Carburetor cleaning - how much trouble can I get myself into

[Anonymous]

I've been told (by a couple of people who seem to know about these things) that the pilot jet on the 3rd cylinder is probably blocked.
I've always believed that cleaning the carbs is only a job for experts and so I've always said I'd never touch the carbs. However, having just been quoted more than I can afford to clean them, I'm now thinking of having a go. As pretty much a novice, should I stop right here and save up for a garage to do the job or risk it?
I know for a start that at least two of the screws holding on the diaphragm covers are going to be trouble to get out. I've read the article on how to extract stuck screws but am wondering if the advice given there will apply to something as delicate (?) as the carbs. If I follow the advice there, am I really likely to screw up (pun intended)?
I'll look at the carb cleanup article too.
Thanks

[Anonymous]

Almost exactly 10 years ago I took my 1982 GS850G to an independent mechanic who had just opened his shop in nearby Hagerstown. I instructed him to check the carbs and valves, adjust them if necessary, all that good stuff.

When I picked up the bike, he suggested that I have the carbs cleaned. He said they ran OK, but not great, or the way they should. For some reason I trusted the guy, and took the bike back to him three months later for the carb overhaul. He charged me a good amount of money, but I kept an open mind and rode the 850 home.

What a difference. I was astonished. I had run the bike for a full riding season, and there it was -- a newly-found rocketship. It started much easier, idled without choke after only a few seconds, accelerated crisply -- I couldn't have been happier.

Since then I've taken my subsequent bikes to Kevin for carb overhauls -- a 79 GS850G in 96, an 80 GS850G in 98, and my present GS1100GK in 99. In each case he overhauled the carbs and made the bikes run perfectly. The difference was astonishing.

The point of all this is that, if you have a good mechanic near you, one who has the tools, knowledge, experience, and willingness, take the bike to him and let him overhaul the carbs. There are so many orifices, so many little parts, gaskets, o-rings, etc., to pay attention to. If you overlook one little item or procedure, the bike won't run noticeably better.

This summer a good friend of mine removed the carbs on his newly-bought 1990 Kawasaki Concours. He went through the hassle twice, thinking each time he'd corrected the erratic running. He finally decided to take my advice and take the Connie to Kevin for carb overhaul. True enough, Kevin quickly diagnosed the poor running as a result of a loose cam chain and carbs that weren't right. That Kaw should come out of the shop an excellent runner, once my friend picks it up.

I guess I'm a lucky guy to have Kevin doing his repair business just 15 miles from me. I do my own maintenance, except for carbs and valves. He has the knowhow, tools, parts, and experience. I'd rather pay him and save time -- and eventually money.

[Anonymous]

I take your point

Thanks for telling me what I wanted to hear! I think I'll just save my pennies for a while and get it done properly.

It's good to find someone you trust to do a good job. Like you with your carbs, I've been lucky enough to find a great autoelectrician. He's overhauled my bike's electrics and now I wouldn't let anyone else near them. He does house calls too. Perfect.

[robertbarr]

Doing the carbs yourself is tedious, but it is not by ANY stretch difficult. If you can follow directions -- and pictures, in this case -- you can handle the job. Mechanics have no magic tricks and no genetic disposition to this stuff, and in more than enough cases, do more harm than good while lightening your wallet.

For the stuck diaphragm screws, use a Dremel with a cutoff wheel and carve yourself a single slot in the screw, for a regular screwdriver to turn with. That's assuming you haven't had success with the needle-nosed vice grip trick.

For reassembly, get one of the diaphragm screws that came out OK. Take it to a good auto parts store and purchase sixteen hex-head fasteners to replace all the phillips heads; this way, should you decide to tune the carbs later by altering the needle height, you can unscrew the covers with the carbs still on the bike. It makes it about a 15-minute procedure for all 4 carbs.

Just trust yourself, keep it organized and pay attention to detail, and you'll be OK.

[Anonymous]

. " Mechanics have no magic tricks and no genetic disposition to this stuff, and in more than enough cases, do more harm than good while lightening your wallet."

I hate that some people in my profession have created this stigma by which all of us are judged. And comments like this just perpetuate it even more. Some of us are gifted and know a few tricks to get things done correctly. And by the way I am such a "nice guy" I usually charge less than book time and take a hit to make a happy customer. No one ever complains about my knowledge or ability. Give some of us hard working techs a break.

[Anonymous]

Mechanics have no magic tricks and no genetic disposition to this stuff, and in more than enough cases, do more harm than good while lightening your wallet.

Well, Bob, I know a couple of mechanics, including mine, who indeed have some "magic" tricks that I don't have, procedures that make their jobs more efficient and effective. They certainly have no genetic disposition; what they do have is learned responses, acquired from years of experience on motorcycles. I watched "my guy" take off the fairing/lowers, gas tank, and get to work on my bike, taking up a couple of minutes for a job that would've taken me a half hour or longer.

I therefore respectively disagree with the blanket statement above. The lightening of my wallet is done willingly, because I know the job is done right. Last week I took the GK to him for its annual valve and carb job. I also asked him to take off the stock exhaust and replace the exhaust gaskets. I knew that if I had started the job, it would have taken me lots of time and curses just to remove the 8 exhaust bolts, which were frozen after 18 years. Indeed, he got the job done, charged me a reasonable amount, and I was glad to pay it. Now the GK runs quietly, back to stock.

Your statement, Bob, doesn't apply to me, or to the initiator of this thread. Carb overhauling is a complicated job, made so by the many little parts that must be thoroughly cleaned and sometimes replaced. When an expert mechanic overhauls carbs, he soaks them thoroughly and replaces what must be replaced, thinking all the time about the most cost-effective way to get the job done. I refuse to believe that most mechanics don't take the customers' best interest at heart. I'd like to continue thinking that they do.

At least "my guy" does...

Nick

[Anonymous]

Get some junk carbs for practice.

I went into a bone yard and found a set of 4 CV carbs laying in the mud. After gingerly taking them apart I found out how to do so without messing my good set up. I also discovered some things that I could not have known before diging into my good set. Like the throtle linkages are not connected. They fit together between the carbs, but come apart once you remove the choke rod and mounting bars.

[Anonymous]

These carbs are not near as complicated as most people think. These carbs have very few moving parts. They work on vacum and tiny orifices and passages that let the fuel be sucked thru the carbs, and head then into the cylinder. These passages can usually be cleaned with carb cleaner & starting fluid. Put one of the little straws on the aerosol can tip, hold it to one of the little holes, and spray. Keep looking till you find the other end of that passage, where the carb cleaner is coming out. Blow the cleaner thru from both ways, and be sure it is blowing thru freely.There are about 4 or 5 of these passages in each carb, and each of the carbs are the same. Be sure the jets are not cloged. You can spray carb cleaner thru them to see that they are open also. There are several little parts in there, and they all must be in the right places. Do 1 carb at a time. If you forget how it goes back, take the next carb apart, paying attention to how that part goes back. Two more things, be careful takeing the pins out that hold the floats in. The posts that hold the pins can be broke off; big problem. Also most GS's are cold natured, as they come from the factory, If you put in one size larger pilot jets, it will start better and warm up faster useing less choke. If you cannot pump your own gas or change your own oil, I wouldn't recommend trying it. But it's really not that big of a deal. By the time you complete the 4th carb, you'll realise how simple it is.