Viton?

[raiddrten]

One of the satisfied users on Saber mentioned to make sure that you re-set the floats as the needles might be shorter.
UMMMkay.. The needles on my bike are probably not OEM in that the plunger thingees are not responding to my tender ministrations. The seats are Honda.

What concerns me the most about my situation is not knowing for sure what brass parts are original and which ones might have been replaced. When it comes to replacing the brass needles and jets, I wonder if the carb manufacturer still has them in the pipeline or they cross reference to another bike manufacturer who offers them at a better price? After all, Honda does not make those carbs.

One of the vendors listed on NGW did have what appeared to be a Japanese source for BUNA O-Rings, but they were not really that much cheaper if cheaper at all than Randakk when you consider all the other stuff that it would take to make a comparable kit.

I am gonna buy Mike Nixon's book and if i think i can accomplish the task then buy Randakks kit. Otherwise, I will send the carbs to Kokomo

[CYBORG]

i have used randakk kits. (viton.) i have also used kits from a japanese aftermarket supplier.( most likely nitrile rubber ) have also used Honda kits. dont know what Honda use, or rather, what material their supplier uses.
i have had no detrimental issues from any of these sources. but i choose to use Honda parts now, exclusively.

ps
petrol here in Australia must be marked as containing ethanol. fuel without ethanol is freely available everywhere.

Just a little off subject,...what percent of ethanol is in the fuel. And what percentage of non ethanol stations to those that are. And ours comes from corn, Brazil uses Sugar cane,....where does yours come from?

[ericheath]

Robin?

[robin1731]

One of the satisfied users on Saber mentioned to make sure that you re-set the floats as the needles might be shorter.
UMMMkay.. The needles on my bike are probably not OEM in that the plunger thingees are not responding to my tender ministrations. The seats are Honda.

What concerns me the most about my situation is not knowing for sure what brass parts are original and which ones might have been replaced. When it comes to replacing the brass needles and jets, I wonder if the carb manufacturer still has them in the pipeline or they cross reference to another bike manufacturer who offers them at a better price? After all, Honda does not make those carbs.

One of the vendors listed on NGW did have what appeared to be a Japanese source for BUNA O-Rings, but they were not really that much cheaper if cheaper at all than Randakk when you consider all the other stuff that it would take to make a comparable kit.

I am gonna buy Mike Nixon's book and if i think i can accomplish the task then buy Randakks kit. Otherwise, I will send the carbs to Kokomo

Who in Kokomo?
.

[AussieGold]

i have used randakk kits. (viton.) i have also used kits from a japanese aftermarket supplier.( most likely nitrile rubber ) have also used Honda kits. dont know what Honda use, or rather, what material their supplier uses.
i have had no detrimental issues from any of these sources. but i choose to use Honda parts now, exclusively.

ps
petrol here in Australia must be marked as containing ethanol. fuel without ethanol is freely available everywhere.

Just a little off subject,...what percent of ethanol is in the fuel. And what percentage of non ethanol stations to those that are. And ours comes from corn, Brazil uses Sugar cane,....where does yours come from?

maybe a little off topic , but all info is good info.
typically petrol stations here have several different grades of fuel.
standard unleaded. usually an octane level of 91 ( i seem to recall fuel is graded differently here, compared to US)
usually a premium unleaded , sometimes two. a 95 rating and a 98.
E10 unleaded , which contains 10 percent ethanol and now becoming more common, an E85 . 85 per cent ethanol.
ALL fuel containing Ethanol must be marked .

here is some more info. re ethanol fuel in AU.
http://biofuelsassociation.com.au/biofu ... ol-blends/

[CYBORG]

Thanks for the information

[Shadowjack]

Corn alcohol in the US.

[scootsx2]

Just a little off subject,...what percent of ethanol is in the fuel. And what percentage of non ethanol stations to those that are. And ours comes from corn, Brazil uses Sugar cane,....where does yours come from?

I have spent a LOT of time over the years doing work in Brazil. Ethanol is sold everywhere and just about every late model vehicle there, including some motorcycles, can run on 100% ethanol as well as any blend of gasoline and alcohol. The fuel systems are obviously able to handle the alcohol but I have no idea if they use Viton or a different material.

I sometimes rent a car on the weekend and have never experienced any driveability issues running it on 100% ethanol either.

[robin1731]

Just a little off subject,...what percent of ethanol is in the fuel. And what percentage of non ethanol stations to those that are. And ours comes from corn, Brazil uses Sugar cane,....where does yours come from?

I have spent a LOT of time over the years doing work in Brazil. Ethanol is sold everywhere and just about every late model vehicle there, including some motorcycles, can run on 100% ethanol as well as any blend of gasoline and alcohol. The fuel systems are obviously able to handle the alcohol but I have no idea if they use Viton or a different material.

I sometimes rent a car on the weekend and have never experienced any driveability issues running it on 100% ethanol either.

Huge difference between 100% and being able to run on other blends without a computer to change the tune. 100% requires different handling and fuel tank system.

.

[scootsx2]

Huge difference between 100% and being able to run on other blends without a computer to change the tune. 100% requires different handling and fuel tank system.

The vehicles run just fine and have a single fuel system. I am 100% confident that the engines are computer controlled and are probably fuel injected rather than carburated.

When I first started working in Brazil, the initial ethanol vehicles had a small separate tank for gasoline that was used for initial startup when the engine was cold. As the engine warmed up, the engine automatically switched to 100% ethanol.

The alcohol pumps even have hydrometers attached to them so you can see the water content of the ethanol.

[Shadowjack]

Dragracers use straight alcohol sometimes, and the fuel system has to be redesigned to supply about 20-25% more volume, IIRC. You can't just switch back and forth with a carb, but EFI can be programmed that way. That's what Flex-fuel is.

[fatalbert]

I would suggest some reading on the properties of viton which is available on the web. I spent days researching a material that was resistant to pao (poly alpha olefin, similar to synthetic motor oil) used on the F-22 aircraft for electronic cooling. Viton is superior to other materials for pao as well as gasoline spiked with alcohol.

Download the MSD data sheets for Viton as well as other materials used for O rings to understand the health hazards for any material. I would not want to breath the smoke from a burning motorcycle that used any gasket material.

Most of us are intelligent enough to get away from a burning vehicle. The ones not smart enough are part of the natural selection process.

I plan to use viton on my next carb overhaul. As a side note, if the model T was designed to run on Jack Daniels as well as poor grade gasoline, don't forget what the life expectancy was for a Model T engine compared to vehicles today.

[CYBORG]

Well said

[twowings]

Times change and materials have to change along with it. We have no input into the use and specification of ethanol fuels so I will use the products that can best cope with these changes.