Carbs and coolant..

[speedfreek]

I'm about to add a jet kit to my bike and, when I looked at
the shop manual, I noticed that the coolant system is somehow
routed through the carb assembly.

In fact, the manual says to drain the coolant from the bike
before removing the carbs .

As I really don't want to have to replace the coolant every
time I make a jetting change, I was wondering if there was
a way to get access to the floats/jets and needles/slides
without having to bleed all of the coolant?

Is there enough slack in the hoses to twist the carbs over?
Or, is it possible to pinch/clamp the hoses before removing
the carbs -- if so, how much coolant can I expect to lose
when I detatch the hoses?

Just curious..
TJ

[delmeekc]

You'll only lose a tiny bit of coolant when you take the two hoses off. Either clamp them or a couple of biro lids become really handy for plugin em. Twist them once you have moved the clips, this breaks them free so you can then pull em off. I always check the coolant level in the rad after it's back together but never have to top it up, infact more usually comes out.

Also when you put it back together try routing the rear choke cable under the carbs instead of over the top as this relieves abit of pressure on the 90 degree plastic guide (carb end of cable).

When changing the mains, hold (do not turn) the brass fitting with an 8mm spanner when undoing and installing jets, don't over tighten.

Take care with the choke cables when removing and installing as they are delicate, use a 10mm spanner to loosen then do it by hand, when you put them in, hand first the just a tiny nik with the spanner as they are only plastic.

Tip, when you put the slide/diaphram back in the carb tops us a match box to stop the slide going all the way in else once you let go of the spring the slide will probably move and then the diaphram will move out of it's seat. You'll see.

You probably know all this anyway

Del.

[speedfreek]

You'll only lose a tiny bit of coolant when you take the two hoses off.

Thanks for all of the great tips bud! I had a feeling it would
be possible to get access to the carb internals without a complete
coolant drain.. WHEW!

I also like the tips on routing the choke line..

It's appreciated!
TJ