Carb R&R advice sought

[BINOVC]

Hate the thought of doing it, but looks like it's time to R&R my carbs.
Third hydrolock happened this morning (no damage).
Last time (couple years ago) I replaced the petcock cover set and vacuum lines, so I would hope that isn't the case again so soon (I ride very frequently).  Plus I'm certain it was manually shut off over night (this happened at work, so only sat 8 1/2 hours).
Pulled plugs and left rear cylinder was full of gas.  Apparently from fuel that was downstream of the petcock, although I haven't tested it yet to confirm it's working right.
Sooo guess it's time to pull the carbs.
I've seen where replacing the jets is recommended.  The bike runs great, so is that needed?
Anyone have a write-up on this?  Or a parts list?
I'm figuring float needles and intake o-rings... but surely I'm forgetting stuff, no?
Is there a one-stop shop or where should I purchase all the whatevers?
Thanks!

[98valk]

are your bowl vent tubes installed, no internal bugs, etc., obstruction and routed correctly?

is the choke mechanism correctly adjusted and fully closed when not needed?

[Chrisj CMA]

You are remembering. Advice for blocked up carbs from sitting. There’s no need to touch those jets. Just replace the float and needle. That’s it. And repair or replace the petcock

[BINOVC]

No idea really about bowl vent tubes.  Guessing stock, but don't know (or how to tell) if any are blocked.

[sandy]

You tube is your friend. Search for D-Ray and Valkyrie carburetors. He has a series of videos on carbs which helped in my recent repair of my friend's carbs.

[Ricky-D]

Invest in a good petcock and stop all that trouble.

If there is a sticky float bowl needle, free it up, it's a waste on money to replace those items when they are in good repair.

Sticky float bowl needles are usually a result of the bike sitting for an extended period of time with ethanol enriched gasoline in the tank.

Use an additive regularly in the gas to help prevent gas related trouble such as what you experienced.

It is petroleum tolerant algae and fungus that grows in the fuel that causes all the problems.

***

[raaamad]

are your bowl vent tubes installed, no internal bugs, etc., obstruction and routed correctly?

is the choke mechanism correctly adjusted and fully closed when not needed?

I'm struggling with the vent tube routing and what they connect to at the other end.
I know (don't ask how  ) that if they are not open to atmosphere, my baby will not run.
Every bit of documentation, videos, drawings etc. that I've found only shows them tee'd together at the carbs and routed downward.
What's at the other end is a mystery to me. I suspect is supposed to be a chamber of some sort, maybe filled with charcoal?
Right now I've got mine open to atmosphere, and she's running good.

Doesn't seem right to me.

[98valk]

are your bowl vent tubes installed, no internal bugs, etc., obstruction and routed correctly?

is the choke mechanism correctly adjusted and fully closed when not needed?

I'm struggling with the vent tube routing and what they connect to at the other end.
I know (don't ask how  ) that if they are not open to atmosphere, my baby will not run.
Every bit of documentation, videos, drawings etc. that I've found only shows them tee'd together at the carbs and routed downward.
What's at the other end is a mystery to me. I suspect is supposed to be a chamber of some sort, maybe filled with charcoal?
Right now I've got mine open to atmosphere, and she's running good.

Doesn't seem right to me.

this is from Rider mag sept 1988 about the '88 goldwing Gl1500.
they had the hydro-lock problem and it turned out to be the bowl vent hose was sagging. "the low spotfills with gas and prevents air circulation, much like a sink trap. without a connection to atmosphere, the float bowls pressurize and raw fuel is forced up and out of the carbs through the needle jet. From there gravity takes the fuel down the intake runners. if that cylinder has an open intake valve, hydrolock." "The article states that honda issued a Product Update kit on a fix in feb of that yr which included a metal air-vent pipe and a vacuum fuel valve."

honda service bulletin fix
http://www.goldwingworld.com/pages/sb1.pdf


Looking at the service manual pics in the carb section of the tech manual it shows the vent hoses as straight sections just laying loosely on top of other hoses. My 98's vent hoses have a 90 degree end. the end is installed into holes in the rear carb support frame.
So this might be the reason and cause of the problem for some bikes?

[Ricky-D]

The float bowl vent hoses are an EPA designated item and also Honda wants them for consumer related reasons.

The float bowl vent hoses are not necessary for anything except to get any overflow gasoline down to the ground
without staining the top of the engine by puddling up in the recesses.

You can remove the float bowl vent hoses permanently with no ill effects.

***

[Highbinder]

It sounds like you're talking about the #6 cylinder that has fuel in it, if it is, there is a vacuum line that runs directly to your petcock. Sometimes a bad petcock will allow gas to run down this line and cause the lock up. You might want to check that out before tearing the carbs out.  I've had this happen to me.

[raaamad]

The float bowl vent hoses are an EPA designated item and also Honda wants them for consumer related reasons.

The float bowl vent hoses are not necessary for anything except to get any overflow gasoline down to the ground
without staining the top of the engine by puddling up in the recesses.

You can remove the float bowl vent hoses permanently with no ill effects.

***

That makes sense. I have removed mine, mostly, and she runs great. If I plug them, she won't run beyond intermittent idle. It does appear that carb functionality requires that they be fully vented to atmosphere. This could be a major contributor poor running performance being reported elsewhere, including contributing to hydrolock?

BTW, I also believe that the similar in appearance float bowl drain tubes are only needed when one wants to drain the float bowls (something that I would extremely rarely do without suspecting poor fuel).

Just sayin.

[f-Stop]

Here's a good place to get the Valk carb parts you may need...

https://redeye.ecrater.com

Good luck!

 

[BINOVC]

@Ricky-D, I religiously treat all my bike gas with Sea Foam (1 oz./gal.).
(Not wanting to start up a gas additive debate here).  And as I mentioned, I ride frequently (well not now because I'm afraid to crank it until I resolve this issue).  So that probably isn't why my float needle stuck...
@Highbinder - good point, will look closer there for sure!
@f-Stop, I already visited - doesn't look like he carries new float valves though.  Looks like all I really need from him possibly is the intake o-ring kit.  Maybe also the replacement screws for when I bugger mine up  .  I do wish he carried them in allen-head instead of phillips (or are they JIS?).  I don't suppose anyone has the various screw sizes, maybe I could look around for them...
@all, are the "recommended" replacement float needles K&L's?  (K&L's were recommended by BonS, which is good in my book).
What size jet cleaner wires are used for 35's and 100's?  I won't be buying the $60 (+$10 shipping) Honda set that's for sure, so I'm looking on Amazon at a set, smallest size is 0.3mm - think it's small enough? (AISN B07Q56HGHX).  (yeah, ok, so maybe a "35" jet means the jet hole is .35mm...)
sooo  what else?  I have a BonS carb synchronizer and also a d-shaped idle mixture tool (amazon AISN B00S1NT2SE).
Getting ready to do this!

[98valk]

@Ricky-D, I religiously treat all my bike gas with Sea Foam (1 oz./gal.).
(Not wanting to start up a gas additive debate here).  And as I mentioned, I ride frequently (well not now because I'm afraid to crank it until I resolve this issue).  So that probably isn't why my float needle stuck...
@Highbinder - good point, will look closer there for sure!
@f-Stop, I already visited - doesn't look like he carries new float valves though.  Looks like all I really need from him possibly is the intake o-ring kit.  Maybe also the replacement screws for when I bugger mine up  .  I do wish he carried them in allen-head instead of phillips (or are they JIS?).  I don't suppose anyone has the various screw sizes, maybe I could look around for them...
@all, are the "recommended" replacement float needles K&L's?  (K&L's were recommended by BonS, which is good in my book).
What size jet cleaner wires are used for 35's and 100's?  I won't be buying the $60 (+$10 shipping) Honda set that's for sure, so I'm looking on Amazon at a set, smallest size is 0.3mm - think it's small enough? (AISN B07Q56HGHX).  (yeah, ok, so maybe a "35" jet means the jet hole is .35mm...)
sooo  what else?  I have a BonS carb synchronizer and also a d-shaped idle mixture tool (amazon AISN B00S1NT2SE).
Getting ready to do this!

www.sudco.com or www.factorypro.com for jets

seafoam, is 1930s technology for 2 stroke outboard motors.   the problem with it is that is has low temp  solvents which solidify on the back of the hot valves, thereby reducing performance and mpg.   https://toptiergas.com/toptier_detergent_gasoline/

there are much better and many times lower $$ modern products to use. latest tech is PEA additive tech.  I use the newer stabil which emits fumes which protect areas of the tank and carbs which are not immersed in fuel.