Gimme the low-down on a carb clean/rebuid?

Ok, so I know there are a ton of write ups and stuff on cleanin carbs and such, but I just want to hear basically how hard it will be for me to do on the difficulty scale. I have zero experience with carburettors and the thought of having to get them all off, clean them, then tune them so they all work well together scares the crap out of me. The biek runs now, albeit, like crap, but a running bike is better for me now that a non-running bike because I royaly screwed something up.

So I guess the real question is, is a clean and tune something that a novice liek myself can do? And what tips, tools etc do y'all suggest before I take a crack at this?

I just want to make sure I have everythign I have on hand that I'll need so I can basically start it and finish it over a weekend without having to run out for for things I hould have had in the beginning.

Thanks again.

It realy depends on what you want to do. If your just looking for a cleanup (the place to begin) there really isnt all that much to it. You should get new bowl gaskets and o-rings (available from Z1 . They also have carb rebuild kits that include some jets.

For tools, you really dont NEED to much special. A namometer is needed for on bike carb synching, but Ive gotten by fairly well (until recently) with a bench synch. Other than that basic mechanics tools, small sockets (I belive 8mm and 10mm) compressed air is handy for blowing passages and jets out,compressed air is handy for blowing jets and passages out. Some containers for small parts, if you have a digicam Id even go so far as to take pics of things. Your best off to work with one at a time obviously, so in case there is a problem you have something to refer too.

Im sure there are going to be other people putting their advice in also, hopefully. As long as you are careful it shouldnt be too big of a job.

Unless the carbs are in really really bad shape it's not that bad really. I've never had to separate the individual units - ie take them off the rack. Get a manual or print of a parts diagram from kawasaki.com. Get 4 glasses or bowls numbered 1 -> 4 to hold the little bits / jets, Get the rebuild kits like Dan says. You can get replacement screws at Canadian Tire - look for the section with the little drawers. Look in Macs or 7 / 11 for spray carb cleaner in a yellow can. I think Gunk make it. Get a pair of safety glasses - very very important. You may need a set of tiny screwdrivers from the dollar store it you want to screw out the various jets.
Soak the jets in carb cleaner. Spray carb cleaner in every hole you can find. Make sure you use the glasses because when you spray in one hole the stuff is going to shoot out somewhere unexpected. While the jets are soaking go to a filling station and blow lots of compressed air through every hole you can see.
Put everything back together and unless you make a mess of a screw thread or something similar you you should be good to go...... or at least get ready to synchronise.
Hope this helps
..............................................................................................
Woodstock ON Canada
1980 kz750E1, 4->1, K&N pods

It's not that bad. Just be orderly and do one carb at a time. I took everything apart and layed it all out like an exploded part diagram. I then took a carb, worked on it, put it back in place and went to the next. I used varsol (mineral spirits) as my first cleaner, then spray carb cleaner. The Varsol is smelly and you need serious ventilation, but it is cheap (walmart) and cleaned the gunge off/out as slick as shit through a goose. I was very meticulous in my cleaning.

carb rack

I just followed what this guy did. He was quite friendly, a wonderfull chap all round I'd say!
luvmykaw

Post edited by: gas, at: 2006/03/30 23:12

For guys who take the time to understand how things work or are supposed to work, carbs are easy. For guys who follow recipes and 'good practice' they are not too bad but results will be mixed. For reefer token paint by number guys there's a lot of luck involved. For crankheads, if they ever do go back together at all, there will be a lot of epoxy, filing, and attempts at fitting numbered screws into metric holes.

Gentle with the float pins!

I look at a lot of "used bike for sale" stuff.

I have seen first hand what so called dollar general
carb cleaner can do. It can melt rubber, well you know the rest of the story, be careful.

lemo32 wrote:

I have seen first hand what so called dollar general
carb cleaner can do. It can melt rubber, well you know the rest of the story, be careful.

Um, pretty much all carb cleaners will melt rubber. That's why i spray it on and then hit it with compressed air soon afterwards.

do not forget the emulsion tubes, one in each carb...makes the difference from a bad running carb to a good one. and they're easy to take out. alot of folks forget to clean these.