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VLX 600 Carburetor Anatomy

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carb help
9.5K views 13 replies 3 participants last post by  axman88  
#1 ·
I have purchased a new Chinese carburetor to replace the stock one on my bike. I'm having trouble identifying where the two connections in this picture go. I know one goes to the radiator and can tell which one that is on the stock carb but these are side by side and I don't know enough about carbs to know which one goes to the radiator. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 

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#2 ·
Those 2 pipes with plastic caps look like pictures I have seen of the fuel inlet .
Take the caps off and blow into them and see if the air comes out in the float bowl through the float valve.
If so neither one is for coolant !
 

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#4 ·
I don't have those on my bike, so I was just guessing about the picture, but you are right since I saw this video it shows where the float valve is on the other side of the bowl.

I don't think it matters which direction the coolant flows through those either, unless the hoses only fit one way.
Do they just circulate coolant in that fitting, or does it flow around other areas of the carb body?
Just my curiosity about how they work.
 

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#5 ·
The diagram shows the coolant going to the intake manifold first, then into the bottom and out the side of the carburetor, but as I recall the OEM carb had two separate nipples, and the image you posted appears to be two nipples on the same tube.
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You may be the first forum member to get their hands on this aftermarket carb. This is a relatively new thing. I don't recall there being any aftermarket options when I was looking as recently as a year ago. I'm glad to see that somebody has stepped into the market vacuum. This should also bring down the inflated price asked for OEM carbs.

Can you post more pictures from different angles? A link to the source you purchased from? What jets are installed?
 
#6 ·
That video I saw was actually a 2006 600, so maybe in the next year or so they changed the coolant piping design to the one on that new carb.

 
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#7 ·
I found this picture, which is what I remember as being installed on my 2001.
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I didn't give it too much thought when I had the carb off for cleaning, but now I'm thinking that perhaps there are NO internal coolant channels inside the carb, and the coolant just heats up that right angle block fitting, which, in turn, heats up the carb body by conduction. If this is true, the aftermarket design should work just as well, although the heat transfer characteristics of the alloy might be different, and the nipples will almost certainly be more brittle and less strong than brass. Direction of flow shouldn't matter at all, I would think.

I've read of people leaving the carb coolant connections disconnected on their VLXs and reporting no ill effects, but so many of us are fair weather riders, and that sort of external environment data almost never comes with reports like this.

The coolant lines are supposed to be there to HEAT the carb, and I'm thinking that heating the manifold is even more important, to prevent fuel condensing in there and causing uneven A/F ratios between front and rear cylinders with the single carb. One sees coolant lines to carbs and manifolds on a lot of diagrams for snowmobiles and ATVs which are definitely ridden in cold weather.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thank you, thank you, thank you. It appears to simply be a passthrough. I didn't think to blow on them, but once i did they were connected. I have posted some pictures below for those who are interested in what these carbs look like. It's very similar to the one that was on my 2004 bike. I haven't put it back together yet because I was waiting on a jet to come and found out today that it was actually lost in the mail. I got the carb from eBay from a supplier titled racingroadparts. It came with two additional jets a 120 and 125. I didn't ask the size of the installed jets because I was going to change the main jet to a Dynojet 130 because i have Vance and Hines pipes and that setup worked well before. I'm also using the needle and slide from the old carb because the one that came with the new one is not adjustable. It's a starting point anyway.
 

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#10 ·
How important is it that the slot on top of the jet is not messed up from trying to remove it. That's the reason I ordered a replacement but it got lost in the mail. I can hear my daddy saying "you're going to strip it" and I messed it up pretty good. I will see if I can find another one if I need to. I have 126 but was afraid that was too far away. I've attached a picture.
 

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#11 ·
That screwdriver slot will not cause a problem.
The important part is the drilling and seats, so if they are not damaged it is good to reuse.
Make sure no pieces come off when snugging it down.
 
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