Float needle and seat keepers

[gsinister]

The floats on my 80 gs1000 seem to be sticking on the float bowls. If I turn the carbs upside down and blow through the fuel line the valves seat every time with the float bowls off. With the bowls on I can blow air through the valves 30% of the time. Would the seat keepers with the extension that limits float movement solve this problem? What else should I look for?

[Guest]

The floats on my 80 gs1000 seem to be sticking on the float bowls. If I turn the carbs upside down and blow through the fuel line the valves seat every time with the float bowls off. With the bowls on I can blow air through the valves 30% of the time. Would the seat keepers with the extension that limits float movement solve this problem? What else should I look for?

Take them apart and clean them. Dip them in Berrymans and replace all the o-rings.

[gsinister]

Done last year and the float bowls still look clean and I replaced the needles and seats on #1 and #4 today even though I don't think they needed it now that I have had the bowls on and off several times with the same results. I suppose I still should clean them again. It just seems strange it only happens with the bowls on.

[Steve]

Are you doing this with the carbs dry? It helps if there is gas in the bowls, it lubes the needles in the seats.

Don't take the condition of the bowls to show whether the carbs are clean or not. It's not the bowls that cause problems, it's all the little passages deep in the body.

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[gsinister]

Yes I have been doing it with the carbs dry. A friend told me that was the easiest way to see if they would seal. Why would any amount of crud deep inside the carb only be affected when the float bowls are on? Also why was there a redesign of the plate that holds the float valve seat in place. Mine do not look like the ones in the carb rebuilding tutorial by Nessism.

[MiketheBike]

You are right. The fuel inlet should seal just as well with the bowls on or off. Pull the bowls off again and check the clearance of the floats to the bowls. If the floats got a bit bent they might be rubbing on the bowl when it is installed and this is inhibiting the movement of the float. You might just have to bend them inward slightly so the bowl is cleared or they might be hanging up on something else.

[Frank Z.]

Also check that your bowl gaskets are not impeding float travel. I bought some aftermarket gaskets that were ill-cut and had to trim off excessive material to free the floats.

[gsinister]

After way too much time not spent on my bike I discovered that the metal bracket on my float was bent. Not just the tab, but the whole bracket. This pushed the float back just far enough that it would make contact with the rear of the bowl. There must have been just enough friction to cause the float to stick. Thanks for all your help.