B4 carb cleaning questions

[commuterbandit]

I have a few questions about cleaning the carbs on my 92 B4. I really appreciate if someone here can help answer.

I got the emulsion tubes out. But I am not sure if I need to remove the slide blocks for cleaning. And I don't know how to remove them.
If I don't have to remove them, can I spray crab cleaner on them for cleaning purpose?

The float assemblies seem to need some cleaning. Can I use the carb cleaner to clean them?

Thanks in advance for your help.

P.S. An interesting observation, the two carbs on the left are more dirtier the two on the right as you can see from the picture of the emulsion tubes.

[tomacGTi]

You should have ordered new o-rings for the internal bits before cracking the carbs open. If they've never been apart before, chances are they need to be replaced as well. Search carb o-rings in the forums for more info.

Don't pull the slide holders until you do this, they won't seal back up and you'll be pissing up a tree trying to sort out jetting issues caused by bum o-rings. Don't pull the floats either: there are o-rings that hold them to the body.

Do douche every hole in the front of the carbs at the mouth where they meet the airbox.

If you got the emulsion tubes out, I would use some very fine wire from a multi-stranded bundle to clean out each of the orifices. Do not be aggressive as you do not want to make the holes any bigger. Carb cleaner is fine for removing the funk, it's probably from stale fuel.

The miscoloration might be from the mixture screws being misadjusted. Use info from the jetting database to zero yours out.

You'll have to re-synch: search the forums again for a manometer and you can do it yourself.

[TJS]

Try this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cluffwnuMgk&feature=grec_index

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exa467_eoXw

http://cycles.evanfell.com/2008/09/how-to-clean-a-motorcycle-carburetor-the-right-way/

[TJS]

This says ninja, but its demo is on a bandit. Very Good details!

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Cleaning_the_carbs_1

[trev69]

best change the o rings while youre this far. the gunk on the tubes would tell me the o rings would not have been replaced for a looong time. ChrisH on here does a set for decent money, he's in the uk, not sure where you are so postage may make them more expensive.
the link above is great and very helpful.
this one is for gixxer 400s but the same principles apply
www.tonysleep.co.uk/gsxr400carbs

[commuterbandit]

Thanks everyone for responding to my questions and thank you for all the advices and pointers.

I just got the bike recently so I don't know much about the service history. It has hot start problem. I figure the carbs need some cleaning. I think I got most of the parts out for cleaning except the slide holders. They are stuck pretty tight. I couldn't push them out with my fingers. I might have to leave them alone.

I have already cleaned the float bowls with pinesol solution. Right now, I have all the jets and needles soaking in the carb cleaner. If that doesn't clean well, I might have to get the chem-dip.

I already got the new float needles and gaskets. However, I still need to get the viton o-rings. From our forum here, the o-rings sizes are

10x1.5
7.5x1.5
5.5x1.5
4x1
3x1

If I am in UK, I would get them from ChrisH. However, I am in the US, so I found one online store which has all the sizes. But you have to buy 25 for each size. The total cost is about $42. If the order is over $50, you get free shipping. Anybody has any experience with smallparts.com?

The faq in ninja site is great. That is where I first learned about the JIS screws. I bought a cheap #2 phillips screwdriver and filed down the tip so it could fit into the screw head perfectly. I didn't round out any of those screws that hold the float bowls during the removal.

Thanks to tomacGTi. I picked up the trick from one of tomacGTi's posts on how to remove the emulsion tubes.

I have never worked on motorcycle. This is the first time for me to open up the carbs for cleaning. So I am a little cautious on everything even with something seems so obvious to some of you. Thanks again for your help.

[tomacGTi]

Just ping Chris H.

It may be less than the $50 you're expecting and won't be stuck with more than you need.

[Chris H]

Makesure you order Viton o'rings and not the cheap Nitril ones.
Remember to lube your new o'rings in fuel before fitting, peole fit them dry and pinch them.
I can post out to the US at £15 a set posted.

[commuterbandit]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the offer. Since the online store is associated with amazon, and it offers 2-day free shipping, I ordered from them. I should be getting the viton o-rings, zinc plated socket cap bolts (for float bowls), and the anti-seize lube tomorrow.

This site is great. People are so helpful.