Splitting 4 Katana 600 carbs .

[gs400e]

Hi everybody !
I'm looking for replacement carbs for a gs400e '83 ( bs34ss ) and for a gs500e ( '89 - '96 : bst33 ) . The gs400e ( also know as gsx400 twin ) is a Cdn model 8 valves ( not the 450ed yankee one ) . Since is impossible to get new oem carbs for these bikes , I'm looking for substitute .
I catch in local adds a guy who sell a set ( ramp of four ) of Katana 600 '03 carbs . These carbs are bs32 . Beside the fact of rejetting , I want to know if it's difficult to spread apart the ramp . Maybe the two inners carbs don't have to be split ( don't know the distance between manifold on the kat ) .
Want to know if someone was doing this type of splitting before : Separate a ramp of four carbs for individual use or dual use like I want to do. Thanks to all in advance .

[Larry D]

Uhhmmm.......why do you want to replace them ?

[gs400e]

Carbs bst33 bs34ss substitute

With all the varnish inside the old one , it<s seem easier to put new one .

[Larry D]

I don't believe these are your specific carbs.....but, you could do the same thing. A bucket of Berryman's is much cheaper and easier to find.

http://www.thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

[Steve]

Each of the carbs is specific to its location. The #1 carb from a 4-cylinder rack and the #1 carb from a 2-cylinder rack might be the same, but none of the rest of them would interchange.

On a 4-cylinder rack:
#1 has fuel and vent openings on the right side, throttle shaft hook-up on the right.
#2 has fuel openings on both sides, vent on the left, throttle connections on both sides.
#3 has fuel openings on both sides, vent on the right, throttle connections on both sides and the pulley for the throttle cable.
#4 has fuel and vent openings on the left side and throttle connection on the left.

On a 2-cylinder rack:
#1 has fuel and vent openings on the right side, throttle shaft hook-up on the right.
#3 has fuel and vent openings on the left side (like #4 above), but must also have the pulley for the cable.

.

[Nessism]

With all the varnish inside the old one , it<s seem easier to put new one .

Are you joking?

[gs400e]

No , I m not joking Nessism .
Thanks Steve for all the plumbing details I don,t even think before . The four pack from the Kat are almost new that why it,s seem to me easier to replace than scrubbing the varnish , unplug all the passage of the old set .
But now with the plumbing details I realize it,s not only a matter of sawing throttle shaft and putting some pulleys . Thanks .
Another questions for carbs substitute ; What do yo thinks about putting brand new VM round slide series mikuni carbs from sudco ^ .The only thing I remenber about round slide it s are more common on two strokes and could induce a flat spot in 4 strokes application ( no accelerator pump here ) .

[Nessism]

No , I m not joking Nessism .
Thanks Steve for all the plumbing details I don,t even think before . The four pack from the Kat are almost new that why it,s seem to me easier to replace than scrubbing the varnish , unplug all the passage of the old set .
But now with the plumbing details I realize it,s not only a matter of sawing throttle shaft and putting some pulleys . Thanks .
Another questions for carbs substitute ; What do yo thinks about putting brand new VM round slide series mikuni carbs from sudco ^ .The only thing I remenber about round slide it s are more common on two strokes and could induce a flat spot in 4 strokes application ( no accelerator pump here ) .

GS 550/750/850/1000's all used VM carbs (without an accelerator pump) until Suzuki switched to CV type in 1980.

[Steve]

The VM carbs are a different size. They would require different boots to the cylinder head. I don't know if the head itself would have to be changed.

Back to your carbs ... WHAT SCRUBBING? If you simply follow the carb cleaning guide, you will see that you disassemble the carbs, keep the parts for each carb together with that carb. Keep the rubber parts separate, dunk ALL the metal parts in Berryman's Carb Cleaner Dip for 24 hours. When they come out, that varnish will be GONE. You will still want to use a strand of copper wire to poke through all the holes in all the jets to make sure there is nothing plugging them, then spray some carb cleaner spray through all the jets and follow that with compressed air. You will also want to spray through all the passages in the carb body and the float bowl.

Note that this will take four full days, one day for each carb. While you are waiting for your carbs in "the dip", contact Robert Barr at cycleorings.com to get a set of o-rings for the carbs and intake boots (if your bike uses them, some don't). Re-assemble everything with your new o-rings (and bowl gaskets, if you needed to order some) do a bench sync and put the carbs back on the bike.

Unless you want to get gung-ho with the little bit of dirt left in the little corners on the outside of the carb body, there will be no scrubbing involved. The whole process is time-consuming, but relatively easy.

And, if you got another rack of carbs, you have no idea what their condition is, so you would likely have to do this to them, too.

Also, whatever you do, DON'T GO SAWING THE THROTTLE SHAFT

.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. gs400e,

I'm glad you found us. I don't believe we've met. Let me say "Hi"...

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[gs400e]

saw massacre

Ok Steeve I'm gonna stay away from the saw , but I allready gently ...rub ...hum the internal of my old bs34ss with 3m pads ( with a lot of electrical cleaner ) . The electrical cleaner was very strong , just hope all the o-ring resist .
Somebody here talk about "bucket of berryman" ... At the local Canadian-Tire store there's not a wide choice of strong cleaner . With a name like berryman I will rather look at the S.A.Q. ( Société des alcools du Québec : liquor store ) ...maybe... burp .
Anyway I am very not sure to take the round slide VM way , cause after reading a lot of blog ,( for cb350 twins carbs conversion ) It's seem very hard to reach the right jet / needle combo .

[Steve]

The electrical cleaner was very strong , just hope all the o-ring resist .

Just because it was "strong" does not mean that it's the right solvent for the job.

I work with medical equipment in hospitals. We had some IV pumps come down to our shop with some brown gunk on them and, of course, we had to clean it off before we could work on the pump. Alcohol did not phase it. Contact cleaner did not phase it. Goo Gone (adhesive remover) did not phase it. Even after going through all three chemicals, it was still there. Next, we held the pump under warm running water and watched the goo simply disappear. Apparently, water is "stronger" than the other three?

I hope your o-rings resisted, too, but you will be far better off if you order new o-rings from cycleorings.com. Chances are that the o-rings in your carbs now are the originals and they are in considerably less than perfect condition.

.

[79 sh850]

... At the local Canadian-Tire store there's not a wide choice of strong cleaner.

For cleaning carbs, I use Motomaster Carburetor and Combustion Chamber cleaner from Canadian Tire (product #38-0700-6). This stuff works beautifully at dissolving the goo and doesn't eat rubber like a lot of other carb cleaning products do. The brass bits actually come out shinny after a soak in this stuff. The directions state to pour it in the tank and run the engine, but I usually have used it as a dip.

What I do is strip all the parts off the carbs and soak the bodies. The brass bits get soaked as well, but only as long as it takes to clean out the small holes in the jets etc. (I use a stainless steel tea strainer to keep the parts together). By holding them up to the light, you can make sure they are clear (the poke-a-small-wire-through method works as well, but I have only ever had to do it once). I use regular carb cleaning spray (CT product #38-0720-8) on the bodies once they come out of the dip to make sure all the passages are clear before reassembly (keep this stuff away from any rubber parts since it will chew them up in short order). Replacing all the o-rings as someone suggested is also an excellent idea, esp if they are dried and cracked.

[1_v8_merc]

Just clean the carbs like in the links he provided before.
Replace any worn parts, re-assemble and sync.

They have plenty of youtube videos on how to clean or rebuild the carbs.
It's a piece of cake.

Buying new or used carbs without first looking at your current ones......well that's just crazy!

Just clean what ya got.