Working 1980 GS550L CV Carbs - Rebuild or Not?

[ddaum]

Hello everyone.

So I finally had the time to take my carbs off yesterday. These carbs worked beautifly up to this point, except maybe running a little rich. Anyway, they look like garbage and I would like to clean them. Also, I recently replaced my stock 4-2 exhaust with a MAC 4-1 and I am installing brand new engine intake boots and O-rings. When I removed the carbs I found that two of the four intake boots were torn and the O-rings were flat. When I first got the bike I took it to a shop that "said" they dipped and rebuilt the carbs, but i knew very little about motorcycles then and I think they just sprayed some carb cleaner in them and adjusted them to run with the intake leaks.

I have a spare set of carbs that I bought to learn how to rebuild them, so I can do it, and I have some spare parts, but other than being ugly and dirty on the outside, these carbs were in good working condition on the bike with it's intake leaks and 4-2 exhaust. So, should I clean and rebuild them, or not make extra work for myself? I've polished and rebuilt a LOT of things on this bike so I really want the carbs to match, but the only experience I have in working on carbs is taking apart a junk set of ebay CV carbs and cleaning those. What are your opinions? Should I, or not?
Thanks,
Dean

[jsuani]

Go for it...

I am a proud owner of a gs550l. I did my only set and it wasnt that hard. I have been working on bikes for about five years now. Mine and others just to help out. No major custom work yet but maybe when I have time. First thing though. Do you need to? If so, next question is do you have the mullah to do it? If so, is it really worth it to you to have a extra set on the side for the fun of it. I have some spare parts that are packed up but I have not rebuilt them yet for a quick swap out. I may think about doing some things but hey. Here is an idea. Clean them up and remove the parts that need to be replaced and put everything back together without properly torquing things and all tight. If they are your only set then go ahead unless you are going to change the engine or head out. If they were an extra set then I would. Just clean and then tighten everything snug so you do not loose any parts. You can even get some pics together for anyone behind you that needs any info. or just insite on it. The carb repair/rebuild in the home page of the website will do you nicely with instructions/tips for the rebuild. Just make sure you have fun in all you do. Npte: Please only use carb cleaner for motorcycles and not cars. It just makes things less complicated. And no melt down of packings. Oh and purple power works well to spray them down in and soak them. D

[ddaum]

Thanks for your reply Jsuani. I did mention that I have a spare set of carbs for parts. I am willing to fork over $72 for these if that is all I can get. I have the whole carb cleaning instructions from the GSR Garage printed out and in a binder to use in my shop. But I mainly wanted some opinions on if I should do this or not considering they are already in good working order, BUT the bike had some intake leaks AND I swapped exhausts. I don't have a carb synchronizer, nor do I know how to "bench synch" whatever that is. So, if I rebuild them for cleaning and take note of airscrew settings and don't mess with the sych ajuster screws, will I have to re-synch the carbs anyway?

[SqDancerLynn1]

MOST of the time all you need is a set of O rings for the carbs.
A good cleaning & replace all the O rings
available from http://www.cycleorings.com/

[ddaum]

Cool!

MOST of the time all you need is a set of O rings for the carbs.
A good cleaning & replace all the O rings
available from http://www.cycleorings.com/

AWESOME link. Thanks!

[jsuani]

my two cents...

If it aint borke dont fix it... is one saying that we hear alot. But if it breaks down on the road and you had the time to fix it... you will want to kick yourself in your own butt. If you have the time to tear them down. Get you a manual for your bike and go for it. If it is leaking then yea tear it apart and put it back together. Replace all o-rings and all parts. You can keep the parts that aren't worn out for spares. You will get some parts in the kits that will replace good parts for you. They are just extra so store them for later rebuilds. It is easy to get the tools you need from either Dennis Kirk or any other parts store. Check around and find out what you have available as far as quality and prices. Check out your local shops and see what they use for the carb rebuilds. If they can do it you can do it is my moto. As long as you got space, time, money, and patience. Oh and a bike that is worth repairing. Have fun and put up some pics of a step by step for others to look at. It can be done. Peace D.

[wolfie]

My understanding is that the aftermarket rebuild kits have inferior quality parts, and that usually nothing will wear out anyway except the rubber bits. Just get the o-rings from cycleorings.com and save yourself some cash on your rebuild.