The GS550 needed carbs...
A previous post of mine described the making up of a bank of carbs from a spare set I bought. My originals had been broken by a previous owner and laid out in bits in a cardboard box. The carbs I got hold of were from a GSX750 — same bodies, but the pilot system was slightly different and the jets, obviously, were all the wrong sizes. But no matter, it proved that the GS would run... just not very well.
Because I want to put it back to standard, using the original airbox and filter, a good set of carbs was still on the wish list. And a couple of weeks ago, a bargain on eBay saved the day. For seventy bucks delivered, I had a very clean set for a GS650 on the way to me. Could not believe my luck!
It got better too, because once apart, the jets tell me that they were off the 550 after all. A strip, clean, new o-rings and we could be in business.
So many opinions, but what really works?
I'm going to presume the carburettor(s) are already removed. I'm not going to go down the route of remove tank, air box etc. because there are way too many variables with different models of bike. If you're already at the stage of thinking your carbs need a clean, you're probably more than capable of doing a great job. So from the simplest Amal Concentric to a bank of four Mikunis, we'll delve straight into what actually bloody works at home - 'cause that's where I need to do it.
Here's the replacements I bought off eBay. They're rough, but hopefully good enough to make one set of complete carbs for my GS550.
Possible reasons for cleaning.
- Bike not idling correctly?
- Misfire or flat-spot at certain engine speeds?
- Yellow varnish on the outside?
- Covered in dirt?
- Maybe they're corroded?
