worth, I've got O-ring kits in stock now for both CV and VM type carbs. I have no experience with the K&L kits, but the CV kits sold on ebay by retro-motorcycles don't fit.

Why do you say the CV kits from retro-motorcycles don't fit? I just rebuilt the carbs on my 83 850GL using that kit and they seemed to fit fine to me. Plus there were a few extra of the tiny orings which was nice.

[Nessism]

Why do you say the CV kits from retro-motorcycles don't fit? I just rebuilt the carbs on my 83 850GL using that kit and they seemed to fit fine to me. Plus there were a few extra of the tiny orings which was nice.

The fuel transfer tube and breather vent Tee O-rings were too small. They sent double the number needed too, which isn't a problem per say, but it was odd. Maybe I got a bad kit?

[93Bandit]

The fuel transfer tube and breather vent Tee O-rings were too small. They sent double the number needed too, which isn't a problem per say, but it was odd. Maybe I got a bad kit?

Hmmm... Too small in what way? Too small cross section so that it wasn't tight in the carb body? Or just the oring overall was too small and wouldn't fit on the transfer tube? I don't recall any of the orings having to be over stretched to install them. So far bike has been running fine too.

I did receive several extra of that oring size in addition to the extra small ones, although not quite double the amount needed. I did think that was odd.

[Nessism]

Hmmm... Too small in what way? Too small cross section so that it wasn't tight in the carb body? Or just the oring overall was too small and wouldn't fit on the transfer tube? I don't recall any of the orings having to be over stretched to install them. So far bike has been running fine too.

I did receive several extra of that oring size in addition to the extra small ones, although not quite double the amount needed. I did think that was odd.

The provided fuel tube O-rings measure 1.9 x 5.0mm. The tube OD in the groove is 6.5mm so that's 1.5mm of stretch in order to install - too much.

My kits use a -10 O-ring for that application, which is 1.78 x 6.07mm. I've verified this fit many times; after install on the tube there is just the right amount of compression when installing into the carb body.

[93Bandit]

The provided fuel tube O-rings measure 1.9 x 5.0mm. The tube OD in the groove is 6.5mm so that's 1.5mm of stretch in order to install - too much.

My kits use a -10 O-ring for that application, which is 1.78 x 6.07mm. I've verified this fit many times; after install on the tube there is just the right amount of compression when installing into the carb body.

Ah, gotcha. I didn't measure anything, although I do remember thinking it didn't take much force at all to install the fuel tube into the carb body with the new oring. Probably the same oring size as you got in your kit. I'll measure one of the extras and see how it compares.

[mikerophone]

Ordered!

Should be able to confirm in about 3 weeks.

While I didn't complete the cleaning/teardown and install of the eBay kit from the seller retro-motorcycles when I was visiting my kids, but I can confirm that while close, there are some differences in the sizes and thickness of the O-rings and even the tiny pilot (mixture) screw washer, but it is what I'd say is a complete kit for most.

As mentioned, the O-rings all come in one baggie, stapled to the K&L bowl gasket package, and it's not too difficult to tell which ones are which, and while I was hoping to at least provide some OD dimensions and thicknesses to compare to the list that Ed Ness provided on page 10 in the awesome carb rebuild tutorial - the LR44 in my el-cheapo Harbor Freight caliper died after my first measurement, so I also don't have numbers, but I'll post some photos showing the differences.

Here's Ed's list, for reference, but in decending size:

Choke plunger: 1.5mm X 10mm
Float Needle: 1.6mm X 7.1mm
Fuel Tubes: -10 size (1.8mm X 6mm)
Drain bolt: 1.5mm X 5mm
Pilot Screw: 1.13mm X 2.70 mm or optional (1.0mm X 2.5mm)


On to the pictures - the top row with the gold washer is the kit from eBay, the bottom is a spare kit I have from Robert Barr:

O-rings_comparo_topview.jpg

Flickr images are not uploading as "valid Image files", nor will they from my iCloud so I'll post links to the remaining pictures below.

Profile view:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/196605141@N07/shares/7190YxURg9

I found a single carb K&L "repair" kit that I never used that has all the rings, and the main and pilot jets and pilot screw, but no needle jet or emulsion tube.

I've had good luck reusing the OEM jets that come out of my Mikuni's as recommended, but if someone is in need, the K&L kit is part number 18-2592. It does have an even smaller washer, but it has the float needle valve/seat, the C (E?) Clip for the jet needle as well as the spring and the little aluminum "cap" for the pilot/mixture screw.

Shown in this link is the 18-2592 kit on top, the eBay kit from the seller retro-motorcycles is on the bottom row:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/196605141@N07/shares/8yB7U19Y47

And the second smallest O-ring, which is for the drain bolt IIRC, is actually a flat rubber washer in the 18-2592 repair kit:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/196605141@N07/shares/0730XYAxQn