Removing Carbs

Okay. I have everything loosened on my carbs, but I cannot for the life of me actually get them out. They're free of the airbox and the screw-tight clamps are loose. Do I need to remove the airbox or something so that I have enough room. They'll wiggle in the space they have at the moment, but that's it.
I'm not the one doing the actual carb clean, but since the bike doesn't start at the moment, taking the carbs to the guy who is is the best option.

 

some people use a lever. a handle from a hammer or anything else thats softer than the carbs themselves. i just wiggle and pull hard.

 

There are two screws under the gas tank on top of the air box. Loosen them and you'll get a little more room. I loosen them pull the carbs away from the motor. Pull them up and slide them out with a little force used carefully.

Good luck hope this helps

 

This will give you some ideas.
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=2 ... +easy.html
not exactly for the 550 but similar.

 

like in the pictures, the engine side clamps need to slide closer the engine

 

When you're putting them back on, KY jelly or similar and a hair dryer is your friend

 

On the 550s, there are THREE airbox mounting screws. Two are obvious, they are in the slotted bracket under the front of the seat/rear of the tank.

The third screw is under the tool tray, you need to lift the tool tray up and remove it as well. Then the airbox can move rearward quite a bit.

 

Good catch, Fitz. I always forget that one then go hunting for it when the airbox won't budge.

The carbs don't come out or go in easy, in my experience anyway. I have removed the carb to airbox boots first under the theory that they take a pretty good beating anyway trying to jamb the carbs in/out. That and I'd prefer not to put stress on the carb to engine boots. Others may disagree with this approach.

Pretty sure someone has had good success with a hair dryer to soften up the airbox boots too.

 

hair dryer and hammer handle to get them out + in.

Be sure your cables are out of the way too

 

Nice part is after you get them off the first time, the rinse/repeat is so much easier. That's assuming you use some silicone gel to put them back.

Not sure on a 550, but can you push the boots into the air box like we can with our 650s? That extra 1.5 inches is really helpful. Pain to get them back the first time, but once you got a feel for it you'll get them on/off in under 10 minutes.

 

Thanks, guys. The problem is that I can't get the carbs away from the engine-side boots. I've got the airbox separate and it moves around. I just can't seem to free the cars.
If I manage to get them out, do they go back in the same way?

 

I've found that a 1x2 about 2 feet long works well for me. I also push the boots back into the air box. Use some silicone grease when you reinstall them and it will help them go in, and also come out the next time. Patience is a virtue with this job.

 

I can't get the boots to sit back in the airbox. The carbs will slide back into the boots, but then I lose some of my up and down wiggle.

 

Success!
I took the two outer engine-to-carbs boots. I left the inner two, since I couldn't reach the bottom bolts on either. After shimmying the whole thing around a bit, I had enough room to pull the last two bolts, pop the two remaining boots out and slide the rack out without taking the airbox out.
Man. Took me a while.
I will most definitely be picking your brains again when it comes time to get them back in. There are some electrical issues and a tank to clean out in them mean time.
Thanks, gents!

 

lots of info here man, these guys are great, just ask.

 

You really didn't need to pull the intake manifolds.

The "trick" is to rotate the whole bank upward to the rear as you disengage the spigots from the manifolds.

I'll take a series of pics the next time I yank the rack off one of my Secas.

 

And you're actually quite lucky that the manifold bolts didn't snap when you removed them, which is quite common. (Don't ask me how I know this)

I'd recommend getting new bolts for them before reinstalling and new gaskets to avoid an intake leak.

 

The 550s are a bit more "forgiving" in terms of removing the intake manifolds because the bolt holes don't go all the way through (like some holes do on the bigger bikes.)

That being said, I would highly recommend new gaskets and new bolts.