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I’ve had the opportunity to remove and replace my carbs twice in the last few months, and will try to pass on what I’ve learned. I know from reading the Forum that I’m not the only one who’s found this difficult. I also am sure there are plenty of people with even better ideas and information, and hope they’ll contribute here.
My bike is a 1980 GS550E. From my Haynes manual, it may be easier on some other GSes because their air box can be moved back farther.
1st loosen the air box; two screws and one bolt. Then it can move back a little and be wiggled around a little to make space.
Then remove the air-box-to-carb boots. My best approach so far is to take the ring clamps entirely off and use a bent 1/8” rod (like a very long-handled allen wrench) to push in the rubber and free it from the air-box flange. With these boots removed, the carb throats have room to move back into the air box.
Pry the carbs back from the inner boots to work them loose. It helps to unbolt the outer two carbs first (possible if you already have Allen-head bolts. Even with Allen-heads I can’t unbolt the inner two. Definitely use Allen-head bolts on reassembly). Work the carbs out of the frame.
For reassembly, just reverse the process. If you plan ahead, somebody on this forum provides new O-rings at a reasonable cost. I didn’t plan ahead, so I applied Permatex before reassembly. It’s a little difficult to get the air-box boots on last, but it’s worth it to have them off while attaching the carbs to the engine. My special bent-wire encourager helps a lot. Have the throttle cable attached before putting the carbs in place. Maybe the choke cable too, although I’ve been able to attach it after the carbs are in.
That’s what I know. I hope it helps.
The first time I didn’t loosen the air box because my often-misleading Haynes manual didn’t suggest it. I tore all the carb boots off their flanges. I fixed them with a glue which is working, but next time would use Permatex Black Rubber Sealant, recommended by the Permatex technical representative. It would probably be good for tears in the boot as well.
My bike is a 1980 GS550E. From my Haynes manual, it may be easier on some other GSes because their air box can be moved back farther.
1st loosen the air box; two screws and one bolt. Then it can move back a little and be wiggled around a little to make space.
Then remove the air-box-to-carb boots. My best approach so far is to take the ring clamps entirely off and use a bent 1/8” rod (like a very long-handled allen wrench) to push in the rubber and free it from the air-box flange. With these boots removed, the carb throats have room to move back into the air box.
Pry the carbs back from the inner boots to work them loose. It helps to unbolt the outer two carbs first (possible if you already have Allen-head bolts. Even with Allen-heads I can’t unbolt the inner two. Definitely use Allen-head bolts on reassembly). Work the carbs out of the frame.
For reassembly, just reverse the process. If you plan ahead, somebody on this forum provides new O-rings at a reasonable cost. I didn’t plan ahead, so I applied Permatex before reassembly. It’s a little difficult to get the air-box boots on last, but it’s worth it to have them off while attaching the carbs to the engine. My special bent-wire encourager helps a lot. Have the throttle cable attached before putting the carbs in place. Maybe the choke cable too, although I’ve been able to attach it after the carbs are in.
That’s what I know. I hope it helps.
The first time I didn’t loosen the air box because my often-misleading Haynes manual didn’t suggest it. I tore all the carb boots off their flanges. I fixed them with a glue which is working, but next time would use Permatex Black Rubber Sealant, recommended by the Permatex technical representative. It would probably be good for tears in the boot as well.
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