Putting carbs ON the bike

Hey guys, go the carbs clean (hopefully) but I am having one hell of a time getting them back on the bike =(. I am coming in from the left side and have tried with carb to air cleaner boots off but could not get them out of the airbox. Boots on but can't get the carbs thru the little tiny area that they go to. Everything I can think of outside of some KY jelly and a shoehorn. Am I missing something really simple or is it typical for it to be such a PITA?

 

push the boots back into the air box, they should come loose fairly easy, unless someone has glued them. The plastic of the air box just fits into a groove in the boot. Once the boots are back into the air box there is plenty of room to get the carbs on. A little bit of lubricant will help you get the carbs onto the boots. Don't push the bike of the stand, ( don't laugh, it has been done)

 

Simple solution:

Put a super thin smear of synthetic waterproof grease on the necks of the carbs and the insides of the four manifolds.

I use a hardwood hammer handle as a pry bar.
You should too.

Line-up the carbs to their manifolds.
Pry the Number-1 Carb home.
Hole the Number-i Carb in with your knee.
Pry the Number-4 Carb home.
The middle two will pop-in when the Number-4 Carb seats.

You use the Hammer Handle because its made of wood.
Won't scratch or mar the Engine or Carbs.

That's what I do.
It's all-over before it starts.
The Hammer Handle is Key.

 

wow a wooden handle i should have thought of that ive just always grab one of my buddies to hold the front of the bike while i grunt them into place. your a well of info rick

 

So, as I am getting ready to pull off my carbs for a bath it's just the opposite? Push boots into air box & wedge carb rack out to the left hand side?

 

That's the idea!

The working theory is that its "Easier" to deal with re-attaching the Airbox Boots than it is Drilling-out a broken-off Manifold Cap Screw.

And, ... it IS.
By far!

 

if it is easier to deal with getting the boots out of the air box then I would hate to see what its like to do a manifold screw. I haev been sitting here for the last hour trying to get the dmned boots out of the airbox.The lip that hs the ridge in it wont seem to release from the airbox. Man, I used to think I was a fairly intelligent person till I started dealing with this motorcycle. :cry:

 

Take the cover off the top of the airbox.
Pull the Air Filter.
Reach inside!

Pull the Boots out and keep them in order.
Sand the Boot Holes with 400 to make them nice and smooth

Clean the Boots
Wipe some waterproof synthetic grease into the locating and locking channel of the Boots.
Replace the Boots
Do 3
Do 2
Do 4
Do 1

Dull the tip of an old screwdriver to use prying the Boots into position.
Real dull.
Dull enough to not pierce the boot.

The grease in the channel will make the Boot easy to rotate against the sanded surface.

 

If you don't have the silicone grease Rick notes it becomes a much harder procedure. Got get a tube at NAPA or equivalent - best $ 5 you will ever spend. Works great for me.

 

theis is the reason i said screw it and got pods

 

I didn't use any lubricant, but I did use the dull handle from my channel locks to do the poking and prying. I did try to put the boots back on through the air box - not a good idea. I lost some flesh, then came to my senses and worked them in between the carbs and air box. My boots are still very soft and supple. I don't think hard/cracking boots would survive the ordeal. I'm sure the next time I do this it will be much faster and easier.

 

I have two Maxim Xs, both American imports.

Over the last six months I have removed and cleaned the carbs on each bike.

I replaced all the old rock hard airbox boots with new Yamaha ones. After struggling for hours trying to get the flange grooves in the airbox boots seated properly in the airbox housing, I decided to 'try' to remove the manifold bolts.

Having read all the horror stories about snapping the bolts in the head, I started with great trepidation. I used very very gentle dabs of pressure.

All 16 came out without a problem - I was amazed !!. No heating/cooling, no hours in penetrating oil.

After the manifolds, it was easy to get the carbs and boots and clamps back properly.

Maybe I was lucky (twice), but it is possible to get the manifold bolts out if you go really carefully.

 

I'm glad YOU got all the Cap Screws out of your Manifolds.
Not everyone who tries is so lucky.

The problem is the nature of the soft steel the Cap Screws are made from.
As you apply force to the Screw; it behaves like it's actually coming out.

BUT, the threads aren't turning. They often stay frozen.
So, instead of the threads turning the Screws body rotates to the torque until it snaps.

I just had to do one on a Seca 750. Lucky for me it was the lower number four.
An air powered drill fit the space between the Head and the airbox if I chucked the drill in until the twist was only about a half-inch extended out of the chuck.
There would no way to drill-out a broken screw if it was a middle one.

That means taking the Head off to get at it with the drill and retap the hole after repairs.
Not the way I want to do a Carb Removal.

 

I picked up some of the silicone grease at Napa the other day =) will be giving it a go iether tonight or over the weekend depending on whether or not the gf needs me to take her to urgent care to get a tetanus shot. She sliced her hand open a bit with a box knife.

 

thread resurrected - Just did air box boots and that is some nerve racking shi*. So the air box cracked very little around the outside seam for #4, thinking of putting some silicone on it until I put pods. One problem, the boots are on with the little rubber tabs facing 'up' where they should be and the carbs are completely in the manifold, but the boots don't fully reach the bottom of the carb bodies. the airbox mounting hole, facing upwards, is in the same exact position from when I removed the bolt because I can see the old washer dirt/scratch mark. When I look at the face of the airbox it seems dented in a little towards the rear of the bike. Anyone see this before 8O ? Thanks

 

I have heard of the air box deforming. You may be able to apply heat (hair dryer or such) and reform.

Also the carbs need a slight upward pressure until you get the boot seated and tighten the clamp - at least on my bike. That way the boot appears to seat properly...

 

Cheat the AirBox Forward.

First check to see that eack of the Boots is in the AirBox cut-out the way its supposed to be.
With the Boot having the channel centered with the Lip on either side of the cut-out.

Loosen the fitting under the front frame and the ones on either side of the Box. Slide the Box forward and tighten it up!

Also make sure the Carbs aren't pushed too far in.

 

If it is cold where you are working, it also helps to get the rubber parts warm with a heat gun or hair dryer. I tend to do all my work when the bike is down for winter, and would not be able to work those boots without heat.

 

I take a little piece of 400 Sandpaper and "Dress" the Holes in the AirBox so they are silky smooth.
I clean the four Boots so that the "Locating Channel" is nice and clean.

I wrap the 4 Boots in a very moist dish towel and Microwave them warm and pliable for 45-seconds.
I smear a light sheen of Synthetic Grease in the Locating Channel and smear each sidfe of the AirBox Hole with a sheen of Synthetic Grease too.

Once the Locating Channel and Box Hole Edges are smeared with Grease ... I put the Boots in 2 and 3 and do the two middle ones first ... reaching inside the Aitbox to help rotate them and position the Locking Channel correctly and rotating the Boot until the Locating Tab lines-up with the Dimples.

Same process with 1 & 4
A little bit difficult to reach them from Inside the Box.
Special Tools:
Ice Pick ...
>>with the Tip heated and bended around just beyond 90 degrees.
Long Screwdriver ...
>>with the Tip Edges DULLED and Sanded to PRY on the Boots without >>piercing the Rubber or cutting it.
Metal Rod (CB Antenna)...
>>With the Tip heated and Bent to a 90 Degree End, ... then, flattened-out >>and rounded-off to be used as a Shoe Horn to fit Boot around the Carb >>Intake End.

 

I use a simmilar technique as Ricks EXCEPT:
I place all 4 boots into a large enough pot.
I then run hot tap water into the pot.
Run the water until I can not place my hand in the water for extended time

When pulling from water clean it up with some towels.
The idea of water in the system is a turn-off for me