Newbie - HELP! Deployed in Iraq and need to fix G1 B6 fast

[townsends1]

Hello - I am in need of some help if anyone wants to contribute.  I am currently deployed in Iraq and will be returning home in a couple months.  I bought a 96 B6 cheap, had been sitting outside for 1.5 years.  Stripped bike, sanded, painted frame and swingarm, put fresh rubber on, changed fluids, bought new tank, windshield, battery, plugs, put it back together and fired it up.  Ran but not smooth, thought carbs needed cleaning, jetting, ??

Problems
1.  Should I pay the 250.00 to have the carbs cleaned/jetted?  If so, what kit would you recommend to install?

2.  Fork seals are shot.  Is this something I can do over a weekend in my garage or do I pay the 150.00 to have the shop do it?  

I love to work/ride on bikes and this one is going to be fun to mod and ride, since I got it for less than it will cost to fix the forks and I have already stripped her and am 80% done putting her back together.  I don't like the fairing setup and after reading forums here about naked, double headlight kits, I think that is the way to go.  Also gonna shave off the goofy looking mudflap or get a rear end eliminator.  Any help would be appreciated.  I have the money for mods, but doing all my shopping online in the middle of the night gets old when I don't have the excitement of actually touching the bike, working on it and seeing the outcome.  I have looked on ebay for forks, carbs, but am unsure on which would be the best way to proceed.  HELP!!  Brian

[CWO4GUNNER]

Wow. If its a matter of not having access to the bike but wanting it running when you once again have access to it, I would just get a recommendation from a fellow serviceman biker on base of a reliable sport bike shop (not the dealer) and have someone get the repair estimates for a fair price so it's ready when you have access again. The same goes if you have access but your time is limited and you want to just ride. Otherwise I used to take my bike to the base hobby shop and rebuild my carbs and forks myself using a Clymer manual.

[Red01]

I recommend a jet kit for the B6. It'll make it easier to start and run a lot smoother - and if you're considering an aftermarket exhaust of any kind, it's damn near a requirement.

Both Holeshot & Factory-Pro are good. (For the Ivan's fans, Ivan doesn't offer a kit for the early 600.)

http://www.holeshot.com/

http://www.factorypro.com/

If you don't have a manual, get one!
(You can download one free in our members section.)

Sounds like you're pretty handy with a wrench, so armed with tools and a manual, you can attack this... and it wouldn't be a bad idea to put some better fork springs in there while you have it apart.

Some folks with the early 600/1200 bikes just trim the rear mudguard for a cleaner look, but you can clean it up further with a fender eliminator kit from Holeshot - they have a lot of goodies for Bandits, so brace your wallet!  

[townsends1]

Warrant/Red01- Thanks for the input, will take your advice and let you know how it works out.  The bike ran which is amazing after sitting for so long, and I have spent every free minute before deploying playing with it (as much as the wife would allow).  Just got to the point where I knew the carbs where so full of sh%t that I would have to have them done professionally.  Thanks again for the info.

[pmackie]

If your reasonably handy with the wrenches, and can follow the instructions/manual, both changing jetting/cleaning carbs and changing fork seals are do-able.

As Red01 said, change the fork springs when you do the fork seals. Plan to flush forks and new fork oil and think about changing brake fluid as well.