78' GS550 project.

[brslk]

Thanks GK. I have heard of using pinesol but wasn't to sure. Your carbs came out wondrous. I will do that.

I have also read of boiling in it, is that any better or just faster?
Not that my wife will allow cycle parts in the kitchen.

What ratio of water to pinesol is used?

Bruce.

 

[GateKeeper]

I used the one full bottle of Pine Sol and added water to the 5 gallon bucket, so I filled it up halfway, dropped in the carbs, and added more water until they were covered, let it sit, stirred it up every so often, and used a brush to brush off some of the heavier gunk stuck on, and let it sit some more, grab one of those bottle brushes, it will between everything.

Let it all sit at least overnight, the longer the better, and the Pine Sol will not harm anything,

boiling might help, I just didn't have a pot to hold all the liquid, and then figure out on how to boil it,,,,,just heat up some water, kettle, and pour in, I actually left mine outside, and in the morning, there was a layer of ice on top....LOL

 

[brslk]

I used the one full bottle of Pine Sol and added water to the 5 gallon bucket, so I filled it up halfway, dropped in the carbs, and added more water until they were covered, let it sit, stirred it up every so often, and used a brush to brush off some of the heavier gunk stuck on, and let it sit some more, grab one of those bottle brushes, it will between everything.

Let it all sit at least overnight, the longer the better, and the Pine Sol will not harm anything,

boiling might help, I just didn't have a pot to hold all the liquid, and then figure out on how to boil it,,,,,just heat up some water, kettle, and pour in, I actually left mine outside, and in the morning, there was a layer of ice on top....LOL

Will try that and post pics when finished. If it all goes bad I will blame GK.

Bruce.

 

[brslk]

I went to the dollar store today to buy some Pine-sol for the carbs and then I cut open a couple of windshield washer anti-freeze containers.
I put two carbs in each container and added two of these small bottles of Pine-sol to each and topped up with water.
I let them soak for about 2 hours then went to take a look see how they were coming before I went in the house.
Holy crap! I had no idea how well Pine-sol would work but it is working awesome so far!
I won't show any pics until tomorrow when I take the carbs out but I will say that after a mere 2 hours, 90% of the crud is gone.

I also removed my shifter linkage and various carb screws from the Evapo-rust and was equally impressed with that.(these things were so rusty it was ridiculous!)

If only there was a way to dunk my wheels half at a time (I'm thinking of a way to do that).

I also put the pods back together after paint and cleaning.

All in all I'm pretty stoked to get the carbs back together after a little paint and polish.

It's Friday so it was a four beer night!

Bruce.

 

[GateKeeper]

Hate to say it.....

but I told ya so......

and I was told by others here

Pine Sol Rocks.....LOL


I guess your not gonna blame me for anything....hehehehehe

 

[brslk]

Definitely no blame headed your way GK.
In fact if you ever make your way west to my part of the country I will buy you a beer or four.

Bruce.

 

[GateKeeper]

Sounds like a plan.....

 

[brslk]

Before.

After (so far).

My little carb cleaning area.

I am super impressed with Pin-Sol for cleaning carbs.
It did take some scrubbing with a wire brush but I didn't let them soak as long as I should have.
I'm sure if I let them soak for a couple of days all the grime would have come off easier but I am impatient.

Tomorrow I will finish the assembly and post the final pics of them.

Bruce.

 

[brslk]

The carbs are finished. They were a lot easier than I had thought to clean and rebuild.
A very satisfying part of the build.

I painted parts yesterday and bought a $20 toaster oven at Zellers to bake the paint in (the wife wouldn't let me do it in the house oven.) can't say I blame her, The last time I did that it stunk up my house for days.

I partially assembled them while the paint baked only to have to take them apart again because I got a bit ahead of myself.

And fully assembled.

I gotta get to the frame next so I can start putting things back together.

Gotta work tomorrow so it was only a 3 beer night...

Bruce.

 

[boontonmike]

Nice job on those carbs. I think a polish or black paint on the bowls would fully set them off. What a difference from before though. Did you buy or make those nice screens?

 

[brslk]

Thanks.
The screens actually were on the bike when I bought it but were pretty rusty and bent. I straightened, de-rusted and painted them.
I'm still debating about painting or polishing the bowls though. I'm thinking polished would look better.

Bruce.

 

[Cyclepath834]

Wow, what a nice job. Great to see that pine sol idea in action. I like the idea of cleaning them all in one piece first, then breaking them down. I bet it means less crap in the tiny spaces you don't want crap to be....
I'm planning to start mine shortly.

Thanks.
The screens actually were on the bike when I bought it but were pretty rusty and bent. I straightened, de-rusted and painted them.
I'm still debating about painting or polishing the bowls though. I'm thinking polished would look better.

Bruce.

 

[GateKeeper]

Hey Bruce...

Very nice job, they came out looking fantastic...

my opinion, is you either leave the bowls as is, or paint them to match the tops, polished will look way too far off from the rest as nothing else is polished on the carbs, your only going to see one bowl from either side, just my 2 pennies worth....

and I had one beer only tonight, OK, and a good stiff chaser of Crown Royal...lol

 

[Guest]

Wow, that pine sol is indeed good stuff. I agree with GK. Paint the bowls. You may even want to lay down some silver or aluminum on the bodies. I saw some on this site painted that way and they looked amazing.

 

[brslk]

Wow, what a nice job. Great to see that pine sol idea in action. I like the idea of cleaning them all in one piece first, then breaking them down. I bet it means less crap in the tiny spaces you don't want crap to be....
I'm planning to start mine shortly.

Exactly. I removed the tops and soaked the carbs then removed the bowls after to keep the crap out.

Bruce.

 

[brslk]

Hey Bruce...

Very nice job, they came out looking fantastic...

my opinion, is you either leave the bowls as is, or paint them to match the tops, polished will look way too far off from the rest as nothing else is polished on the carbs, your only going to see one bowl from either side, just my 2 pennies worth....

and I had one beer only tonight, OK, and a good stiff chaser of Crown Royal...lol

The more I think about it GK the more I am leaning towards painting the bowls black.

I took the night off from the garage so no beer for me tonight.

Bruce.

 

[Good Times]

I think painting them black would look better. It would match up. Seems like you'd either polish both the tops and bowls or paint both. Although I'm sure there are lots of exceptions to that rule!

Great work by the way!

 

[brslk]

Wow, that pine sol is indeed good stuff. I agree with GK. Paint the bowls. You may even want to lay down some silver or aluminum on the bodies. I saw some on this site painted that way and they looked amazing.

Pine-Sol is awesome for this. I was gonna use some stinky flammable carb cleaner stuff but was afraid I would blow up my garage when the furnace kicked in.
This is an excellent alternative that is safe and makes the garage smell piney.

I think I will paint the bowls black.
I was going to paint the bodies aluminum or silver but I kinda like the raw look.

The paint on the choke lever is a "raw cast aluminum" paint that I had intended to use on the bodies.

Thanks for the input.

Bruce.

 

[brslk]

I think painting them black would look better. It would match up. Seems like you'd either polish both the tops and bowls or paint both. Although I'm sure there are lots of exceptions to that rule!

Great work by the way!

Thanks Good Times,
I agree with you, GK and Sci about painting the bowls black.

I'll probably do it tomorrow and post pics. If I don't like it I can always wire wheel it and polish or leave as is.

Bruce.

 

[brslk]

I didn't get to the carbs and decided to get at the frame so I have somewhere to hang the parts as I finish them.

Tonight I snugged the frame to the bike table and got out some implements
of destruction.

Some of the removed tabs and stuff. I guess it's past the point of no return now.
I haven't decided if I am going to remove the helmet lock yet.

Anybody know what this bracket is for? there was nothing attached to it when I got the bike and the threads were so full of dirt I don't think there has been anything attached to it for some time.
(it is on the right side hand side of the frame)

This appears to be a bracket that a PO badly welded onto the frame for a steering stabilizer. (it's gonna go)

I had to quit after only 3 beers because the sparks and metal dust were flying and the wife's car was in there. I was too lazy to move my car out of the driveway and move hers out of the garage.

To be continued tomorrow...

Bruce.