GL1000 Carbs and Backfiring

[DocRoot]

Thanks Robin! Mike and Barrie and I had a discussion about this very topic on the morning of the switch. I know some of the other Super Wrenchers have chimed in on both sides of this discussion, and I will do some close-ups of the boots to document the risk (this camera does close-ups really well) to further my own understanding. I am a huge fan of Randakk and watch his video before every carb-job, but I have found a few places where I do things differently and will add this to the (very small) list...

[Mike-C]

Hi Gary;
Do not over extend yourself, but I guess you know that. As far as the air cutoff valve goes, I'll ask Barrie, but I seem to remember putting it in a clear plastic box on top of your tool box in the barn. As you said, the screws are all messed up, some I had to re-tap to 8-32 UNF thread.
Thanks Again;
Mike Coleman
'84 Wing-Lite (ex-Aspencade)
'84 un-Terstate
'84 Standard (as yet un-named)
'84 Standard (Black Betty)

[DocRoot]

Found it, just as you said!

[DocRoot]

If you turn the intakes that tab eats the rubber. I know Randakk has shown this. But it isn't good for the rubber boots.

Right you are! Each of the boots has a tear where the indexing lug once fit... I will do it differently in the future.
The good news is that the boots are pliable and in otherwise pretty good shape.

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[DocRoot]

Gettin' organized

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Rusty iron parts go in the Blackstrap

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Off with the hoses - one clamp is broken

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... but they all hold vacuum. Jet 115 is correct but Randakk suggests filling and re-drilling with a micro #59 bit to fix the "off idle flat spot"

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[DocRoot]

things look pretty clean

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the Slides glide smoothly

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and the jets are correct and in the right position. The jets all look brand new.

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[DocRoot]

Things on this side aren't quite so nice. Mike had said he re-tapped several floatbowl screws, but several more felt a bit wobbly

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A failed HeliCoil (they do that)

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Someone already numbed the Floatbowls: "1" for both left bowls and "2" for both rights - I can work with that (keeping the drains toward the center will differentiate each pair)

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Two Primary Fuel Jets had damaged O-Rings

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... and it's no wonder - the rims of the jet borings are very rough

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[DocRoot]

The float pins came out easily

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a little crocus cloth will fix the roughness

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Float on glass: the floats are nice and flat but several are off square

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Mike put in lovely new Honda FloatPins

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But the screens, though brand new and protected by a fuel filter, are dirty... maybe the mechanic who recently worked-over these carbs didn't purge the fuel lines ,or maybe there remained crud in the fuel chanels of the carbs

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[DocRoot]

All the tubes fell out - easy!

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and the pucks all came out with compressed air

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Open the butterfly to view the ports

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But this port is only drilled on carb #1 (it goes to the air cutoff valve)

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[DocRoot]

the Idle Jet un-screws (under the rubber plug)

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Compressed air in the puck-hole blows out the jet (cover the hole so the jet doesn't fly)

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#35 Idle Jet is TINY!, and two of them were partially closed with something

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and the idle adjusters and springs

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[DocRoot]

Review: So far I am seeing decent cleanliness, the floats appeared to be on-target, and jets were in the right position and mostly clean. I think the previous mechanic did what he claimed: new gaskets, new or cleaned jets and tubes. The plenum gaskets and seals hold vacuum, so they are probably new too, although the crud in the float valve screens makes me wonder a bit; and he should never have put the carbs back on the bike with stripped-out float bowl screws.

Issues: Float bowl Screws, Primary Jet O-Rings, clean up the rims of the jet bores

Next: Everything brass will go into carb-clean, put the Chorme Rails back on, split the Plenum, take off the Carb halfs, and ultrasonic clean the crud out of the channels. Then re-assemble with Time-Serts and good screws installed. The only damaged rubber I found was the two primary jet O-Rings... should all this new (brand X) rubber be replaced with Vitol?

[Mike-C]

Hi Gary;
You are embarrassing me with your thoroughness! You are finding jets and orifices in places I would have never thought to look. The bowl screws were dodgy at best.
Thank you
Mike Coleman
'84 Wing-Lite (ex-Aspencade)
'84 un-Terstate
'84 Standard (as yet un-named)
'84 Standard (Black Betty)

[robin1731]

The small bowl screws can strip easily. When people try to way over tighten them. This is the place for time-serts rather than heli-coils because they are so small. The dirt in the float valve screens could be from the fuel pump. Many people clean the carbs and even the tank and lines but then don't clean the pump.

[DocRoot]

You are finding jets and orifices in places I would have never thought to look.

For my first carb, I watched the Randak video all the way thru several times and made an index for quick reference - then I played it on a laptop on one corner of the table and paged thru Octane's incredible post on another while I did the work... between the two of them I somehow got it right enough to keep trying. I haven't done a carb all winter, so I reviewed them both before starting on yours. Patient and dogged I am: Wrenching Titan? not so much!

[DocRoot]

un-hook the linkages (no lost sproingy pieces!)... split the plenum halves

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Separate the carb set from the plenum using a #3 driver for this and the previous step

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The Chrome Rail (with nice fresh screws) holds the pairs together so the butterflys don't move and bind

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looks clean

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Out come the gaskets

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