carbs

[orley]

Hey folks;
How do I know if/when my carbs need cleaned?
Thanks!

[SirLancelot]

Half a bottle of Berrymans twice a year should keep them clean

[mark81]

If it runs like crap they need cleaning

[Glaserbeam]

The idle circuit seems to be most vulnerable to getting clogged.  Get a digital thermometer (https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-774-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00837ZGRY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549311905&sr=8-3&keywords=digital+infrared+thermometer+gun) and during warm-up, see if all the header pipes are roughly the same temp.  If some are much cooler, then those carbs need to be attended to.  For my '02, when I bought from PO, it was only idling on 3 carbs 
None of the carb cleaning fluids worked; carbs needed to come out for thorough cleaning.  Now I use Sta-Bil gas stabilizer (not the Storage formula) every other tank to counteract ethanol and keep things clean.

[Glaserbeam]

Yes, the pilot jets.  And whether you need to disassemble the carbs or not, it's good to sync them every couple of years (it's very easy to do with a sync gauge) to make sure all the butterflies open at the same time.  Adjusting the pilot screws (the "idle drop procedure") may be required but is very difficult.

[da prez]

  Here again , go back to basics , check for vacuum leaks , make sure all clamps are tight and the air filter is clean. Check the intake runners for leaks . Then  , do a sync and see if there is a difference.

                                               da prez

[Ricky-D]

Thanks. By idle circuit do u mean low end pilot needles? I have heard they are most of carb troubles?

If the bike ran fine before, you should not assume there is any kind of problem, except for the kind that results from running ethanol enriched gasoline.

It would be a foolish excursion to remove the carburetors and disassemble them solely because your having ethanol related problems.

The first course of action and highly recommended by this forum would be to start a full fledged campaign of treatment with gasoline additives.

And that would not be some easy peasy milktoast additives a spoonful at a time, but rather massive doses of a powerful additive in multiple tankfuls.

As to what additive there will be many suggestions, but the best so far as the forum would say is there are two. Berrymans B-3 and the other is Techron.

And the massive doses would be at least a half container into a full tank of good gasoline.

This treatment usually will take care of most all poor running problems resulting from using ethanol enriched gasoline.

***

[Gavin_Sons]

Thanks. By idle circuit do u mean low end pilot needles? I have heard they are most of carb troubles?

If the bike ran fine before, you should not assume there is any kind of problem, except for the kind that results from running ethanol enriched gasoline.

It would be a foolish excursion to remove the carburetors and disassemble them solely because your having ethanol related problems.

The first course of action and highly recommended by this forum would be to start a full fledged campaign of treatment with gasoline additives.

And that would not be some easy peasy milktoast additives a spoonful at a time, but rather massive doses of a powerful additive in multiple tankfuls.

As to what additive there will be many suggestions, but the best so far as the forum would say is there are two. Berrymans B-3 and the other is Techron.

And the massive doses would be at least a half container into a full tank of good gasoline.

This treatment usually will take care of most all poor running problems resulting from using ethanol enriched gasoline.

***

Unless you are like me. Got your bike after sitting for 3 years and the carbs were gunked up. Had a honda shop do a clean and rebuild, it ran but in 5th gear it fell on its face. I asked around here for about a year and no one had answers except for one that said my motor was junk.  Finally decided to pull my carbs myself and found that 4 of the 6 main jets were clogged with what looked like little rust specks. No rust in tank or in the tank filter. probably gunk out of the gas lines that broke free and gunked them up.

[98valk]

run TC-W3 two stroke additive all of the time. u will never have a problem and will be rewarded with better mpg and lubricated carb internals.

http://www.ls1.com/forums/f48/been-testing-oil-91206/
you guys know I test constantly and oil/tribology is my thing so here goes. I know the gasoline today is crap. Very dry and poor quality. Throw in ethanol and you got crap/corrosive gasoline. I use Fuel Power/Lucas UCL with great success in my cars and other peoples cars. At the first of the year some of us "lubrication physcho's" (mainly from the aircraft industry) discussed the crap quality of gasoline and the absolute advantages of running a fuel additive with lubrication capabilities and I think the testing is now complete and the results are very good. Biggest problem we had was the proper amount but we are now satisfied this works very well and you will have a smoother running engine/more power/better MPG....so here it is.....
What we are trying to accomplish ( The deliverables)
We need to lubricate the fuel pump/seals/injectors.
We need to clean the fuel system and scavenge water that ethanol attracts.
We need a film of protection in our fuel system to stop corrosion.
We need a cleaner for our spark plugs/valves/combustion chambers.
We need to clean the ring packs
We need to leave a film on the cylinder walls to eliminate cold start metal wear.
This was my groups short list of deliverables. Of course we knew if we accomplished this list the car should A) Run Smoother B) Run more efficiently C) Parts will last longer i.e. fuel pumps/injectors etc. D) We should see more RWHP and MPG
We did it. For pennies.
2 Stroke oil. Not just any two stroke oil But we needed the detergents etc. and found the perfect oil/add packs/viscosity in a marine 2 stroke oil

[nogrey]

run TC-W3 two stroke additive all of the time. u will never have a problem and will be rewarded with better mpg and lubricated carb internals.

http://www.ls1.com/forums/f48/been-testing-oil-91206/
you guys know I test constantly and oil/tribology is my thing so here goes. I know the gasoline today is poop. Very dry and poor quality. Throw in ethanol and you got crap/corrosive gasoline. I use Fuel Power/Lucas UCL with great success in my cars and other peoples cars. At the first of the year some of us "lubrication physcho's" (mainly from the aircraft industry) discussed the poop quality of gasoline and the absolute advantages of running a fuel additive with lubrication capabilities and I think the testing is now complete and the results are very good. Biggest problem we had was the proper amount but we are now satisfied this works very well and you will have a smoother running engine/more power/better MPG....so here it is.....
What we are trying to accomplish ( The deliverables)
We need to lubricate the fuel pump/seals/injectors.
We need to clean the fuel system and scavenge water that ethanol attracts.
We need a film of protection in our fuel system to stop corrosion.
We need a cleaner for our spark plugs/valves/combustion chambers.
We need to clean the ring packs
We need to leave a film on the cylinder walls to eliminate cold start metal wear.
This was my groups short list of deliverables. Of course we knew if we accomplished this list the car should A) Run Smoother B) Run more efficiently C) Parts will last longer i.e. fuel pumps/injectors etc. D) We should see more RWHP and MPG
We did it. For pennies.
2 Stroke oil. Not just any two stroke oil But we needed the detergents etc. and found the perfect oil/add packs/viscosity in a marine 2 stroke oil

Wow, super interesting article but was written a long time ago and the oil specified has been discontinued. So my question is, how does the TCW3 qualify as the substitute?

[98valk]

run TC-W3 two stroke additive all of the time. u will never have a problem and will be rewarded with better mpg and lubricated carb internals.

http://www.ls1.com/forums/f48/been-testing-oil-91206/
you guys know I test constantly and oil/tribology is my thing so here goes. I know the gasoline today is poop. Very dry and poor quality. Throw in ethanol and you got crap/corrosive gasoline. I use Fuel Power/Lucas UCL with great success in my cars and other peoples cars. At the first of the year some of us "lubrication physcho's" (mainly from the aircraft industry) discussed the poop quality of gasoline and the absolute advantages of running a fuel additive with lubrication capabilities and I think the testing is now complete and the results are very good. Biggest problem we had was the proper amount but we are now satisfied this works very well and you will have a smoother running engine/more power/better MPG....so here it is.....
What we are trying to accomplish ( The deliverables)
We need to lubricate the fuel pump/seals/injectors.
We need to clean the fuel system and scavenge water that ethanol attracts.
We need a film of protection in our fuel system to stop corrosion.
We need a cleaner for our spark plugs/valves/combustion chambers.
We need to clean the ring packs
We need to leave a film on the cylinder walls to eliminate cold start metal wear.
This was my groups short list of deliverables. Of course we knew if we accomplished this list the car should A) Run Smoother B) Run more efficiently C) Parts will last longer i.e. fuel pumps/injectors etc. D) We should see more RWHP and MPG
We did it. For pennies.
2 Stroke oil. Not just any two stroke oil But we needed the detergents etc. and found the perfect oil/add packs/viscosity in a marine 2 stroke oil

Wow, super interesting article but was written a long time ago and the oil specified has been discontinued. So my question is, how does the TCW3 qualify as the substitute?

the complete thread is about TC-W3 and nothing else. the first brand mentioned might be disco'd, but due to the specs all TC-W3 is the same regardless of brand. I started using it last spring. I have gotten a consistent 1-2mpg over that time frame. I've used supertech and Peak which is usually lower $$ at pepboys than supertech.  first found out about it for my 7.3L, where it works very well also.

[nogrey]

Hey folks;
How do I know if/when my carbs need cleaned?
Thanks!

Hello Orley. Is there a problem with the way your engine runs? Based on the symptoms, we might be able to provide a more specific answer. Not anything against the suggestions above, but don’t wish to overwhelm you if you just have a minor issue. Can you shed some more light on your particular problem?

[rug_burn]

I'm with nogrey, above:  
 What exactly are your symptoms?    I just had to go thru and clean all my carbs after the gas went bad and gunked them up.    All three idle jets on the right side were completely plugged up, and the ones on the left were partially.    The jets are only about $6 apiece, so it didn't cost much, but was a lot of work.

I also  scraped off the dried gum on the needles, cleaned passages, replaced all o-rings on fuel and vapor rails, diaphragm-to-needle o-ring, etc.

I tried the additive routine for a couple years of intermittant use, but it still missed, kinda chugging along on 3 cylinders at the low end.   I do believe those additives are good to use, particularly when a bike sits idle a lot, but in my case the carbs were gummed up too badly.

[ValkStrom]

My 97 runs amazing/flawless once warmed up, but it sure seems to take a good while before it doesn't have hesitation/bogging when letting out the clutch in first. This is just on the initial first take off after starting and idling for a bit, once I am off and going it doesn't do it again. Any thoughts on what's going on or is this kind of a Valkyrie thing?

[Valker]

My 97 runs amazing/flawless once warmed up, but it sure seems to take a good while before it doesn't have hesitation/bogging when letting out the clutch in first. This is just on the initial first take off after starting and idling for a bit, once I am off and going it doesn't do it again. Any thoughts on what's going on or is this kind of a Valkyrie thing?

Only time mine ever did that was when the clutch hydraulic (master cylinder) fluid was really dirty. I changed it and that cleared up. It wasn't the engine hesitating, it was the wonky clutch feel.

[Ricky-D]

My 97 runs amazing/flawless once warmed up, but it sure seems to take a good while before it doesn't have hesitation/bogging when letting out the clutch in first. This is just on the initial first take off after starting and idling for a bit, once I am off and going it doesn't do it again. Any thoughts on what's going on or is this kind of a Valkyrie thing?

A good practice to occasionally perform is drain a little float bowl gas from each carburetor.

This will help remove a variety of things that you really don't want hanging out there in your float bowl.

Things such as:

1) Water that can freeze and interfere with the smooth operation of the carburetor.

2) Organic matter that can grow and accumulate as a result from using ethanol enriched fuel.

3) And junk that can migrate from the fuel tank and through the system to the carburetor.

***

[ValkStrom]

My 97 runs amazing/flawless once warmed up, but it sure seems to take a good while before it doesn't have hesitation/bogging when letting out the clutch in first. This is just on the initial first take off after starting and idling for a bit, once I am off and going it doesn't do it again. Any thoughts on what's going on or is this kind of a Valkyrie thing?

Only time mine ever did that was when the clutch hydraulic (master cylinder) fluid was really dirty. I changed it and that cleared up. It wasn't the engine hesitating, it was the wonky clutch feel.

This is most certainly not a clutch issue, it works like hot butter for me.

[ValkStrom]

My 97 runs amazing/flawless once warmed up, but it sure seems to take a good while before it doesn't have hesitation/bogging when letting out the clutch in first. This is just on the initial first take off after starting and idling for a bit, once I am off and going it doesn't do it again. Any thoughts on what's going on or is this kind of a Valkyrie thing?

A good practice to occasionally perform is drain a little float bowl gas from each carburetor.

This will help remove a variety of things that you really don't want hanging out there in your float bowl.

Things such as:

1) Water that can freeze and interfere with the smooth operation of the carburetor.

2) Organic matter that can grow and accumulate as a result from using ethanol enriched fuel.

3) And junk that can migrate from the fuel tank and through the system to the carburetor.

***

I have regularly been adding some Seafoam which seems to be helping a bit with this issue, I'll up it to the good stuff which is Techron. I have an amazing local mechanic who I know could rebuild my carbs, may have him do that as a back up plan.

[Forge]

My 97 runs amazing/flawless once warmed up, but it sure seems to take a good while before it doesn't have hesitation/bogging when letting out the clutch in first. This is just on the initial first take off after starting and idling for a bit, once I am off and going it doesn't do it again. Any thoughts on what's going on or is this kind of a Valkyrie thing?

A good practice to occasionally perform is drain a little float bowl gas from each carburetor.

This will help remove a variety of things that you really don't want hanging out there in your float bowl.

Things such as:

1) Water that can freeze and interfere with the smooth operation of the carburetor.

2) Organic matter that can grow and accumulate as a result from using ethanol enriched fuel.

3) And junk that can migrate from the fuel tank and through the system to the carburetor.

***

I have regularly been adding some Seafoam which seems to be helping a bit with this issue, I'll up it to the good stuff which is Techron. I have an amazing local mechanic who I know could rebuild my carbs, may have him do that as a back up plan.

Walmart has the techron pretty cheap. It’s 4 something a bottle at mine.

[98valk]

My 97 runs amazing/flawless once warmed up, but it sure seems to take a good while before it doesn't have hesitation/bogging when letting out the clutch in first. This is just on the initial first take off after starting and idling for a bit, once I am off and going it doesn't do it again. Any thoughts on what's going on or is this kind of a Valkyrie thing?

A good practice to occasionally perform is drain a little float bowl gas from each carburetor.

This will help remove a variety of things that you really don't want hanging out there in your float bowl.

Things such as:

1) Water that can freeze and interfere with the smooth operation of the carburetor.

2) Organic matter that can grow and accumulate as a result from using ethanol enriched fuel.

3) And junk that can migrate from the fuel tank and through the system to the carburetor.

***

I have regularly been adding some Seafoam which seems to be helping a bit with this issue, I'll up it to the good stuff which is Techron. I have an amazing local mechanic who I know could rebuild my carbs, may have him do that as a back up plan.

B12 Chemtool is better to use.

[gordonv]

I have regularly been adding some Seafoam which seems to be helping a bit with this issue, I'll up it to the good stuff which is Techron. I have an amazing local mechanic who I know could rebuild my carbs, may have him do that as a back up plan.

B12 Chemtool is better to use.

Remember to up the strength too, 1/2 can to 1/2 tank of good fuel.

Note: the above would be for a clogged machine. For one being used and driven, but not liking how it feels, I would do 1/2 can to a full tank of clean fuel. (I buy Chevron, so I get the additional Techron in my fuel at no additional cost, as recommended by another member, for every day cleaning.)

[F6Ladyrider]

For the hesitation bogging issue be sure youre Pilots are open 2 1/4 turns.   For a short time I would add your fuel additive of choice and open the pilots to 2.5.  This may clean out a bit of varnish if there is any.
Then return them to 2 1/4

Warren.

[ValkStrom]

For the hesitation bogging issue be sure youre Pilots are open 2 1/4 turns.   For a short time I would add your fuel additive of choice and open the pilots to 2.5.  This may clean out a bit of varnish if there is any.
Then return them to 2 1/4

Warren.

Good idea, I need to look into how to do this and if I can even easily do such with the carbs on bike.

[Ricky-D]

For the hesitation bogging issue be sure youre Pilots are open 2 1/4 turns.   For a short time I would add your fuel additive of choice and open the pilots to 2.5.  This may clean out a bit of varnish if there is any.
Then return them to 2 1/4

Warren.

Good idea, I need to look into how to do this and if I can even easily do such with the carbs on bike.

I'm hesitant to call this idea nonsense, but it really is "pie in the sky" especially If your bike ran okay before , you chance screwing things up by messing with the settings.

And the proposition that you can remove and disassemble the carburetor system and then get everything back to proper order is fraught with peril.

Do start with diligence, the additive treatment with patience and tenacity, giving it a good long period of time to be resolved.

One step at a time there fella, avoid the pitfalls.

***

[ValkStrom]

Duly noted good sir, I am a patient man.