one that sat too long

[Matsumike]

Okay,,,  I am NOT a mechanic, but have been riding for over 40 years and love my 97 Valk.  A couple years ago I took all the metal off her and sent out for paint, removed rear wheel for new tire, spline lube etc,  and got inspired to change a few things ; interstate tank for tourer, belly tank (3 additional gallons) and some bits of chorme goodies .

So, I do have a few other bikes to ride, and things got busy so I never really got her all put back together,  Its been over 2 years with the ol' gal in my garage waiting for me to finsih what I started.   And now I have the time......

My main concern is that I neglected to drain the carbs when I took off the tank .   Dumb move.  So what now?  I have not opened the carbs yet, but expect whatever might have been in there has dried up by now ... or maybe not.  What would you suggest?  The tank is not back on and it cannot be started right now, is there something I should do while I have the engine all exposed before I put her back together?

What would you all suggest?

[X Ring]

Try the procedure in the first post of this thread.  http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,20193.0.html

Marty

[alph]

buy a harley, they don't get ridden much either!!

just joking.....  take the bowl off of one of the carbs, see how bad it is, it might not be as bad as you think if it's inside and not exposed to the elements. 

i heard of a guy that soaked his whole carb in carb cleaner for a week, then flushed fuel through it before he'd run his cycle.  i wouldn't do that myself, but he said it worked.

good luck.

[Bagger John - #3785]

i heard of a guy that soaked his whole carb in carb cleaner for a week, then flushed fuel through it before he'd run his cycle.  i wouldn't do that myself, but he said it worked.

Certain types of carb cleaner can dissolve plastic and rubber parts. I would disassemble and soak the carbs one at a time, then reassemble and mount onto carb brackets. Adjust low-speed screws and sync the carbs after replacing the assembly back on the bike.

[jrb]

This has worked for me. If your carbs are off the bike open them up as much as you dare, put them in a heavy plastic bag (clear if possible) fill the bag with seafoam making sure they are completely covered, seal the bag and let them set for 2-3 weeks. This has worked well for me. GOOD Luck

[Matsumike]

Thanks all for the suggestions.    I'll let you know how it goes.  Think I'll try the soaking in seafoam first, and see how that goes....
next time I'll remember to open up the drains!

[Robert]

Since the bike has sat that long and you have the tank off , I would remove the carbs clean replace the jets and then assemble. After 2 years of sitting and when you put it back together why would you want to take a chance on something stopping you from fully enjoying your new ride? That you may have to disassemble it again and do the job right. Personally if it were my bike I would be pissed, do it once do it right.

[buffalobill]

You always have the option of selling the "project" to me and letting me "stress" over the situation
I will be more than happy to give you a full report when I am finished
Just offerin' to help you out is all,
buffalobill

[Ricky-D]

Removing the carburetors should be the "last option".

Seafoam is good stuff but I think something more powerful might be called for.

Removing the float bowls and cleaning, that might be useful, but taking the carbs off is fraught with peril if you are unfamiliar with those kind of things.

The first posted reply was intuitive and you should not dismiss that other thread out of hand.

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