Adjusting pilot fuel screw

[alke46]

Is there some kind of a special trick to adjusting the pilot fuel screws. I am working on a '79 GS 1000 with vm carbs and am able to easily adjust the screws on # 1 and # 4 but those two inside carbs are real bears to get to. What sort of special tricks are employed by the forum guys to do this? Thanks, Larry

[Nessism]

Set the screws with the carbs off the bike. A 1" long screwdriver tip can get to them also.

[alke46]

But then don't you have to adjust them on the bike for the fine tuning?

[mighty13d]

if you unbolt the tank you can just lift the tank up a little and stick your hand in there with a small screwdriver.

[Nessism]

if you unbolt the tank you can just lift the tank up a little and stick your hand in there with a small screwdriver.

You're thinking of CV carbs, VM carb pilot fuel screws come in from the bottom.

On my old VM equipped 550, I set the fuel screws to 3/4 - 7/8 turn from seated and it ran well. Played with the air screw a little which are easy to get to.

[mighty13d]

You're thinking of CV carbs, VM carb pilot fuel screws come in from the bottom.

On my old VM equipped 550, I set the fuel screws to 3/4 - 7/8 turn from seated and it ran well. Played with the air screw a little which are easy to get to.

I guess I should not post when I'm half asleep! I totally missed the whole point about them being VM carbs! haha

[hampshirehog]

Wear asbestos gloves if tuning the fuel screws on your bike when it's warm (as it should be). It's blo*dy hot in there and - I've got the burns (several times - you think I'd learn) to prove it.

Or, as Nessism says, around 3/4 - 7/8 of a turn out with the carbs off is usually good enough for you to tweak things with the idle air screw. And if you're really lucky you might still have the original factory marks still showing where the fuels screws should be set to - tiny dots that line up with the screw around 1 turn out.