Anybody done a carb cleaning/valve adjust on a 450?

[Erich Z]

Just wondering what parts I need. I know I need o-rings, but how many, where, what size, etc? Robert Barr (cycleorings.com) doesn't have them for these 2-cylinders.

Should I order any gaskets?

On the valve clearances, what size feeler guages do I need? Should I order that Suzuki tappet depressor?

Thanks

Erich

[matt_gs450]

Hi Erich,

I rebuilt the carbs on my 81 GS450 T last year. I ordered all OEM gaskets and rubber parts from bike-bandit.com I think. I'll check my receipts when I get home to see if there was anything else I bought.

I should update this page with a parts list and post-mortem at some point:

http://www.stupidcatchphrase.com/moto/gs450t/carb-rebuild/index.html

-Matt

[Nessism]

Just wondering what parts I need. I know I need o-rings, but how many, where, what size, etc? Robert Barr (cycleorings.com) doesn't have them for these 2-cylinders.

Should I order any gaskets?

On the valve clearances, what size feeler guages do I need? Should I order that Suzuki tappet depressor?

Thanks

Erich

Yes, you need the tappet tool. Clearance for the valves is very small - many feeler gauge sets don't low enough. Snap-on sells a set that works well for about $5 w/free shipping.

Regarding O-rings, I'm surprised Robert's kit won't work, you might want to email him for more info. The basic o-rings he supplies such as for the pilot screw, drain screw, needle valve seat, should be the same for all CV carbs...I think (my speculation).

New intake boot O-rings are a MUST.

Only gasket you need is the floatbowl.

[gs_schmuck]

A carburetor is a carburetor. Don't matter if there's 2 or 4. Go here and just do half the work: http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

cycleorings.com has intake O-rings for your model carbs. The internal O-rings should also work. Send him an email to be sure. You'll have to buy the float bowl gaskets. Or go with an OEM kit. Do you need carb boots too? Bikebandit or Flatoutmotorcycles can get you parts. Z1enterprises has cheap shims and the tappet tool.

You'll need a valve cover gasket. The valve adjustment is the same as the 4 cylinder motors. You'll just do half the work.

[Erich Z]

Thanks guys. I emailed Robert himself, and that's where I got the idea it wouldn't work. I don't know why either, but I'm obviously hardly an expert. I do, however, already have the intake O-rings from him.

Looks like I'll be ordering the parts tomorrow, doing the job maybe Tuesday.

[bwringer]

I just did this for a friend's GS450, and we used the o-rings from RB's kit. The carbs are pretty much the same as a 80-83 GS850.

You won't need some of the o-rings -- with only two carbs, for example, you don't need all the fuel tube o-rings -- but the pilot screw, needle seat, choke mechanism o-rings are all necessary.

RB wisely won't guarantee or claim that his kits will work for anything except bikes where he has personal experience with them.

But in my personal experience, my friend gambled $15 and the o-rings worked great. You do feel a little disappointed at all the leftover o-rings, but $15 is still well worth having two kits and not needing to track them down yerself. Worth every penny.

[Erich Z]

Good to know. I have the new tires on the bike, so next week is devoted to cleaning her up inside and out. I'm anticipating a good summer of riding! \\/

I don't see the tappet depressor. On this page, do I need a), or e)?

This a good feeler set?

[Nessism]

Tappet tool

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1696

Yes, those are the feeler gauges you need.

[bwringer]

Good to know. I have the new tires on the bike, so next week is devoted to cleaning her up inside and out. I'm anticipating a good summer of riding! \\/

I don't see the tappet depressor. On this page, do I need a), or e)?

This a good feeler set?

On the Sudco page, "A" is the one you need. It's available at Z1 and at CRC2 for $15-$20. Both also stock shims for $5 each.

Get a metric feeler gauge set, not one marked in inches. At some point, you're going to mistake thousands of an inch for hundredths of a millimeter and create all sorts of problems and confusion for yourself.

A set of metric gauges is about $5 at your nearest auto parts store. They usually only go from .04mm and up, but you don't really need a .03mm blade -- if the .04mm blade won't go in, you need to change that shim anyway.

There's a "BikeMaster" set of feeler gauges at BikeBandit that goes down to .03mm, but they were backordered for several weeks last time I checked.