Adjusted carb floats but...

[octoberboy]

This was the first repair I have done on my bike. A bit daunting place to start but thanks to the nice instructions Firebird and V7Goose posted it was quite a rewarding experience.

 

Front side floats were fine, both rears were really bad. Scoot now as much more low end power and is smoother over all. Will sync the carbs once the Motion Pro carb sync tool comes in. BTW the Motion Pro was $108 at JC Whitney but $65 on Amazon. An EMGO digital was $57 at JC Whitney but $89 on Amazon. Just an FYI in case anyone is thinking of buying.

 

Ran into a couple of possible issues that I would appreciate some thoughts on:

1) The surge tank joiner (step 9 in Don's carb removal instructions) had a lot of oil on and in it, but only on the left side. The sponge gasket was soaked and the inside of the left surge tank was pretty oily. The carbs were clean though. While the right side sponge gasket was a little oily, the right side surge tank was not oily at all. Anything I should check?

 

2) The rubber gaskets on the bottom of the carbs had white crud on them similar to the mineral deposits you might see on a shower head. Not all the way around, but maybe 15-30% depending on the gasket. I used Sea Foam and my finger nail to gently clean it off. Going to order some new gaskets but are such deposits normal? Could it be dried out gasket cement? Are you suppose to use gasket cement on these?

 

Final note, as it had to be my bad, but I see one reason why Don might hate the black connector (step 13). To start the scoot I now need to reach under the tank and give a bit of a push on the wires so the temperature sensor does not go on. I'll fix that when the new gaskets come in.

 

Thanks...

[steamer]

I've been told the oil is due to to high of a oil level in the motor and the crank case breather will suck some of that oil into the air box. It has been suggested to keep the oil level at about the half way point in the sight glass to reduce this problem. The reason it is collecting in the lower left of the air box is because that is the low point when the bike is on the side stand. If you do a search here on the sight you should find more info on this.

[CaptainJoe]

2) The rubber gaskets on the bottom of the carbs had white crud on them similar to the mineral deposits you might see on a shower head. Not all the way around, but maybe 15-30% depending on the gasket. I used Sea Foam and my finger nail to gently clean it off. Going to order some new gaskets but are such deposits normal? Could it be dried out gasket cement? Are you suppose to use gasket cement on these?

 

Might be oxidation from the ethanol in your gas. The ethanol attracts water and water is highly corrosive to aluminum. It would be powdery white in color.

 

Never heard of putting glue on carb gaskets?

[steamer]

No glue needed on the carb gasket. They are actually O rings. They can be reused if in good condition.

[octoberboy]

Thanks gents. Makes good sense.

[csdexter]

I found the same oily picture when I removed the tank on my bike to check things up: joint soaked, left surge tank evenly "painted" in oil on the inside, right one clean. There was also white goo inside the breather hose where it joins the surge tank joint.

 

Cleaned everything thoroughly, replaced the breather hose (I didn't like the goo idea in a hose that's only supposed to contain air), checked oil level and, failing all else, gave the previous owner a call. Surprise, surprise, he admitted to having topped it up, literally, with oil in the past only to find out later what "to top up" means on a bike

 

Like everybody else said, make sure the oil is between the marks (with the bike level, not on the sidestand!) and you should be OK.

[GeorgiaYankee]

My float bowl o rings had the white powdery mineral looking stuff on them also, and it was on both sides indicating that was where I had fuel seeping through. Replaced all four. Also found my needle valves were shot, same residue and dryed out rubber causing cut off cylinders or fuel leaks. Replaced all four and bike runs like a top (after carb synch). Fun learning but long process taking the carbs out about 7 times trying to figure it all out.

[ragtop69gs]

You can replace those foam Air box gaskets with an O-Ring and not have ot worry about them again.