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My turn for carbs

Big T

Big T

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I have been starting up the GS1000 on a regular basis since October, when I gave it a workout before the rains came. At that time, I noticed the carbs could use some work. It been years since they were synced, so I bought a Morgan carbtune.

So I pulled off my carbs today, and lo and behold, the boots are torn. So as I search for those, It occurs to me that my carbs are pretty grungy and maybe I should just strip and dip them and replace the wear parts. The gaskets have never been replaced on these carbs.

So I started checking carb kits and found a lot of variation on what you get. I want to just go with gaskets and needle/seat. Any recommendations on a brand? I read that there is a lot of quality differences between kits.

I'll order up some O rings for the carbs, too. Oh, and I might as well pull and strip my spare set from the parts bike I bought, and *** (insert endless list here). Darn bikes, need work every 29 years or so to keep them fresh and running

I guess I'll be in the garage a few nights this month.
 
I highly recommend purchasing the comprehensive yet inexpensive carb o-ring kits offered by Robert A. Barr (as mentioned frequently here in these forums). He's one of "US" :)

If you can't locate him, message me and I'll provide an e-mail address for you to contact him on. I'd rather not post something like that publicly.
 
Hey BigT :-D

Yeah, those are the same kits I bought too - Robert Barr's cycle o-rings, and the K&L kits, now I remember that guys said they were better than the Keyster kits. Probably good advice about using the original jets too. I know I read that also, but after my mechanic had already used the K&L stuff... so far, so good. I hope it all lasts.

I also got new intake boots (to cylinder) and the air inlet boots (from airbox) from bike bandit... or choose your source, Suzuki shops have 'em along with all the usual places talked about on here.
And all new clamps for those boots too.

I know you already know all this stuff, I'm just practicing typing \\:D/

Oh yeah - Also like everyone here suggests... I changed the crappy screws that hold the intake boots on, to new st. steel allen head screws.
Later -
 
GregM. said:
Hey BigT :-D
I know you already know all this stuff, I'm just practicing typing \\:D/
Click to expand...

Well, I know how do to the labor, but since I've never rebuilt the carbs, I want to make sure I get the best parts.

This is what greeted me when I pulled the carb rack

Suzukicarbs002.jpg



One grungy set of carbs

Suzukicarbs004.jpg


One cracked set of boots

No wonder the carbs are not spot on
 
I say you don't need the rebuild kits. Buy the orings from Robert and buy a set of bowl/top gaskets. You can get them on ebay for about 15 bucks. If you need new needles and seats, get them from www.motorcyclecarbs.com

Reuse all your other parts. They typically don't wear out.
 
Bruce,

That's what I wanted to know. I'll order up the manifolds, O rings and gaskets, then start dipping the bodies and checking the floats.
 
renobruce said:
I say you don't need the rebuild kits. Buy the orings from Robert and buy a set of bowl/top gaskets. You can get them on ebay for about 15 bucks. If you need new needles and seats, get them from www.motorcyclecarbs.com

Reuse all your other parts. They typically don't wear out.
Click to expand...

I agree. Other than the o-rings, the gaskets for the top and bowl and maybe the needles and seats, you should be able to reuse everything else. If you're careful taking them apart, you should have no problem. I have no direct experience, but a lot of folks on this site have nothing but bad things to say about the jets, screws and springs in the rebuild kits. Don't forget about the o-rings that go on the boots where they meet the head. They're not part of the o-ring kit.

If it's your first time, this might help... http://www.thegsresources.com/files/vm_carb_rebuild.pdf
 
Big T......Best advise I can give you, having just done mine about a year ago, is to mark the position/location of the 3 fuel supply tubes that go from carb body to carb body.....If you put them back in the exact same position, your chances of them leaking are much better. They do not have replaceable seals and are N/A from anyone....Set the float height using the "wet method" .....And check the fit of the "O" rings for the pilot fuel screws, the ones I got from Robert Barr were not a perfect fit (little loose on the screw) and kept trying to come out of position when starting them into the hole....A little vaseline and a little babysitting and they finally went in correctly and seem to have sealed OK.....The only parts I replaced in mine were the bowl gaskets, the needle and seats and the needle jets (70$ shipped) and they work very nicely......BadBillyB
 
ptm said:
I agree. Other than the o-rings, the gaskets for the top and bowl and maybe the needles and seats, you should be able to reuse everything else. If you're careful taking them apart, you should have no problem. I have no direct experience, but a lot of folks on this site have nothing but bad things to say about the jets, screws and springs in the rebuild kits. Don't forget about the o-rings that go on the boots where they meet the head. They're not part of the o-ring kit.

If it's your first time, this might help... http://www.thegsresources.com/files/vm_carb_rebuild.pdf
Click to expand...

Mega-dittos. All the rebuild kits I've seen are filled with nothing but shoddy crap. They are a waste of money.

O-rings from Robert Barr: http://cycleorings.com

Bowl gaskets from your favorite Suzuki supplier or Cycle Recycle II:
http://crc2onlinecatalog.com

That's all you'll need. There's a guy in New Zealand who sells halfway decent needles and seats if you need them, or you can order them from Suzuki.

Since your carbs are somewhat functioning, you'll likely be fine with bowl gaskets, o-rings, and a good cleaning.
 
Thanks for the links, everyone!

I've cleaned my jets many times, so nothing in the bowls is new to me. I've just never taken the carbs off the rack and comprehensively cleaned everything.

Since I've own my GS from new, I'd rather know who has the good stuff and not get stuck with any crap.
 
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Regarding the infamous "T" connector and to a lesser extent, the two fuel tubes. There are fixes/parts available if you have trouble, but there's really no reason to split the carbs unless you feel you have to clean out the main fuel passage perfectly and actually SEE that it's clean. Same for the float bowl vent passages. A quick blow into the tubes is usually enough to confirm they're clear.
Carbs that have sat a long time or have an unknown history I would split, but yours? You would know best.
 
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