so i rejetted my 93 gs with 40 pilots and 150 mains. i shimmed the needle with 2 #4 washers and turned the air/fuel screw out 3 turns. i'm running a k&n lunchbox filter and am in the process of slicing off the old stock can to replace with a wileyco and flange courtesy of srinath.
before i cut the stock can off, i started her up to see how things are running and couldn't get it to idle right. the idle kept bogging down and eventually gas started dripping from the air filter. i checked the float height and it was high on one side and good on the other. so i tried adjusting the float high float and couldn't get it to work. every time i let fuel flow into the carbs, it ended up dripping out of the air filter. so i'm guessing that my needle valve isn't seating correctly. thing is, there is no visible wear on the end of the needle valve. should i just buy a carb rebuild kit and replace the valve and seat, or could it be something else?
oh yeah, i also managed to get a sunburn on the back of my neck! not bad for new york in march (wish i was out riding though:( thanks for any input.
After I put the carbs back together, I check the float height, and 50% of the time, one side or another doesn't look right. Tapping on the side of the float bowl with a screwdriver handle will fix it. I think that in my case, the float is just not rising smoothly, but once it gets tapped a bit, then it pops up and floats like it should.
Another thing, is that the float needle rises up into a little plastic tube. The tube itself can come out; it has an O-ring holding it into the carb body. If that o-ring quits, then I'd suspect that you'd get fuel coming down outside the tube, completely bypassing the needle.
OK Floats are hard to set on an old carb ... there is a spring inside the rubber needle and it tends to lose well ... springiness with age ... funny thing ... the other float is almost the same and you dont have trouble iwth it ... anyway ... take off the carbs and sit them on their head and yank off the bowls ... and set the bad one to the same eyeball level as the good one ... BTW ... when you put the botl back on ... it will push one part of the float assy tight against the carb body ... make sure you hold that tight against the carb body ... and eyeball ... I see waaay too many floats being off and they are all high ... with wear they all get high ... but 89 with 47K ran on its original floats ... you're fine ... just bend the tang into place and run it.
Cool.
Srinath.
Make sure your fuel switch below the seat is set to ON and not PRI (prime), Ive had that make a heck of a mess before.
thanks guys for the helpful hints. i've tried tapping the float bowl with a screw driver, but they don't seem to be responding. i think rema might have an answer with the worn gasket around the needle valve seat plastic thingy.
i did eyeball the high float back to the good float's height, but it still leaked after trying that. any other suggestions? i'm thinking the rebuild kit might be the way to go at this point...but i'll keep fiddling with it and see if i can find a >free< solution.
OK did it leak before your re jet ... if not ... its not the gasket ... Leaky gaskets leak when they are left to dry for a long period ... you take it off and put it back on ... if you didn't tear it ... shouldn't leak ... BTW was there a bunch of sealant in the area ... that being removed may be your reason for your leak ... You sprayed wd40 or silicone etc when opening and refitting the carbs right ... those things help gasket re gain its elasticity ... I'd say 90% your leak is not gasket ... unless you did one of the above ...
Cool.
Srinath.
I thought after reading everything that you only needed 1 #4 washer under the needle. You stated that you put 2. Could this be causing the problems?
the carbs weren't leaking before i took them apart, but of course now they are :x i did have one side apart and sitting around for about 10 days after i cleaned it, however i did spray everything down with wd-40. but that could have affected the gasket enough to make it leak, i guess...
so i'm getting the picture that the leak must be due to the floats not closing the needle valve properly. is this right?
That or somehting similar is my guess ... also if you fit it back with the gasket a bit out of its groove or removed sealant ... may be other reasons. maybe it was cranked down tighter before ... you replace them with allen head bolts right ... try tightening ... but be careful ... you'll tear the threads out in no time if you are over agressive ...
Cool.
Srinath.
yeah srinath, i replaced the stock bolts on the carb with allen heads and have tightened them right down. once i did that, the gas just found another way out...through the air filter. so i think i'll get a carb rebuild kit and replace that pesky needle valve and seat etc. thanks for all the suggestions. i'm sure i'll report back with results, hopefully positive ones.