Need help identifying....VM29-A7 Smoothbores?

Parts are ordered.

Question:

When I am putting in the jets should I wrap teflon tape around the threads to ensure a proper seal... how about anti-seize so I do not have to fight as hard to get them back off? I am worried these are just things that could potentially cause something to get clogged and really will serve no benefit.

Also, what about the gaskets? Any extra sealer suggested?

Thanks for your time everyone!

BrockSamson wrote: Parts are ordered.

Question:

When I am putting in the jets should I wrap teflon tape around the threads to ensure a proper seal... how about anti-seize so I do not have to fight as hard to get them back off? I am worried these are just things that could potentially cause something to get clogged and really will serve no benefit.

Also, what about the gaskets? Any extra sealer suggested?

Thanks for your time everyone!

Personally, I wouldn't introduce any extra sealer or teflon tape into a carburetor. There are some very tiny passages that would be easily blocked if something were to come loose. The main reason that jets seize in carburetors is the varnish that is created when old gas evaporates. If you keep the bike running, it should be fine with no anti-sieze IMO. I have been advised to smear a little chap-stick on the float bowl gaskets to prevent them being torn when removing float bowls for jet changes. You can also use the chap-stick on the top cap gaskets as well. I have tried that, and it seems to work.

BrockSamson wrote: Parts are ordered.

Question:

When I am putting in the jets should I wrap teflon tape around the threads to ensure a proper seal... how about anti-seize so I do not have to fight as hard to get them back off? I am worried these are just things that could potentially cause something to get clogged and really will serve no benefit.

Also, what about the gaskets? Any extra sealer suggested?

Thanks for your time everyone!

Use no sealer or lube of any kind inside your carbs(jets, emulsion tubes, etc...). Now the bowl screws or the top cover screws are a different story. I use a touch of anti-sieze on those sometimes.
Brock, I hope you realize that you have run across the Holy Grail of Mikuni when you picked up the 29mm smoothbores. I personally hate you now . :lol: just kidding man.
I screwed around years ago and let a buddy talk me out of my set and have regretted it ever since.
Good luck with your rebuild. Sounds like you have plenty advice pointing you in the right direction.

BrockSamson wrote: Parts are ordered.

Question:

When I am putting in the jets should I wrap teflon tape around the threads to ensure a proper seal... how about anti-seize so I do not have to fight as hard to get them back off? I am worried these are just things that could potentially cause something to get clogged and really will serve no benefit.

Also, what about the gaskets? Any extra sealer suggested?

Thanks for your time everyone!

Use no sealer or lube of any kind inside your carbs(jets, emulsion tubes, etc...). Now the bowl screws or the top cover screws are a different story. I use a touch of anti-sieze on those sometimes.
Brock, I hope you realize that you have run across the Holy Grail of Mikuni when you picked up the 29mm smoothbores. I personally hate you now . :lol: just kidding man.
I screwed around years ago and let a buddy talk me out of my set and have regretted it ever since.
Good luck with your rebuild. Sounds like you have plenty advice pointing you in the right direction.

testarossa, thank you again for the advice!

blackZ1R, thanks for the advice and I really did get lucky. I had no idea what I had until I started asking the Honda guys what they knew about them. Two of them told me to come here because you guys would have the most experience. I definitely do not regret taking that advice.

I get all the rebuild parts tomorrow and will be diving into that. I am really excited because the bike was running like $#%$ and after pulling them apart and seeing all the gunk in the jets I am very confident the bike will run much better.

Alright. I think I got everything back together correctly! It actually went very well. I do have one question did I put in the float valve needle right side up? I am nearly certain I did. It is the picture with the red box and arrow pointing to it.

Thanks!

yes thats correct

A couple of things left to check. Did you separate the carb bodies? If so, then be sure to perform a bench sync to get the slides close to the same height. If you didn't separate the bodies, then the slides should be close enough. Also, if you didn't separate them, then make sure there is no gunk stuck in the fuel crossover tubes. That will wreck your cleanout in a hurry. Once you get them re-mounted a vacuum sync will get you idling and running best. I bet you will be smiling in no time.

I actually did not separate the carb bodies. I had thought about doing so just to clean them up but changed my mind.

How would you suggest checking for gunk in the fuel crossover tubes?

Remove the float needles and use aerosol carb cleaner to blow throught the passages from both sides. Follow up with compressed air. You can just put the tube from the carb cleaner in the fuel inlet tee, and then each of the four float valves. Make sure that you get good flow in both directions.

Yep! Already did that. Decided to run carb cleaner through all of those passages.

I am anticipating it being a long night getting the carbs back on and getting the bike started up but I will try to post and let you know the results. Hopefully I will be posting a video of the bike running

Well I left my cellular telephone at home and worked on the bike in my buddies garage... so no video or pictures but...

Got the carbs on, hooked up the pull throttle cable, attached the fuel line and after a few kicks she started right up! Idle is very very steady. So that is great! I will need to get the pod filters on and mess with the air screws... but all is great so far. There was one thing that went very very wrong...

I had taken the seat and the tank off. There was very little gas in the tank. To avoid the fuel leaking out the bottom (where the valve for the fuel is... it made sense at the time) I thought it would be a great idea to store it upside down. So after we get the carbs on I go to grab the tank. I pick up the tank and something catches my eye, the gas cap had been slowly leaking gas for two weeks... it completely ruined the paint. I will have to take pictures, it is comical. Thankfully the paint job was garbage and was just a flat black rattle can over what appears to be 3 other coats of paint and what appears to be a thin layer of cardboard which I assume is some kind of primer or bondo. Looks like I will be stripping all the paint/other crap off of it and figuring out what to do with it from there.

Thank you very much for the help and getting me to this point!