Vinegar ate my carb!

excellent hypothesis Carl!

 

Is this still your position PTS?

 

I am wondering if there wasn't some sort of electrolytic circuit set up with the vinegar and whatever it was setting on or in. I know my friend freaks out if I wash her silverware in dishwater containing bleach and any other metals as it will stain up the silver something fierce.

 

I guess I should clarify, sure. I was under the delusion that no sane manufacturing company would EVER make carburetors out of pot metal. Being the only carbs Ive ever worked on were Aluminum or an alloy in that family, I made that statement, and that statement still holds true. I also believe that whatever metal those parts are made out of, that they were already in SEVERE oxidated state and that the acid simply ate what was already broken down to at least some degree.

Remember, its all about chemical bonds, and if the chemical bonds are gone, then its going to fail. Vinegar is still a VERY weak acid and has LITTLE effect on aluminum, steel, and brass, the metals 99.9% of our bikes are made out of. I guess my failure is in the fact that I just didnt take into account stupidity.

 

No, I would say your failure was that you made an absolute statement that was simply wrong. I almost never get into these kinds of arguments because they usually end up just being testosterone contests. However, even when you want to be helpful, dishing out inaccurate information in an authoritative way is just not helpful to anyone on the list.

Just because something exists outside of your knowledge or experience doesn't make it impossible. Just live and learn. Admit when you're wrong. Otherwise you will damage your credibility and possibly lead someone else down the wrong path.

 

Amen.

Hey, wanna mail me the eaten-up part and I'll take it to a metallurgist here in the Motor City? I'm fascinated to find out exactly what sort of cost-cutting shenanigans Suzuki pulled here. The extreme weight difference has me intrigued.

This is probably another reason you don't see many old Suzukis running around.

 

Sure. I might have your address somewhere already, but why don't you PM me with the details.

I found some of the choke bodies for sale on eBay including the plungers, etc. Cost me $20 each, but at least I can get the things working again.

Thanks!

 

WOW!

Something new every day-what a great site!

 

Amen, to that!

By contrast, I'm getting crucified over on the Suzuki GSResources site. I thought they'd be appreciative of the report, too, but instead they're very offended and think that I've maligned their bikes. Fun.

 

They don't need to shoot the messenger. The bloody carbs weigh DOUBLE what a "real" Mikuni weighs; there has to be something to it.

 

possibly.
What the jury is still out on is whether the "metal parts" were actually disolved, or if what was disolved was mearly a thick layer of oxidation on top or that the metal was already damaged in a way that the vinegar just exploited.

keep that in mind before you go saying "I told ya so" and I'll keep in mind that I was probably wrong. Im human, it happens.


edit: As far as my credibility goes, Im not the least bit concerned. Im a "flipper". I buy, fix, and sell and have been doing so for years. Like many forums I join for a short time because I happen to have one of whatever that is, Im not going to be a fixture around here like ol Fitzy. I contribute what I can in exchange for what I take and I move on when the whatever it is in question is out of my stable. This is nothing more than the idle passage of time. Im good at what I do, so I tend to have alot of free time to cruise several forums on any given day.

There are generally two kinds of users on these niche market forums: Noobs and Knowitalls. Im neither of those. Im not so egocentric to think I cant learn something new every day, but neither am I just some guy who fell off a turnip truck and landed on a (insert make model here, in this case XJ750). Forums are full of hyperbole, conjecture, hypothesis, opinion and occasionally some hard facts, all contributed by real people with vastly different experience, skill, and knowledge. They are dynamic forms of communication, but they are not without flaw.


But, thank you for publically bitchslapping me and calling me on the pitfalls of making bold definative statements. In the end here we are, you with screwed up carbs due to your own actions, and me going on another 250 mile ride tomorrow on my perfectly running, and dare I say BEAUTIFUL bike.

 

2 cents here. I work in a high lead enviroment and we get the lead off the floor with vinegar. Smells like a sandwitch but it dissolves it pretty well.

 

Pardon?

Funny, I don't see any site called OldSkoolYamaha anywhere... :lol:

The GSResources has been around a lot longer than XJ Bikes has, and I'd argue (in a friendly manner) that the knowledge level there is a few orders of magnitude higher, due to the extreme performance levels that these old Suzukis are capable of, as a result of the ROCK-SOLID engineering of the motors and chassis, along with the incredible roll-your-own-bike potential resulting from the amazing ability to swap parts from GS to GSXR to Bandit to Hayabusa.

The OP has had the misfortune to run into a certain member there who likes to answer pretty much any question with a put down and a smarmy response. We regulars know him and pretty much ignore him, although he certainly has worthwhile things to say sometimes. As someone has indicated in that thread, there is a constant temptation when accessing a site dedicated to one particular make or model, to come to believe that that particular make or model is somehow the epitome of motorcycle design. In my experience, the guys at XS11.com seem to suffer from this more than most. Having owned both XJ's and GS's, I'd have to give the nod to the GS as the superior bike, if only for their ungodly capability to absorb abuse.

Having said that, I'd have another XJ900 in a heartbeat because I like the styling. I also have an XS650 because I like the funky nature of the bike, so I don't think Yamahas are crap in any way

 

FACT: Vinegar appears to have eaten a part more than just dissolving the crud off of it. Appears.

FACT: The Suzuki "Mikuni" weighs easily twice as much as an aluminum Hitachi body from an XJ, and is not emblazoned with the Mikuni branding.

EVERYTHING else is just theory and conjecture unless we find out exactly what sort of metal the part was cast from.

And I aim to try to do just that, out of "mechanical curiousity" more than anything else.

I'm not doubting Suzuki's engineering prowess; but if the carbs were cast from 'pot metal' then I am doubting their intended longevity; or maybe the bean counters beat out the engineers on this one.

Oh, and one last thing: If I'm a "fixture" around here, it's because of my long term involvement with the Yamaha XJ series of motorcycles. I don't build bikes to "flip" I build mine to be ridden, BY ME. And then I do just that; and "bank" the experiences. Which I share to try to help people. No other motivation than "giving back" to the site that helped me overcome a couple of obstacles with my first XJ.

Now I'm gonna go ride MY sweet-running XJ the 58+ miles home.

 

Noobs and Knowitalls, PTSenterprises, well, noobs is right, as everyony that joins is a noob to the forum, Knowitalls ? what about all the other guys that just ride thier bikes, keep them running & share the experiences. I've been around xj bikes for quite a while & with a few exceptions, the guys are helpful & often amussing. I too restore diferent bikes & sell them on, for someone else to enjoy, I also drop into other bike forums if I need help & I always respect the members for their specialist knowledge & they always come through for me. Wiz.

 

The "fixtures" make sites like this one.

Every site I'm on (XS11.com, GSResources, XS650.com, XJ Bikes, OldSkoolSuzuki, etc etc) is a treasure trove of knowledge shared by people who weren't afraid to be the first one to try something, or hack away at a problem for months on end to see an idea come to fruition. It makes it all that much easier for the rest of us who come after.

Roll on fellas!

 

pot metal isn't necessarily bad stuff, back in the day a lot of things were made from it, it just doesn't like to be soaked in vinegar all day.
seems your not the first one to find out the hard way link
now we all know, thanks for the tip, we're all one step closer to know-it -alls

 

I wasnt using the term "fixture" as a slur. Its simply that some people find a home and live there all their lives, some like to move around and try different places. Neither philosophy is a bad thing, it all depends on your perspective.

 

Now if we can just come up with a way to identify pot metal without soaking it in acid for 24 hours........ :wink:

 

We're ALL fixtures here. This is the Hotel XJ-fornia.......we all checked in, but we can never leave.

Dave (one of the know-it-alls who is waiting for another know-it-all to find out what kind of metal it IS so that he doesn't screw up the carbs on his GT750 Water Buffalo when he get gets to tearing into that one) Fox

Thanks for the heads-up, Baytone!

dave