is local shop full of bs? Help!

[toolordie]

I just got a 96 with 5k and was riding around and noticed that acceleration was slightly off.  Engine would bog down under full throttle
and power would surge sometimes. So I took it to a local shop for a general service and what i assumed would be a carb adjustment. The first call i received said that all i needed was to have the carbs sycronized, no big deal.  Well i called today and the dude said my floats are warped and wants like $42 a piece and new needles, seats etc. and wants to rebuild the carbs. So my question is. Has this ever happened to anyone else or heard of problems such as this. or is this dude full of Sh*%.  The bike really didn't run that bad. Thank you for any help.

[scratch]

No. Carb float bowls are far enough away and are insulated fairly well by the rubber boot.

[Kerry]

I'm no professional mechanic, but warped floats? What, in both carbs?  I could see an out-of-adjustment float level, or (one) punctured float, but how would a float get warped?  Nope, never heard of it.

For about 1 hour's worth of (questionable) mechanic's time you could have both a repair manual (Haynes or Clymer) and 2 carb rebuild kits shipped to your door.  Throw in a 10mm and 12mm socket with wrench, some standard screwdrivers and some needle-nose pliers and you can do everything yourself.

A carb synch job is conceptually even easier than a carb rebuild, but requires a couple of non-standard tools (which you can assemble  yourself).

[Kerry]

I didn't mean to imply that you actually NEED to synchronize your carbs or rebuild them.  But you could take them apart yourself for cleaning and inspection, decide if any parts are needed, and then put the bike back together so you can ride while you wait for parts (IF you need them).

[werase643]

the nice gentlemen at A$$ rape-ing motors ......when synching the carbs.....yhey would never look at the floats since that involves removing the carbs....and they will not remove the carbs for 42 bucks.....so I think this myth is BUSTED!!!!!

[JLKasper]

I've never heard of warped floats, but perhaps they're sticking and giving inconsistent float level readings.  I'd but the rebuild kits, inspect float movement and check float level yourself after reassembling.  It's fiddly but not difficult.