How often do you clean the carbs?

Ok, this must be a n00b thing but...

How often do you guys have to clean your carbs? Is it more often if you ride as opposed to letting the bike sit? What, if anything, can be done to avoid having to tear them apart? Are there certain chemicals that you could use once in a while?

I've got mine done at the shop, and it wasn't cheap, so I'm certainly not looking forward to having it done again.

 

they key to clean carbs is off season maintenance.
if yu store youre bike for any length of time either add fuel stabilizer or the ever popular seafoam to youre gass......take a short ride to make shure it gets into the carbs....then top off fuel tank . if yu ride yure bike yr round a small shot of seafoam now an agin will keep em clean. :wink:

 

leting the bike sit is clasic for buying it cheap in hopes that's all that needed for a good runner or selling a piece of junk an saying it only needs the carbs cleaned,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,for the tuner's they just can't stand it if they don't know for sure it's spotless,,,,,I'm a tuner carbs were off the bike 1st winter after maybe a few hundred miles just to get to know them,,,,,Rick's the man around here his info is priceless an my hats off to him,,,,,,,,I have plans for the next 3 winters,,,,,,,,,,care to guess,,,,,,those little pilot screws need to be taken care of,,,,,,,

 

Quite simply, if you drain the carb bowls every time you know the bike will be sitting for 30+ days, you should neverhave to clean them again. It's that easy.

 

Oh, it also helps to lube the slides with silicone spray at the start of each riding season as well.

 

Don't forget a good fuel filter to keep crap out.

 

Good point. They're cheap. Buy a handfull of 'em while you're at it.