Before going any further I would "SUGGEST"
Going to this site and getting yourself a manual!!!

http://www.helminc.com/helm/search_...rvice_owner.asp?session=EF5AFCDAC4DE41D98CEF1E928509D58D&Style=helm&class_2=AHC

 

I just don't want to start ripping things apart so I thought I would ask first.

Good plan.

Have you ever drained the tank and bowls ??
What brand of cleaner ??

Before you go ripping things apart, you might consider draining tank and bowls and taking a run at a different cleaner.
Sometimes one works better than another;one gets what the other misses.

AND you definitely need a shop manual before you go "ripping things apart".......if you care about getting them back together, that is. :wink:

 

I syphoned the old gas out of the tank. I have not drained the bowls. How do I do that?

I will work on getting a manual now.

 

I syphoned the old gas out of the tank. I have not drained the bowls. How do I do that?

The syphon method does not address one of the major concerns, which is "crud" that might be settled in the bottom of the tank.

General information (may not apply to your model exactly):
There usually is a nipple at the bottom of the carb. It might have a hose connected with the other end open or there might not be any hose at all.
That is the overflow and drain. At the top of the nipple should be a fairly large brass screw; that is the drain "valve". Get something under the nipple of hose to catch the gas and loosen the screw. Some have to be really loose to drain but don't remove it all the way.

To actually drain the tank, you need to remove a hose somewhere and that varies a LOT by model; I'll have to let someone else address that part.

You should drain the tank BEFORE you do the bowls......or else stuff from the tank might go to the bowls AGAIN.

 

Getting my Clymer manual on the way to work.

Found out my local dealership has one left.

 

I syphoned the old gas out of the tank. I have not drained the bowls. How do I do that?

The syphon method does not address one of the major concerns, which is "crud" that might be settled in the bottom of the tank.

General information (may not apply to your model exactly):
There usually is a nipple at the bottom of the carb. It might have a hose connected with the other end open or there might not be any hose at all.
That is the overflow and drain. At the top of the nipple should be a fairly large brass screw; that is the drain "valve". Get something under the nipple of hose to catch the gas and loosen the screw. Some have to be really loose to drain but don't remove it all the way.

To actually drain the tank, you need to remove a hose somewhere and that varies a LOT by model; I'll have to let someone else address that part.

You should drain the tank BEFORE you do the bowls......or else stuff from the tank might go to the bowls AGAIN.

Cool, I will properly drain the tank. Thanks

 

Do not want to start a tiff .....I would strongly suggest getting the REAL Honda shop manual!!

IMHO

~$60 dollars will seem like a pittance if you get the carburetor stuff wrong!!

 

Yup, I'll highly recommend the real Honda manual over the Haynes or Clymer. Too many errors in the after-market manuals.

--Justin

 

Do not want to start a tiff .....I would strongly suggest getting the REAL Honda shop manual!!

I think that is good advice but it depends on the person.

Back "in the day" when I was serious about doing ALL my own work, short of an engine rebuild, I actually got BOTH. Some things were covered better in one, some things better in the other.

The real "tiff" starts when I recommend that rookies don't take their carbs apart.......but we'll leave that for another thread. :wink:

 

I use both. Honda manual for real work, and Clymer for bathroom reading and pretty pictures :lol:

 

Do not want to start a tiff .....I would strongly suggest getting the REAL Honda shop manual!!

I think that is good advice but it depends on the person.

Back "in the day" when I was serious about doing ALL my own work, short of an engine rebuild, I actually got BOTH. Some things were covered better in one, some things better in the other.

The real "tiff" starts when I recommend that rookies don't take their carbs apart.......but we'll leave that for another thread. :wink:

If I can get the thing running smooth without taking the cabs apart, then please let me know how, thats why I'm here asking for help

I have my manual now and have drained, not syphoned the gas out of the tank.

Tomorrow I am going to drain the gas out of the carbs.

If there is a way I can maybe clean the carbs fairly well without disassembling then I can go that way if it really a pain in the ass to take them apart.

I work on trucks for a living so I do know my way around a garage a little bit.

Thanks for all the help so far.

 

You can try a carb cleaner through your next couple of tanks, but if a really good cleaning is needed than I suspect your carbs will end up pulled.

How did the gas look that came out of your tank?

 

It looked pretty clean. No debris or gunk. I did run about 2 tanks and 1/2 a bottle of Justice Bros cleaner in that but it still was running really rough at low speeds.

I'm thinking if I can clean them well without disassembling them then I could try that first.

 

Actually, rebuilding the carbs isn't that hard at all. It's getting them off and on that's a royal PIA.

The two most recommended cleaners here are Seafoam and Berryman's B-12.

You may be able to find the Factory Service Manual as a free download. Try www.repairmanualclub.com, if they don't have it, google it.

If you're familiar with mechanics, and have rebuilt a carb in the past, it's not rocket science. It just takes patience and determination to get the parts back together. Getting the intake boots on my carbs was insane, but now I can do it in 10 minutes or less. Probably won't even need to get a rebuild kit.

 

I agree that rebuilding the carbs is not the hard part!!
THe hard part is getting them balanced....
You either need a carb balancer (Manometer) or you can build one (search the forum)

http://www.dansmc.com/balancecarbs.htm

 

Well, followed my book and now have the carbs out. I want to do as little disassemble of the carbs as possible and then soak them in pine-sol/water.

How far should I take them apart before soaking?

Thanks for the help so far!

 

Your gona have to take them apart. Pull the bowls, top caps, slides, jets, floats etc. No need to break the bank apart.

I soak the jets in Honda carb cleaner.

Pure pinesol works better, and if you really want to get in there, soak them in a container with a cover and tape an orbital sander to the top.

Home made ultrasonic cleaner!

Get some q-tips and brasso too. Put the q-tip in a drill and polish the float needle seats as a final step.

 

I have the caps off, everyting but the jets out. I am assuming I should pull those out before the soak?

 

Definitely. The jets are the main culprits for carb problems.

Someone here had their vacuum boots deform from soaking in Pine Sol, so you might not want to soak those. Didn't have any problems with mine, but better safe than sorry.

Under the float needle seat will probably be a small screen filter, those need to be cleaned, too.

You need to soak the jets, then inspect them carefully. The tiny openings get clogged easily, and there should be a hole through the middle of each one. Don't go crazy, they're easily damaged, but if you're careful you can use a VERY fine piece of piano wire or similar to clear any blockage. I'd try fishing line first just to be safe.

 

Cool, I will take the jets out and clean them as well. Thanks for the heads up. I will take off the boots.

 

Just took the carbs apart and the jets had some "gunk" build up on them......probably why the bike was running like crap huh?

All the parts minus the boots are now soaking in pine sol and water.

I'm pumped to put it back together and see how she runs.

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

Right on. Let us know how it turns out for ya.

 

I just pine sol'd my cbr carbs,I soaked them for three days,everyday I'd stir the carbs up making sure all the air is out.carbs came out like new.the jets may be diffrent sizes along with other parts so be sure not to mix the parts you remove from each carb.the cbr carbs had two diffrent sizes out of 4 carbs

 

the carbs are not all that hard to do , its just teadious work. when you do get them part id recommend cyclo carb cleaner it works wonders.

i dont wanna interfear with anyones advice but i would not use seafoam seafoam at anypoint. but thats just from experience and opinion.

 

Someone here had their vacuum boots deform from soaking in Pine Sol, so you might not want to soak those. Didn't have any problems with mine, but better safe than sorry.

That was me. It turned out that they soak up the oil and grow in size. If they are soaked outside of the carb for too long (24 hours), they will be too big to fit back into the carb with a correct seal. I let them air dry for a day and they shrunk enough to re-install. I suspect that they will return to normal once gas vapors rid the rubber of the oil. If you leave the diaphragm/vacuum boot in the carb, this shouldn't be an issue. I soaked one of the diaphragms for an hour outside the carb and had no difficulty fitting it back in.

I just rebuilt carbs for the first time. Taking them apart, cleaning them, and putting them back together is not hard. It's figuring out which parts need to be replaced and tuning everything. Still waiting on parts before I can tune and sync. I'll probably take it to a mechanic for the tuning as I don't have the money for a manometer or any more patience to build one.