Need a rebuild.. or more accurately, rebuilder!

[buckshot gumbo]

I've been reading through the reams of info BassCliff gave me in my new guy welcome kit, and think I've decided that doing a rebuild myself might be a bit much. I'm comfortable around engines, but carbs and trannies have always mystified me a bit, and now isn't the time for a crash course on rebuilding... especially 4 at once!!
So, can anybody recommend someone that I could have do this?
Nearby, preferably (I'm in MD). Considering Loaded Gun Customs in DE, but I wanted to bounce the idea off of you guys first...
The bike has 33 smoothbores (thanks for the id, RapidRay)

 

[GateKeeper]

for the carbs, follow the tutorial and you will not have any problems at all, very easy, very simple, get the parts and go for it.

look in my build thread, you can see the ones I did, it was the first time I ever did a rebuild of carbs and it came out great and no issues at all, by the time you get to the 4th carb, you probably wont even be reading the manual.....

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

If you're organized and follow directions, you can do it yourself.

If you really don't want to, visit the "GS Parts and Services" section and send your carbs to one of the trusted members here who perform this service for a reasonable fee. Don't, I repeat DON'T trust any bike shop or dealership with cleaning your carbs. I've read literally hundreds of sob stories and horror stories here in these forums.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[Guest]

And as far as trannies go, I also trembled with fear at the thought of ripping into a transmission. But, I was forced to once when I blew up my dirtbike engine a couple of years ago. I was quite surprised to find that they are very simple devices. They are NOT like car transmissions. Trust me, with a good shop manual, they are nothing to either repair or just r&r. You can do it and we'll be here to help if you run into trouble.

Sci85

 

[rapidray]

I have an ultrasonic cleaner & feel that it is the BEST way to clean carbs, bar none! I also have Berrymans & several other chemicals that don't work as well as the ultrasonic. Call me at 714--356-7845 to discuss if interested. I even have bikes I can put them on to test run to get them very close to your application(if you have a 16 valve 1100 or 1150). Ray.

 

[Normk]

There aren't four carbs. There is one carb. four times which is quite a different thing. Since the carbs are virtually identical dealing with them is quite simple. Think the operations through before beginning, use a separate parts pan for each one, segregate the screws by poking them into a piece of cardboard and labelling if concerned about mixing them. No big deal at all.

One of the biggests "No, no's" is to remove the throttle plate and shaft from CV carbs as the screws are staked into place. There is usually nothing to be gained in terms of access or other required operations other than rebusing the shafts which requires removal.

Ditto the transmission, as someone said. They are a logical arrangement and can be tested by hand before replacing the case half to ensure that everything is in place. Unlike an engine, there aren't valves to bend, etc. Read the manual several times, keep notes and photos as you pull it apart and spend some time to turn the gear sets by hand once you have it opened up. Once you understand how one bike transmission operates, the mystery is gone.

Ray's offer is too good to pass up. Take him up on it before the novelty wears off from his new sonic cleaner as we always love to play with new toys when first acquired. Get him while his enthusiasm is high!

Keep us posted as to progress, and good luck.

 

[SVSooke]

Did my first full rebuild on my 85 750EF last year.Have done 2 more since.A set of 83 750 carbs for a friend and a set of VM's off my 1000.Not as intimidating as it looks.No I don't want to do yours,you should try it yourself as you will do the best job,period.

 

[cableguy]

Fear not compadre! If you're comfortable taking motors and trannies apart, and can fix your own car you can do this. I was in the same as you last year, but I followed the instructions I found here, and just tackled 2 at a time. You can fit 2 carb bodies in the dip can. I thought I would be lost once the carb was stripped and I had a body sitting next to a pile of parts, but it wasn't that way at all. I say go for it.

 

[btbarb]

I've been reading through the reams of info BassCliff gave me in my new guy welcome kit, and think I've decided that doing a rebuild myself might be a bit much. I'm comfortable around engines, but carbs and trannies have always mystified me a bit, and now isn't the time for a crash course on rebuilding... especially 4 at once!!
So, can anybody recommend someone that I could have do this?
Nearby, preferably (I'm in MD). Considering Loaded Gun Customs in DE, but I wanted to bounce the idea off of you guys first...
The bike has 33 smoothbores (thanks for the id, RapidRay)

Same story as the others, but I have less experience (6 months) than most, I was sure there was no way I could do it and much to my surprise and delight, I did. Time and desire are important, if you have some type of date deadline or have no desire to learn this part of the bike, you might go too fast or take shortcuts that could cause frustration and lost time/energy/money.

Also, even if you pay someone to rebuild them, you'll still spend time tuning and and maybe setting float levels and doing the on/off thing on the bike, that was way more a PITA for me than the tear-down / rebuild.

 

[Pendulum]

I've rebuilt carbs before, and done plenty of work on cars ranging from my '71 Beetles to 500whp Honda Civics, and nothing has ****ed me off and discouraged me more than the carbs on my 79 GS550. I actually gave up on them a few weeks ago but I think I'm ready to get back at them. If you have PATIENCE, you'll be fine. The actual rebuild wasn't bad, but I ran into a hiccup with my pilot fuel screws and now I'm having some minor issues, but like Bryan said above: The removal/re-install and tuning is what's the worst.