question about damaged vm29's.

i was talking with the owner of a local shop yesterday about some parts that he had.

he mentioned that he had a set of 29's that the threads for the emulsion tubes were stripped. he said that he was planning to heli-coil them when he found the proper ones for it, and that he would be willing to sell them.

my question is this: will the carbs even be worth a damn if they are repaired in this method? or, is the only way to fix them to replace the carb bodies(not happenin)?

the opinion that i hold of it, is that even though the carbs would be functional, that they would NOT be worth much money, due to this fact.

given my druthers, i'd ruther have a set that hasn't been brought back from booger central.

--r

There would be nothing wrong with the carb bodies - the needle jets screw into a separate component called the jet block - this is a removeable part that makes the 29's a smoothbore.

I've seen a few different attempts to repair the thread at the bottom of the jet block, and if done properly, I think they would work fine.

I do not think a heli-coil will work though - the cast metal just doesn't have enough meat around the outside for this type of repair. I have seen brass inserts put in them and drilled and tapped to solve the problem.

Value: If the rapair is done properly, I do not see it impacting value as the carbs would probably be better rather than worse...

jeff, thank you for clarifying this for me. i am striving to understand all i can about things before spending any money.

i was just referencing the exploded diagram on sudco's page for the vm's. i see exactly what you are talking about. i made an assumption on my prior experience which was all based on vm26's and 28's. similar, but different beasts.

i've never had the guts of a set of 29's in my hands, just ridden a couple bikes with them installed. there is a very distinctive feel to a bike with them on it. throttle response is very immediate, and some of the coughing and spitting, well most of that, is gone.

i'd budgeted in about 400 for a set of these for my street bike, so his price of 350 isn't too far out of line. i guess it all depends on how well the jet-blocks are repaired, as you say. and that depends on his level of expertise as a machinist.

--r

which local hero has them?i dont want them ,im just trying to get an idea how good the repair was done.im familiar with the work of most of them around here!:whistle:

wire, i'll send you a PM on this.

--r