Project: 1985 GS550ES

PM me if your interested. I can send them to you tmw if you want them ($20.00 + whatever shipping comes to?)

unless of course you want me to ship you two carbs with jet needle screws? I will still have two extra carbs minus the jet screws I replaced. However my carburetor is repaired with the spare Lee sent me. And .... once you get a mech to back those screws out eventually ... you will also have two spare carbs minus needles.

Pick up an electric drill and titanium bits. Make sure you spray PB blaster in the struck screws, helps the drill bit penetrate the screw. And use the tiniest drill bit and center it.

I wish you the best of luck. If it gets ruined I will send you the needed parts from this carburetor set I have.

I've already got the drill and the bits and PB Blaster has been on these things for days and days. I did run out to Sears and get a 1/64 drill bit and it worked pretty well. However, the backout/extractor/ez-out didn't work out on either screw. On one the hole in the screw just kept stripping and on the other the backout bit snapped flush to the screw! That's it. I'm putting the carbs back on as is and running lean at idle for the rest of the year!

Guess it's time to search for a new set of carbs for this winter. How annoying! Weeks of wasted time and I'll still be running lean.

Pick up an electric drill and titanium bits. Make sure you spray PB blaster in the struck screws, helps the drill bit penetrate the screw. And use the tiniest drill bit and center it.

I wish you the best of luck. If it gets ruined I will send you the needed parts from this carburetor set I have.

Bad news. Just got a call that my carbs are ready for pickup - with the two screws still stuck!!!!!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGG GGGHHHHHHH!

Guess it's up to me. Well, at least I know that I didn't overlook the option of shopping the work out to a pro.

I think I'll pick up the carbs and drop by sears for the needed tools. Hopefully I don't destroy an otherwise perfectly good set of carbs. Wish me luck!

If no luck - mail them to me :-D After having already done this to the exact same set of carburetors, I know how to do it. Hopefully the Buell mech knows what to do. Good Luck.

Well, picked the carbs up from mech # 1 (at a custom shop) and drove 1/2 mile down the road and dropped 'em to mech # 2 (at a HD/Buell shop). Hopefully he'll be callin' with good news by weeks end. [fingers, toes and eyeballs crossed! :shock:

I had the same problem with one jet screws on my 84GS750... drilled a hole in the screw and used a screw extractor.... need to be very gentle.

My bike had the same symptoms as yours, white plugs and high idling... was running lean. I have adjusted it using the highest RPM method and now it idles perfectly. My adjustments are 2 1/2 turn out on each carburetor.

Good luck.

Hey there,

Lee sent me a replacement carburetor I purchased from him because, oddly enough I was having the same exact problem with my carburetors that you are having with yours. I had two jet screws that were stripped. When his carburetors arrived, I went about extracting the two jet screws very very carefully and did so with success and replaced the two stripped screws with two from Lee's carb. Yes, that means I have two extras. See if we have the same carburetor (I have a 1983 Suzuki GS550E).

Ok here is what I did - very very carefully. I got an electric drill and titanium bits. I got the smallest bit I could fit in the electric drill and tried to drill a hole in the stripped jet screws. At first, it seemed like I wasn't going to be able to. I used compressed air to clean out the shavings. This requires some patience as the steel on those screws is pretty hard. Anyway. I was able to drill a hole eventually about a 1/4 inch deep in the center of each screw. I then got the smallest screw extractor and hammered it into the hole I drilled. I then saturated everything (once the extractor was firmly in place) with PB Blaster. I waited then got handle lock vise grips and clamped down on the screw extractor and very sloooooooooooowly (emphasis is very important) unscrewed the stripped jet screws.

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure that we've got the same carbs on our bikes. I've actually got a couple of battered sets of the carbs that I can pull replacement screws from, but I'll keep your offer in mind.

I may yet follow your lead, but since I've not been able to get the job done with my modest collection of tools I've been hoping to hire the job out to an "expert" that has the best tools and experiece.

I've done the PB Blaster, as did the custom shop, to no avail. The PB Blaster just sits in a pool on top of the screw...doesn't seep in AT ALL, and that's after sitting for over a week.

My next try: I've got another local mech on the line that says he's got his own machine shop... Wish me luck!

I'm sorry to hear that. You're so close. Maybe head for ebay...

Did you install the new intake boots and o-rings, and did this effect your idle problem?

Also, you have tried heating the area of the carbs around the screws, right? Heating and cooling cycles will cause the different metals to expand and contract, and might break the bond. Just another idea.

Hope you can work it out.

I have installed the new boots and o-rings that you sent, but I haven't had the carbs back on yet because I've been trying to get the pilot screws out.

The custom shop tried heat to no avail.

I may have located another mech that will take a shot at removing the screws... IMHO, what is needed is the right tools. I see NO reason why a competent machinist with the right tools can't drill into these screws and attempt a backout/ez out. Sure, the backout/ez out may break, but nothings lost if it does since the screws are already stuck, as long as the drilling doesn't destroy the carb body. If a drill press is used and the carb is jigged well, avoiding damage to the carb body should a non-issue. I'd do it myself, but I'm trying to avoid buying a drill press, bits, etc. for what I figure will be a one time job.

Carburetors I got from Lee

pictures of stripped jet screws (one with attached extractor)

Hey there,

Lee sent me a replacement carburetor I purchased from him because, oddly enough I was having the same exact problem with my carburetors that you are having with yours. I had two jet screws that were stripped. When his carburetors arrived, I went about extracting the two jet screws very very carefully and did so with success and replaced the two stripped screws with two from Lee's carb. Yes, that means I have two extras. See if we have the same carburetor (I have a 1983 Suzuki GS550E).

Ok here is what I did - very very carefully. I got an electric drill and titanium bits. I got the smallest bit I could fit in the electric drill and tried to drill a hole in the stripped jet screws. At first, it seemed like I wasn't going to be able to. I used compressed air to clean out the shavings. This requires some patience as the steel on those screws is pretty hard. Anyway. I was able to drill a hole eventually about a 1/4 inch deep in the center of each screw. I then got the smallest screw extractor and hammered it into the hole I drilled. I then saturated everything (once the extractor was firmly in place) with PB Blaster. I waited then got handle lock vise grips and clamped down on the screw extractor and very sloooooooooooowly (emphasis is very important) unscrewed the stripped jet screws.

I'm sorry to hear that. You're so close. Maybe head for ebay...

Did you install the new intake boots and o-rings, and did this effect your idle problem?

Also, you have tried heating the area of the carbs around the screws, right? Heating and cooling cycles will cause the different metals to expand and contract, and might break the bond. Just another idea.

Hope you can work it out.

Pilot Screws 1 & 3 - Still Stuck

Well, just heard from the custom shop today. Seems they don't think they can get the screws out without destroying the rest of the carbs. Man does this suck. I've got a great bike that runs, but I can't tune the thing because of two little screws that never should've been screwed with in the first place.

If you have any suggestions on how to get these things out, please let me know. Thanks.