Hate not having a reference.

[Quince]

I hate not having a reference, not knowing how far off, if any, I am. So I bought the 2000 Valkyrie with 36000 miles. Fixed brakes, fluids. Put 250+ miles on it but since this is the only bike in this class I ever tried, I cannot tell if all is fine or not. Since 1990’s I had 750 Suzuki, V’Max and Ninja’s from 1000CC to 1200CC, none cruising stile. Was away for 4-5 months and when back started the Valkyrie and was running weird for about 5 minutes, not responding to gas. Once I got on the road and open it up a few times it got better, but I do not know what normal is. I see all this talking about carbs; should I consider a carb job? I could do it but I have too many hobbies and project going on. If I decide to do it, what is the most complete rebuild kit, jets, gaskets, O-rings, connecting hoses gas/vacuum.. out there? Or where should I send them for a rebuild and is taking them apart and re-installing a big enough job making somebody else clean and re-build them not worth the money?

[Chrisj CMA]

Just run some chem tool B-12 and ride it. These bikes hate to be ignored

[98valk]

Just run some chem tool B-12 and ride it. These bikes hate to be ignored

The OEM Buna-N aka Nitrile o-rings are eaten away by the chemicals in Chem tool B-12 which means carb rebuild down the road.

[98valk]

I hate not having a reference, not knowing how far off, if any, I am. So I bought the 2000 Valkyrie with 36000 miles. Fixed brakes, fluids. Put 250+ miles on it but since this is the only bike in this class I ever tried, I cannot tell if all is fine or not. Since 1990’s I had 750 Suzuki, V’Max and Ninja’s from 1000CC to 1200CC, none cruising stile. Was away for 4-5 months and when back started the Valkyrie and was running weird for about 5 minutes, not responding to gas. Once I got on the road and open it up a few times it got better, but I do not know what normal is. I see all this talking about carbs; should I consider a carb job? I could do it but I have too many hobbies and project going on. If I decide to do it, what is the most complete rebuild kit, jets, gaskets, O-rings, connecting hoses gas/vacuum.. out there? Or where should I send them for a rebuild and is taking them apart and re-installing a big enough job making somebody else clean and re-build them not worth the money?

sitting that long gas in carbs evaporate due to their location and design locations. 
did it run fine after so many miles?
always use Sta-bil and TC-W3 in every tank.    see about TC-W3 here.  https://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91206

[Chrisj CMA]

Just run some chem tool B-12 and ride it. These bikes hate to be ignored

The OEM Buna-N aka Nitrile o-rings are eaten away by the chemicals in Chem tool B-12 which means carb rebuild down the road.

When I bought BF’s bike. It barely ran. I ran a couple tanks of B-12 and it cleared it right up. That was many years ago. After Bruce died I sold the bike to another Valkyrie Rider and it’s still going strong.

I think if you put the chemtool in and immediately ride it out (like I did) and don’t let it sit in the carbs there isn’t a problem

[Quince]

Thanks everybody. I order Pennzoil 2 stroke and Sta-Bil. I’ll keep riding it, when really cold or snow hits I’ll change timing belts and start all over next spring. Wondering if the Sta-Bil has a negative effect on the 2 stroke oil like braking it down, but that’s splitting hairs.

[Jess from VA]

Wondering if the Sta-Bil has a negative effect on the 2 stroke oil...

All my non-ethanol gas gets Marine Stabil in it (right at the gas pumps).  It then gets used in all my 2-strokes (with Stihl synthetic mix).  That has never been a problem.

[98valk]

Thanks everybody. I order Pennzoil 2 stroke and Sta-Bil. I’ll keep riding it, when really cold or snow hits I’ll change timing belts and start all over next spring. Wondering if the Sta-Bil has a negative effect on the 2 stroke oil like braking it down, but that’s splitting hairs.

doesn't matter what TC-W3 one buys, since TC-W3 is a specification that has to be met. I use the lowest cost one I find.

https://www.nmma.org/certification/oil/tc-w3

[rug_burn]

   In general, what you describe as 'not responding to the throttle' (or something like that,)  is due the mixture being too lean.    Enough gas is available to make it idle, but no more.    So you got some plugged up jets, right?     (In a good running Valk, the power is "right there" at the smallest crack of the throttle;  If it kind of sags out, it's too lean.)
    You could try some carb cleaners, but I never found those to help, and I tried them all, almost.   One, I suspect it was B12 Chemtool, actually burned a hole in a couple vacuum lines;  but my carbs were really plugged up.   That stuff (most) is good for keeping your carbs from getting plugged if you put it in the gas before they do, plug up,  but once they do, you're generally done.  You gotta clean and rebuild the carbs, maybe replacing low speed jets.    At 25 years old, best to figure that all the o-rings in the carbs and fuel rails are done, too, probably rock hard, and need replaced.
    I'd pull off those chrome covers or caps off the carbs and have a good look at the needles and diaphragms too.   On mine some of the needles had a varnish on them which I had to scrape off with my thumbnail..!   And the diaphragms get little cracks in them, which you may be able to live with (they're $125 each)
  Good luck-  we're here to help.   Egg cartons esp the plastic ones are great to keep your parts in and keep 'em straight and organized.   And you might want start shopping for an ultrasonic cleaner.

[Quince]

Ultrasonic cleaner? How big is enough for a carb rebuild job? Also, can anybody point me to a complete rebuild kit? I am a collector and I stock what I believe I may need. They won't be available forever and nothing gets any cheaper. Thank you.

[Joe333x]

Ultrasonic cleaner? How big is enough for a carb rebuild job? Also, can anybody point me to a complete rebuild kit? I am a collector and I stock what I believe I may need. They won't be available forever and nothing gets any cheaper. Thank you.

So if there is any advice I can give you it's not to listen to any advice from 98valk about carbs, he will give you bad advice.

B12 is absolutely great and can fix some issues if you're not having any issues with leaking fuel I wouldn't do a rebuild, just run through B12 and it should clean it right up. I completely rebuilt my carbs and after the bike sitting over the winter it ran like crap til I put some B12 through it. I rebuilt mine because I had a pretty bad fuel leak to the point that I didn't feel safe riding the bike.

There is a gentleman on this forum who runs a business rebuilding carbs that will probably chime in. There is also a gentleman who I met through the Honda Valkyrie Facebook group named Dave Wilder who owns https://www.valkyrieflatsix.com/. He is a wealth of knowledge and always willing to help. I purchased a rebuild kit from him with an electric fuel shut off and rebuilt the carbs myself following the service manual. I purchased a 15L ultra sonic cleaner which was large enough to be able to clean one carb at a time which was totally fine with me because I just rebuilt one at a time to make it easier. This was the one I purchased and it comes in handy to clean other stuff like old tools as well.
https://a.co/d/82KkDLk

[John97]

It sounds as though you do your own work or at least try to. I’ll just mention that when I was working at a dealership, rebuilding completely clogged carbs on a Valkyrie was running $1200. Two hundred per carb on any bike was the rate. Their hourly rate has since increased, a couple times I believe, so the carb rate I’m sure is higher. More importantly the old retired tech who did them flawlessly no longer works there and I think they cutoff working on bikes over 10-15 years old no matter the condition. So you are definitely on the right path to do them yourself. It also goes without saying that once they are clean and adjusted perfectly do whatever is necessary to keep them that way!

[98valk]

Ultrasonic cleaner? How big is enough for a carb rebuild job? Also, can anybody point me to a complete rebuild kit? I am a collector and I stock what I believe I may need. They won't be available forever and nothing gets any cheaper. Thank you.

So if there is any advice I can give you it's not to listen to any advice from 98valk about carbs, he will give you bad advice.

B12 is absolutely great and can fix some issues if you're not having any issues with leaking fuel I wouldn't do a rebuild, just run through B12 and it should clean it right up. I completely rebuilt my carbs and after the bike sitting over the winter it ran like crap til I put some B12 through it. I rebuilt mine because I had a pretty bad fuel leak to the point that I didn't feel safe riding the bike.

There is a gentleman on this forum who runs a business rebuilding carbs that will probably chime in. There is also a gentleman who I met through the Honda Valkyrie Facebook group named Dave Wilder who owns https://www.valkyrieflatsix.com/. He is a wealth of knowledge and always willing to help. I purchased a rebuild kit from him with an electric fuel shut off and rebuilt the carbs myself following the service manual. I purchased a 15L ultra sonic cleaner which was large enough to be able to clean one carb at a time which was totally fine with me because I just rebuilt one at a time to make it easier. This was the one I purchased and it comes in handy to clean other stuff like old tools as well.
https://a.co/d/82KkDLk

also don't listen to this guy joey who keeps telling everyone that ethanol destroys o-rings. I proved to him with chemical charts that it does not.
don't listen to anything joey states since he has a personal agenda.

[Valker]

Well, I'm just an ignorant guy in many areas and do not pretend to know the science. All I know is that Berryman's B12 has cleaned up my carbs on many occasions in amounts up to an entire can/bottle in a single Interstate tank. In 253,000 miles my carbs have never leaked, stumbled, had to be synchronized, nor given me any trouble.

[98valk]

Well, I'm just an ignorant guy in many areas and do not pretend to know the science. All I know is that Berryman's B12 has cleaned up my carbs on many occasions in amounts up to an entire can/bottle in a single Interstate tank. In 253,000 miles my carbs have never leaked, stumbled, had to be synchronized, nor given me any trouble.

from a post of mine.

how many have used chemtool B12?
how many believe in scientific testing of material compatibility with different chemicals?
how many believe one should follow the industrial standard material compatibility with different chemical charts?
how many don't want their OEM Buna-N aka Nitrile material carb o-rings to fail?

""B-12 Chemtool Carburetor Choke Cleaner
Toluene 108-88-3 40-50
Methanol 67-56-1 20-30
Acetone 67-64-1 20-30
Methyl Ethyl Ketone ""

https://www1.mscdirect.com/MSDS/MSDS00009/08099822-20151111.PDF

see that word "Acetone" how many put into their gas? it is also in many fuel additives.

""BUNA-N should not be used in highly polar solvents such as acetone and methyl
ethyl ketone, nor should it be used in chlorinated hydrocarbons, ozone or nitro hydrocarbons.
Temperature range -54°C
(-65°F) to 135°C (275°F).

Buna gets ranked #1 for gasoline
RATINGS
1 High Resistance - All materials belonging to this class are Completely or Almost Completely inert when used with the
specified chemical at the specified concentration/temperature levels""

https://www.gilsoneng.com/reference/ChemRes.pdf

[Valker]

Well, I'm just an ignorant guy in many areas and do not pretend to know the science. All I know is that Berryman's B12 has cleaned up my carbs on many occasions in amounts up to an entire can/bottle in a single Interstate tank. In 253,000 miles my carbs have never leaked, stumbled, had to be synchronized, nor given me any trouble.

from a post of mine.

how many have used chemtool B12?
how many believe in scientific testing of material compatibility with different chemicals?
how many believe one should follow the industrial standard material compatibility with different chemical charts?
how many don't want their OEM Buna-N aka Nitrile material carb o-rings to fail?

""B-12 Chemtool Carburetor Choke Cleaner
Toluene 108-88-3 40-50
Methanol 67-56-1 20-30
Acetone 67-64-1 20-30
Methyl Ethyl Ketone ""

https://www1.mscdirect.com/MSDS/MSDS00009/08099822-20151111.PDF

see that word "Acetone" how many put into their gas? it is also in many fuel additives.

""BUNA-N should not be used in highly polar solvents such as acetone and methyl
ethyl ketone, nor should it be used in chlorinated hydrocarbons, ozone or nitro hydrocarbons.
Temperature range -54°C
(-65°F) to 135°C (275°F).

Buna gets ranked #1 for gasoline
RATINGS
1 High Resistance - All materials belonging to this class are Completely or Almost Completely inert when used with the
specified chemical at the specified concentration/temperature levels""

https://www.gilsoneng.com/reference/ChemRes.pdf

As I stated-I don't know the science, but my experience is my experience.

[Challenger]

Well, I'm just an ignorant guy in many areas and do not pretend to know the science. All I know is that Berryman's B12 has cleaned up my carbs on many occasions in amounts up to an entire can/bottle in a single Interstate tank. In 253,000 miles my carbs have never leaked, stumbled, had to be synchronized, nor given me any trouble.

Been there  done that. Both Valks are over 25 years old and never had the carbs off.  B-12 first couple of tanks in the spring.

[Joe333x]

also don't listen to this guy joey who keeps telling everyone that ethanol destroys o-rings. I proved to him with chemical charts that it does not.
don't listen to anything joey states since he has a personal agenda.

Lol yes don't listen to the guy who has rebuilt carbs and posted photos of dried out destroyed O-rings. Listen to the guy who posts links to inane articles with zero experience with actually rebuilding carbs. Not sure what my personal agenda could possibly be besides try to help people with a problem that I fixed on my bike.

[h13man]

I'm in agreement with Chrisj CMA running B12 out of the system/regular maintenance thru the season. B12 is a excellent cleaner on carb rebuilds but I made sure to clean any residual with electrical contact cleaner due to strong cleaning ability.
My Valk was a garage queen that ran great but was still sluggish after my 1st. tank and 28 mpg. I used 2x amount of Seafoam and fresh tank of 87 non ethanol. 2.5 miles later the beast awoke and that was 13 yrs. ago.
For winter layup I use Walmart Supertech fuel additive the past 5 yrs. and always 89 octane. Results, it starts within 1-2 button pushes in the spring with full choke. I didn't like the way Stabil performs starting and the sluggishness in the spring and was really worse using it in the VT1100C. I found buying Stabil in larger (frugal) quantity's, I let it sit on the shelf it turned brown but..