Homemade Fuel Tees

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationBought some of these Tee's only to find they don't fit VM26's from the KZ1000.

Didn't feel like waiting for some other parts so sat down at the lathe and made a couple. I've made Tees before so at this point I'm getting pretty good at it. Can't say it's a money saver after all the time spent though.

Nice! Were the ebay ones to big or small?

Ebay ones have O-ring OD of 10.2mm and the port in the carbs is 11.0mm. I requested a return via ebay and this is what the guy said...

The seller sent you a message
Message: thank you dear buyer, but I am wondering if you can still use it?

This is the reason i prever the shrink tube method on the Fuel-Tees first, (just a 5 Cent part).
Works on every carb set i rebuild 20 year ago....

Nessism wrote: Ebay ones have O-ring OD of 10.2mm and the port in the carbs is 11.0mm. I requested a return via ebay and this is what the guy said...

The seller sent you a message
Message: thank you dear buyer, but I am wondering if you can still use it?

Sounds like another Chinese seller. To get a refund from Pay Pal they want me to send it to China. Not worth it and they know it.
Steve

Scirocco wrote: This is the reason i prever the shrink tube method on the Fuel-Tees first, (just a 5 Cent part).
Works on every carb set i rebuild 20 year ago....

The rubber is deeply cracked. I don't trust the long term durability of fixes I can't guarantee. We are talking about gasoline just under the crotch!

SWest wrote:

Nessism wrote: Ebay ones have O-ring OD of 10.2mm and the port in the carbs is 11.0mm. I requested a return via ebay and this is what the guy said...

The seller sent you a message
Message: thank you dear buyer, but I am wondering if you can still use it?

Sounds like another Chinese seller. To get a refund from Pay Pal they want me to send it to China. Not worth it and they know it.
Steve

Yes, china seller (I suspect). The key to getting a full refund is to denote the "return" correctly; toggle "item not as described". That puts the blame on the seller and they have to pay return shipping.

And speaking of that...I bought a set of carbs that just arrived yesterday as another project. Opened up the float bowls and found two broken float posts. Hacks! Ebay is full of junk these days. I told the guy I'm going to return them...only he doesn't know yet that I'm going to state the carbs are not as described, which puts the blame on him. He didn't inspect and listed the parts as "used", which means they should be useable. If he listed the carbs as "not working, for parts" I'd be screwed (and I wouldn't have bought them). Ebay is a game.

If the rubber is disintgrated or brittle on the metal fuel tee, yes you are right.
But if the rubber is only shrinked (not swollen in fuel after 48h) it´s works like a charm.

Scirocco wrote: If the rubber is disintgrated or brittle on the metal fuel tee, yes you are right.
But if the rubber is only shrinked (not swollen in fuel after 48h) it´s works like a charm.

Agree. I've soaked Tee's in fuel before and they swell up nicely.

Here is another option. I have been doing this for Years and it works everytime. Because I like to keep things original and rarely buy suspicious aftermarket stuff. KEEP your original VM Mikuni tees, nothing wrong with them. Just "roll" a sharp utility blade along the inner bump and remove the secondary bump and rubber in between. You will encounter two styles, one smooth and one with a casting rib. Sand off/steel wool if casting is ribbed, the corrosion. Pop on a #78 o-ring, there is room for two! Cost is only whatever you pay for the O-rings.

Some guys use a similar method only they cut off the sealing bumps and drop real O-rings in the slots. I'd consider this method as long as there are no cracks in the rubber/plastic coating. One of my original Tee's qualify but the other is full of deep cracks at the base of the fuel feed portion of the Tee. These carbs are for resale and I won't take risks with gasoline. Not worth it.

I understand the safety concern! But..I assume you know the oem tees are a full solid AU tee that is just formed over with rubber. The cracking underneath is purely cosmetic. The Biggest concern for leaking of these old VM carbs comes from bowed carb body castings, float bowls are always flat and never a problem. I always giggle a bit when people selling say "new gaskets". That, in reality, can be misleading. I doubt few people actually ever, during a wet test for fuel level, tilt the bank full of fuel forward and backwards. Waiting about an hour between each rotation. This provides a real world experience, because fuel sloshes when riding. Mikuni failed here because of the use of paper gasket, Keihin realized this and adopted the channel in the bowl for an o-ring. I o-ring the bowls of the mikuni VM's plus no more brown staining around bowls!