Can't get this damned carb rack out.

[Anonymous]

I have a 1980 GS1100L and I can't get the darn carb rack out. I pulled, twisted and heaved on it for 2 hours and I can't get the damn thing out. I losened and removed all the clamps for the boots...is there a way to pull back the airbox so you have more wiggle room? I managed to get the boots about halfway off and gave up out of frustration, before I broke something. Any sugestions?

[Poot]

you must completely remove the airbox, and possibly your battery holder. once off, wiggle the carb racks up and down gently , while pulling away from the block.

hope it helps?

[Billy_Oliver880]

Run...
make sure you got that screw off of the bottom of the air box....i forgot that right away. Poot is right about the battery box. That will give you more space.

[chuckycheese]

Awful

Yeah, pulling those things is a really hard job on most models. A bike mechanic told me that some of the old Kawasakis are even worse...

[Jethro]

If your 80 G model is anything like my 81 E model, then here is the only way I have found to sucessfully remove the carb rack:

1. Remove the rear air box completely

2. Loosen the four clamps from the front air box (I call it the plenum)

3. Remove the two mounting bolts for the plenum and pull it back as far as you can from the carbs you should be able to dislodge the four plenum intake boots and get that precious 1/2" extra.

4. Remove completely the clamps on the carb side manifold boots. I have found that even just loosening them, you'll still have some binding going on. Youll need to be able to distort them quite a bit to get the carb rack out.

5. Soak all the rubber with WD40 and squeeze them to make them pliable. Even a heat gun on them for a few minutes can help.

6. Dislodge the plenum boots from the carbs by pushing the carbs forward and pulling the plenum back. You might have to squish the intake manifold boots somewhat and squeeze the plenum boots to do so.

7. Once the plenum boots are dislodged you should be in good shape. Now tilt the back of the carbs straight down towards the tranny. You should be able to dislodge the intake manifold boots this way.

8. At this point you should have the carbs free from the boots, but they won't slide out either side. Well they will, if you yank on them like a mother. You'll feel like you're ripping all the rubber boots, but by this point you won't care, you'll just want the friggin' carbs out. If you made the boots soft and pliable with the heat and the WD40, they shouldn't get damaged, but even if they do, it's a sad fact of the matter.

A little tip about putting them back in- the plenum boots have strips of stainless steel on the inside of them, keeping them tight to the plenum openings. All your distorting of the boots might have moved them out of place, and they won't fit tight. Make sure the stainless steel is in the correct place before putting the carbs back on.

[jay]

ok i am going to admit this, i managed to push the boots off betwwen the carb and aibox with a screw driver, then i rolled the carbs down and walked them out with a crow bar, airbox , battary box and boots on heads still in place, i mean it looked so wrong but no damage done, and needless to say that airbox will never go back in

man

[Don Lobacz]

I do not think he is talking about a G model at all. In 1980, the 1100 L was the 16 valve motor. The airbox was the 2 piece affair with the element in the back piece. The front piece is trapped back up against the frame. Loosen everything you can to get back as close as possible to the frame, but after that you have to heat the boots up with a hair dryer to get them softer, then you should be able to wiggle the carbs out (up, I think). If I remember correctly, you wiggle the front of the carbs up, then remove the front boots (off the head) for adequate clearance. Again, old boots (front and back) get hard with age and heat, so heat them mildly with hair dryer. Replacing the boots is expensive but makes it much easier.

[Jethro]

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:36 am Post subject:

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I do not think he is talking about a G model at all. In 1980, the 1100 L was the 16 valve motor.

Woops, it even says "L" in the original post. In that case my advise should work perfectly, it's the same as the 81 E models.

[Anonymous]

One of the big reasons I run K&N pods now.