Carborator questions?

[klimber]

when i jeted the bike and when adding the washer I  noticed that one of the needles was a bit bent , not much but enough i coudl tell, will this effect anything much

also

the diaphrams didn't seat very well and almost looked too big, i could tell they had been creased a bit  but i put them back in , they did overlap a bit and seated them the best i could and tightened everything back up again,

shoudl they sit perfectly in the groove, they are a pretty flexible rubber, how will this effect performance

i did notice a positive difference after jetting but wonder if maybe it isn't as good as it is supposed to be?

[The Buddha]

Bent needle is bad...The diaphragms will sorta expand when wettet with Gas+ carb cleaner but should go back to original size when they dry off and shouls fully sit in the groove. If it slips out and you tighten the screws it will get cut. Again very bad. You could put in some rubber cement in the grove and sit it in the groove and hold it there by hand with the cap. but be very very careful to line it right and not twist it. once its in place you can take off the top, see it and then bolt it back in.
Cool.
Srinath.

[klimber]

so what is bad in reference to a slightly bent needle?

[JamesG]

it will not meter fuel correctly and it will bind and wear the needle jet (the brass tube it goes into).
replace it.

The diaphrams sound like they are fine. They are always a Buddha Loves You to seat, that is normal.  What I like to do is put them in the freezer for half an hour so they get cold and shrink up a bit. Then put them on with the rubber in the fully extended position. put them on there and then push the slide down while holding the edge of the diaphram in the groove.

[The Buddha]

I hae in the past seen ads for titanium jet kits and they advertised that their needle were titanium...and I just laughed saying why...the needle weighed too much??? thinking only of weight savings. Now there is one more reason why titanium will help. Harder to bend. There is another reason. On my friends 86 1100 GSXR he thought it got very rich and ran like crap at 20K...never could figure out why, changed carbs and with 40K again started getting rich and ran like crap...Now that it has 70K he believes the needle is sustaining wear and getting thinner cos it seems to have worn a step in it. The basic idea is that the needle can affect you even if it has so less wear you dont even see it. However if you use it till you get a needle (they not too expensive - $12 or so from catalogs and 35 will get you DJ kit from K&N and it has the needle cut to DJ specs in it) and you can do a stage 1 rejet you should be OK. It will quite possibly run crappy on 1 cyl but not do any more harm...Just replace it before it breaks off or something. That will be bad. Dont try to bend it back...it increases the chances of it breaking off.
Cool.
Srinath.