Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, motorcycling (been riding since June), and the Savage/Boulevard S40 in general (purchased a used 2007 back in July). So far I have fumbled through the petcock replacement (after an hilarious/embarrassing first ride with the wife mishap) and a muffler swap with relatively few hiccups. The muffler swap (Harley Wide-Glide slash cut) has been within the last week and much to my surprise I have not had any new issues with the carburetor that would lead me to believe a re-jet is necessary.

The bike has tended to stumble a bit mid-throttle in the lower gears ever since I bought it, even with the stock muffler installed. This leads me to believe that I need to do the white spacer mod. After figuring out how to remove the carb and remove the problematic cover screws (replacing with socket-head screws of course) I failed to get the needle cover screws out of the diaphragm - I was on the verge of stripping them. Does anyone have a clue as to the screw size / a reasonable method to remove them without drilling them out with a reverse bit? Thanks.

Harbor freight sells a impact driver about the size of a fat pencil.

Place the slide on a smooth surface when you're using it.

From the factory, all screws have some sort of locktite on them.

Sometimes all you need is a JIS driver and a lotta luck.

Thanks all. Would this be the impact driver you mentioned above or are you talking a small pneumatic ratchet?

http://www.harborfreight.com/impact-screwdriver-set-with-case-37530.html

dang... pretty hard to find.  goto harbor freight, probably hanging there waiting for you.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Central-Forge-7-Piece-Impact-Driver-Set-1-4-Hex-Head-...

I adapted a 60 year old KD Manufacturing Impact Driver to work on the carburetor on my S40. The KD has a 3/8" square drive and I purchased 3/8" to 1/4" adapter. I then use a quarter inch extension with the appropriate socket for a long Phillips Head Bit that I ground the head to fit those tiny screws.

I hold the carburetor in a Black & Decker WorkMate to work on it.

If you have a skinny enough soldering iron reach down in there and heat the screws long enough to break the sealer and then one light whack with a hammer on the Impact Driver and the screws pop right out.

I replaced the screws with true Phillips Head Metric plated steel screws from ACE Hardware 3mm x 6.

Impact Driver Pic attached.

Kenny G

Armen,

I have one of the Vessel Impact Drivers and the point on the screw driver tip is longer than a JIS screwdriver.

I did grind the Vessel down, but I still use my KD Manufacturing Impact Driver more often than not.

I am just saying.

Kenny G

Thanks for all the tips - Harbor Freight is across town and kind of a pain in the ass to get to.... I may look into one of the skinnier alternatives available online. I'm in the midwest and trying to take advantage of all the (few) remaining nice days left this season. Will have to wait until the weekend to disassemble the carb again....