Fairings and carbs(not trying to rebuild them)

Ok, so this is becoming a bit frustrating for me, the net and all of its infinite sites that have nothing useful is aggravating me.

Does anyone know where I can buy fairings for my 95 Seca 2? As I said in my intro post, the current lower fairing has the Targa name on it, but I went to their site and it appears they don't carry anything for this bike.

Second question....I've determined through this site that of course, my carbs more than likely need to be cleaned and tuned....However, I'm pretty good with cars, and without a spare set of carbs to back me up, I'm not brave enough to take this task on and more than likely screw it up.

The local shop near me quoted me 107 per carb plus parts to "fix" them...Not sure that means clean and tune, although I assume thats what they intend to do; but 500 plus just do to that seems high to me....Is that a pretty standard price for this task? If not, then what is?

I live in Washington, Tacoma specifically, so if any board members near me know how to do these, let me know, I have some cash and every mechanic's best tool...Drink of choice for their troubles

 

If lucky can get spare set of carbs $50-$100 on here or eBay.
Under $100 in parts (high estimate assuming nothing major messed up).
Make and buy a few tools and supplies for under $100.
Still have well over $200 left over.

Even if you paid a "shop" $1000 they probably wouldn't do 1/4 as good a job as you could do your self AND they won't properly sync/balance it on your bike.

Granted I haven't done mine yet, but I have everything except the carb rebuild kits and a few more tools (mostly for cleaning the tiny holes).

P.S. Don't assume their $500 quote will include any proper balancing. Lots of horror stories on here about "shops" doing their carbs for $$$$$ and still having to redo it themselves.

 

As little faith as I have in any shop for anything, which led me to learn about cars through trial and error, I was reading the carb guide on here, and damn it seemed daunting. I barely understood the procedure for synching them.

Gotta admit I feel like a five year old....Give me a car engine and I can make them do anything, but the concept of the manometers had me baffled beyond reason...Thanks for the input though...Looks like I'm gonna have to try the carb project at home, first time for everything, right?

Now, as for the body pieces..........

 

I'm still confused about the carbs as well. I'll get it figured out eventually.

Other than asking in the sale subforum, ebay and craigslist - You are probably SOL and/or have to be patient till one shows up.

 

CK,

Bob's right about the carbs but you're also smart to find a close member to come over (or you to his house) and let him walk you through one, then let you rebuilt the rest.

For your fairings, try a search engine like Allofcraigs...here's the link;
http://www.allofcraigs.com/

I've had a lot of sucess finding parts and pieces over the past couple of years using these apps. I like this one best as it seems to catch more then some of the others but there are others as well. Saturday, I received a purple tank for my 73 CB350 that I found last week using this program....and it wasn't on fleabay but was posted on craigslist in California...so it does work. Those search engines and fleabay,(don't forget ebay.co.uk) should produce results but it may take time and might not be cheap. Also spend time searching for vintage bike places, there are a cra*load and most aren't very good or don't carry very many parts but searching is the only way to find the good ones.

good luck,
jeff

 

ckmchris .. just take it one step at a time. First you have to get the carbs apart, then clean, then back together, then back on the bike, then tuned. Sure the whole thing looks daunting all at once and until you go through it a few times it will be a bit overwhelming. If you take lots of pictures, lay out the parts in the muffin trays, and work methodically you will be fine. There are plenty of willing helping hands here to get you sorted so just take it a step at a time and by the end you'll wonder what the fuss was about. You are obviously no klutz with mechanical stuff. One really important point, though, it's always a good idea to just take apart one area at a time, then do a practice re-assembly for familiarisation, and only work on one carb at a time keeping all the parts separate. There are subtle differences in the design and orientation of the parts that will trip you up if not careful. Once you can do it all yourself you'll save a bundle and have the satisfaction of knowing it's been done right. Good luck !

 

ckmchris, I might be able to ride down one of these weekends and shoot the breeze, drink your beer and point at things and tell ya what they're for, how they work and what to do to get 'em workin right. Done valve adjustments and assorted carb work (cleaning, float set, sync etc)

busy for the next weekend or two but drop me a PM and we can set something up if ya like.

On these old bikes it's absolutely worth it to do the wrenching yourself even if it means a lot of learning and effort. So many reasons why just a few are: Shops charge an arm an a leg even for simple tasks, shops don't have staff that know how to work on anything more than 5 years old, someday you'll be out on the road and something will wear out but since you know every nut, bolt and electrical connection on YOUR bike you can fix it up and ride home.

A tip, click on "my account" to the left and edit your profile so there is bike info in your signature. That way every time you have a question we won't have to counter with "what size, year, model, mileage?"

 

I have to agree with the previous comments on this. You need to learn to do this yourself. It's not that hard. When I first got my X I searched my area for someone to clean & sync the carbs and check the valves but I was told that none of the local shops have anyone with that experience anymore. I guess all the old guys quit or something. Anyway, a few months later I took the X in to get inspected and the guy at the counter tries to talk me into a valve check. So I played along to see if I was being taken. He quoted me a great price and everything. Then I asked to see the service manager who I had spoken to a few months earlier to get him to explain how they could suddenly do this work now. This was a clear case of selling a service that doesn't exist anymore for my bike....at least at that shop. Be careful that you are really getting what you pay for.

Anyway, shortly after that I found this site. You will find everything you need here, some with complete step-by-step instructions and pictures to do all the service work yourself. It's really not that hard and you will know it's been done the right way.

Good luck!