What ever you use, apply enough down force to keep the driver engaged.
They used thread lock so figure on a fight or use penetrating oil.
or a pair of vise grips on the head work great.
just don't break your neck  

One difference between US spec Phillips head drivers and Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) drivers, is that the blades on the JIS drivers are a little wider and fit the X of the screw more snugly. That means the US drivers wiggle in the X.

Also, JIS drivers are more blunt on the end because JIS Phillips screws have a shallower X. Many US drivers have a pointier end than JIS drivers of the same approximate size, which means they don't sit all the way into the X on JIS screws. That's the main cause of US drivers slipping and stripping the heads of JIS Phillips screws. So you can sometimes get a US driver to work sufficiently well on JIS screws by grinding a little off the tip. It will still wiggle in the X, but it will make better overall contact.

Or you can spend a few bucks for a set of JIS drivers, available online. I mean, if we're going to be working on Japanese bikes, it something we should have.

Believe Canadian cross head Screwdrivers are often Reed and Prince not phillips and would fit even worse than a phillips. Reed and Prince was once used in the furniture industry and often sold from a cardboard bucket on the counter in stores for cheap. Must have ruined alot of phillps screws. The Harbor freight has a 1/4 " drive impact driver that had a pretty good fit phillips bit.  Max

[quote author=414E544F535546444C4255270 link=1306373402/0#2 date=1306419923
But I didn't even attempt to try to loosen them by hand only. A long driver won't fit. A short driver won't work on the rear screws because the battery box is too close. [/quote]

You can loosen the hose clamps holding the carb in place, then, with a bit of muscle, push the top of the carb one way while pulling the bottom the other. Or vice versa.  There should be enough slack in the hoses and cable so you can angle the bowl outward enough to access the screws easier.

what worked for me was suggested by others...remove carb, use penetrating oil.  Lightly tap edge of each screw with a pin punch in both directions. Try screwdriver, and when that fails, which it will on at least 2 screws, use vise grips.

sure you can try it with the carb on the bike by why, simple to remove and way faster if and when you have a space to driver issue.

Just been there and done that.  

Grind a teeny weeny bit off


Yea,, thats the way the guy at the machine shop would explain it..


I worked at a shop that had a sign sayin

We do precision guesswork

Harbor Freight has a "small" impact driver for less than $10 which includes a few bits, one of which is a long shaft Phillips head that fits the tiny screws down inside the carb slide which need to be removed to do a white spacer mod
This makes quick and easy removal of those little buggers