So I'm going to be removing and cleaning my carb soon... first time pulling a carb apart, ever.

I've read through basically every carb related thread I can find here, so the point of this thread is to get as many tips and nuggets of wisdom as possible before making a basic mistake!!!!

What advice would you give a noob before letting them loose?

Ive just recently purchased my bike. Need to replace all the stripped screws and bolts from the previous owner first before getting stuck in to anything further. So I will leave more technical and individualised questions to for a later thread!

Cheers!

The 4 screws that hold the slide cap on can be really tight.  Use a real JIS screwdriver to get them loose (not a Phillips).  If you can't get them loose, then use needle nosed vice grips.  Don't use an impact, as you can break off the top of the carb when hitting the impact with a hammer.  Adding some heat with a soldering iron on each screw head can help.....don't use a torch.

When you have the pilot jet out and clean it - you should be able to see daylight through the tiny hole in the center.  If you can't see daylight, then take a small strand of copper wire out of an electric wire and use it to poke through the pilot jet to get any lodged dirt/varnish/crud loose.

1. Don't do it on a deck with gaps between the boards (don't ask me why!)
2. The air mix screw on the side of the carb has a spring, washer, and o-ring that are made for losing.
3. There's a brass washer on the main jet, it's important
4. The carb WILL come out, and go back in again, take your time
5. Have a space ready to lay out the parts, and time to take your time
6. If you have a significant other, tell them to resist the temptation to tidy up your stuff!
7. Wear gloves after you've cleaned everything and are re-assembling
8. The plate down the guts of the slider goes dimple-side down
9. All of the holes go somewhere. If you spray carb cleaner in a hole, it should, at least, drip out somewhere else
10. Wear safety glasses when spraying carb cleaner in the holes - it hurts if it gets in your eyes (don't ask me how I know!)
11. When reassembling, take the time to ensure the big spring is seated properly in the centre of the cap before tightening the screws (don't ask ... you get it!)

Good luck, it's very satisfying to ride the bike knowing it's humming because you cleaned up that bit under the seat ... said the guy with no experience!  

Cheers for the link Yoshi! Appreciate it.

IslandRoad - that's some good stuff, I like that point about the carb cleaner needing to come out somewhere. Simple but makes sense.
As per points 1 and 10..... happy someone else can make those mistakes for me hahaha
Hope you weren't crawling round searching for parts under the deck with carb cleaner soaked eyes!!

You should check the float height last,  just before replacing the float bowl. If the carb is very dirty ,you may want to remove the float valve seat to clean the tiny filter screen that sits above it, it needs to be put back in or it will change the valve operation and fuel height (another small object you don't want to loose).

Willaction wrote on 03/15/18 at 16:26:16:


I found out the hard way that guitar strings (same as piano wire) is way to strong for easily-damaged carb jets and passage.

If you must stick wires into various places, pull some strands out of a copper wire.  The copper wire strand is soft enough to not nick anything inside.

Yep, absolutely, getting everything absolutely clean and keeping it clean will pay back good dividends. 😉

I use an acetylene torch cleaning set for jets. Just don't go shoving a too fat one in..
Fingerprints on the slide will eventually become a problem.
Clean and dry, like a hot lightbulb.
The easiest way to check float height is tubing from the bowl drain nipple held up by the side of the bowl. That will show you the fuel level.
Inspect the tip of the needle for a groove.

If you're having trouble with the bolts
Stop
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