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Craig wrote: Hello srech77. Firstly, a warm welcome from me! I have been following your posts and all the good advice given to you by a few of our very knowledgeable members.....thanks gents....these discussions are always good reading and enlightening! Talking about the carb kits, should you purchase aftermarket carb kits, like Scotch mentioned, use your original float needle retaining clips.....but also check that the little 'O' rings that come for the airscrews are not undersized! I had this issue a few weeks ago and couldn't get my mixtures right......only to find that the 'O' Rings were undersized and not not sealing in the carb bodies!

Thanks Craig! It seems the potential issues with aftermarket carb kits carries over to a lot of bikes - I've had similar issues with carb kits for other bikes in the past. Thank you for the heads up -

zed_thirteen wrote:

srech77 wrote: Sage advice - thanks guys. I do have a bench grinder and should have a few extra flathead drivers laying around - when I get to that point I will make sure and carve some up ...

I have a flat blade screwdriver purchased specifically for the job. It has straight sides that just fit through the threads above the jets. It has a quality precision ground blade that fits snugly in the slot in the brass jet. The screw driver always goes back to the plastic retail hanger that it was purchased in - and NEVER gets used for anything else!

The jets are a real SOB to get out once someone has caused them to burr out - which is all too easy

Oh I know! I've buggered up a couple jets in my life ... mostly when I was younger and more impatient lol - but you learn fast. I suppose a guy could get some jets in hand, then go screwdriver shopping to find the ones that fit best?

The idle jet screw-driver that works the best for this application is one from an inexpensive set, found just about everywhere. Out of the box, it will be sloppy. The tip needs to be carefully ground (overall length shortened slightly) You'll determine the fit by your own jets and cap. "Used" fittings having a (slight) taper to the slot will require a slightly different "grind" as opposed to New parts which will have perfectly parallel slots. Because the idle-jet cap and the main-jet are external, I am not adverse to fitting the driver "home" with a VERY LIGHT TAP. This will place the driver end fully to the bottom of the slot as well as to the sides. If the driver doesn't fully engage and go completely to the bottom of the slot with a LIGHT TAP, then re-work the driver end a bit more. Common sense has to prevail here! Don't use a 3lb ball-peen ! I use a miniature ball-peen hammer to accomplish this without fear of breaking a slot-ear off.
I have a dedicated set of tools for the carbs. The "Notched" driver and small box-end wrench are for the sync. adjustments. The box-end was ground thinner to match the thickness of the lock-nut. The slot in the screw-driver matches the 1/8" (equivalent) head of the sync. adjustment stud. I've tried other ways but for myself these two tools make sync'ing very easy and consistent.

While on the topic of Tools: It removes and installs the fuel-line from the shut-off nipple and also removes the spark-plug leads, with ease!. I have a small fuel filter installed off the fuel valve nipple on a 3" piece of fuel line. I use spring-clamps because I find them very easy to release and slide with a pair of needle nose pliers. The tool is place either in front of the fuel filter clamp or behind it (respectively) to push the line off or pull the line back onto the fuel-valve nipple. I made this one some time ago and find it indispensable.