Rebuilding carburetors....

[Rockit]

:hi:
My bike could use a little carburetor lovin', and I am sure I am up to the task. But, do any of my fellow DUers have some advice or words of wisdom before I dive head into my own personal Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance journey.
Thanks!

[guitar man]

1. Don't get in a hurry

Do get a maintenence and repair manual if you don't have one already

Before mounting the carbs back on the engine, be sure your gasket/mating surfaces are as clean as you can possibly get them. Also, be very careful torqueing them down, if you warp the flanges, it will suck air around them and it won't run right.

and MOST IMPORTANTLY: Make sure your throttle cable(s)are in good shape, properly lubed and there is no binding/restriction in them. Make sure the throttle return spring is working properly. Your life could depend on this.

Also, your bike being a '73 model, it probably has points in the ignition, so if it's running rough, you might check those also.

Good luck :hi:

[Rockit]

4. Throttle calbles.... CHECK!

Thanks for the suggestions.. I will definitely go over the points, as suggested by not only you, but the clymer manual and the guy that sold it to me...
Surprisingly though, that despite the carbs being wacky, the bike is running totally sweet!

:woohoo:

[Gregorian]

2. Make sure your floats are good.

Many times I've found that after rebuilding a carb several times, the floats had pinholes in them. I drop them in hot water, and watch for bubbles. If they're brass, you can just solder the hole up, after removing any gas that might be inside them. I've had to drill a hole to get the gas out, and then resolder it. And it can take a bit of work to solder the thing up. Just a possible problem.

Also, make sure the slide isn't flopping around in the carb barrel bore. If so, it usually means the whole carb is history. I've got stainless sleeved carbs on my Norton. Nice.

[Rockit]

3. Thanks, man!

Norton's are sweet... I had quite a crush on one before i got my bike that stole my sole motorcycle attention. Diz-amn.