Eh, I wouldn't buy anything without taking them apart and inspecting their condition as they are.

 

+1

Waste of money. Take it apart and clean what ya got. If anything is messed up just replace that piece.

 

I have done eight carburetors in the last twelve months. None needed new gaskets, O rings, etc. What they all needed was the pilots jets cleaned. No failures were found with any other parts.

 

I have done eight carburetors in the last twelve months. None needed new gaskets, O rings, etc. What they all needed was the pilots jets cleaned. No failures were found with any other parts.

+1

Motorcycle carbs aren't like automotive carbs, you clean/rebuild them on a bike with 10k-20k miles, on a car you pull the carb and rebuild it at 100k-200k miles.

 

Well I don't want to pull them apart only to find that I need to replace one of the o-rings and don't have it, ya know? Then the bike has to sit around unusable for days until I get the new one in. And since I can't do this stuff in my apartment complex parking lot, it has to be done on the weekends. And like I said, the bike DOES have 20k miles on it, so I figured the seals could probably use replacing at the very least.

 

Still looking for more input...If I take the carbs apart to check the condition of the seals, and they need replacing, my bike is now laid up until I can get some in (days).

So maybe should I just buy one kit? Then I could replace any parts that need replacing and not just all of them?

 

or since you've got the kit and the carbs disassembled, might as well replace them all, needed or otherwise...

 

or since you've got the kit and the carbs disassembled, might as well replace them all, needed or otherwise...

Well that was my opinion to begin with but then everyone jumped in and said it was a waste of money...

 

i cleaned my carbs a few days ago on my 11 year old bike and everything looked good as new inside, however if you have the money to spend and would like peace of mind then go for it.

 

i cleaned my carbs a few days ago on my 11 year old bike and everything looked good as new inside, however if you have the money to spend and would like peace of mind then go for it.

Have you owned it for all 11 of those years? I mean, my bike is only 7 years old but I've only owned it for like 6 months so for all I know the carbs could have been freshly rebuilt recently (doubtful) or could have never been opened since the factory put them in (more likely).

 

i cleaned my carbs a few days ago on my 11 year old bike and everything looked good as new inside, however if you have the money to spend and would like peace of mind then go for it.

Have you owned it for all 11 of those years? I mean, my bike is only 7 years old but I've only owned it for like 6 months so for all I know the carbs could have been freshly rebuilt recently (doubtful) or could have never been opened since the factory put them in (more likely).

still gonna be a complete waste of your money... if something was screwed up... your bike would either be A leaking gas or B really not running right.

U just need to clean what u got.

 

IMO a carb sync tool is definitely worth it. You need if for what ever bike you own (FI or carbed) unless it is a HD (with a single carb or FI throttle body) or single cylinder dirt bike. If you have friends with bikes you can share the cost and tool.

 

IMO a carb sync tool is definitely worth it. You need if for what ever bike you own (FI or carbed) unless it is a HD (with a single carb or FI throttle body) or single cylinder dirt bike. If you have friends with bikes you can share the cost and tool.

...we were talking about carb rebuild kits (kits that include the gasket, o-ring, needles, etc), not a carb sync tool...

 

Honestly, ripping apart carbs is a quick enough process that you may as well do it, examine the o-rings that are in there, and clean it and put it back together. The only way o-rings are failing is if they are completely dry/brittle.

 

IMO a carb sync tool is definitely worth it. You need if for what ever bike you own (FI or carbed) unless it is a HD (with a single carb or FI throttle body) or single cylinder dirt bike. If you have friends with bikes you can share the cost and tool.

...we were talking about carb rebuild kits (kits that include the gasket, o-ring, needles, etc), not a carb sync tool...

If your going to do work on your carbs, your going to have to sync them afterwards.

 

Honestly, ripping apart carbs is a quick enough process that you may as well do it, examine the o-rings that are in there, and clean it and put it back together. The only way o-rings are failing is if they are completely dry/brittle.

I was under the impression that if the o-rings or gasket are old and dry/brittle, they won't seat properly after taking them apart...kind of one of those, pandora's box things (can't un-see it). So once I open it, if they are bad, then I can't put it back together until I have new ones...



And yes I know I have to sync the carbs, but I'm not about to drop $50-$100 on the sync tool, I've read plenty of guides on how to make a homemade one so I plan on doing that

 

There are no gaskets in your carbs. One o-ring for each pilot screw, one washer for each pilot screw, and the rubber diaphragms (which sort of act like gaskets with the way they go in), and that's it.

 

There are no gaskets in your carbs. One o-ring for each pilot screw, one washer for each pilot screw, and the rubber diaphragms (which sort of act like gaskets with the way they go in), and that's it.

hmm, for some reason I thought there was a gasket under the float bowl...guess I'm crazy ;D

 

Oh yeah, that thin rubber piece that goes around the bowl.

Is it leaking? No? Then you don't need one.

 

Oh yeah, that thin rubber piece that goes around the bowl.

Is it leaking? No? Then you don't need one.

Well like I said before, it's not leaking now, but I was under the impression that with older rubber gaskets/o-rings once you take them off they never seat properly again and may leak...

 

Only if you put them back in improperly.

Just buy a set of seals and get on with your life. It's been 4 days and you could have just ripped apart the carbs and checked everything out without all this nonsense. You obviously want to buy seals, so go ahead.

 

Only if you put them back in improperly.

Just buy a set of seals and get on with your life. It's been 4 days and you could have just ripped apart the carbs and checked everything out without all this nonsense. You obviously want to buy seals, so go ahead.

No need to get upset man, If you would have read my first post I already said I can't do this kind of stuff during the week because I live in an apartment, I have to take the bike to my parents house to work in their garage...

I was just trying to educate myself on the seals and such, I don't have any previous knowledge on the subject so all I know is what I'm told and I've been told many different things...

 

My bike had 20k miles on it before the carbs were ever touched. No internal maintenance at all. So I'm telling you again I don't think you need seals.

 

My bike had 20k miles on it before the carbs were ever touched. No internal maintenance at all. So I'm telling you again I don't think you need seals.

And all the seals were fine? Then I probably won't get the kits because that's about exactly what mine is. Almost 21k miles and it seems like nobody did any maintenance on it at all...Guess the next time I take the bike home I'll pull the carbs apart and hope for the best, hehe

 

Seals were fine. Of course I made sure they were clean, that they still seated firmly into the bowl, and I used a very thin layer of some rubber o-ring lubricant which I doubt was even necessary.

If my carbs had been sitting for 5 years on a rusty bike that obviously wouldn't start and had old fuel left in there, then I'd be worried about replacing parts. But, for the most part, flowing gas keeps carburetors functioning properly for as long as gas flows, which is why I tell people not to touch their carbs if their bike is running fine.