XJ 700 carb vs 10 lb sledge?

I briefly considered this tonight. I can't get the carbs off... they are jamed between the intake and the airbox. Am I just being a weakling or is there a trick to gettiing them out? It would be so nice if the frame wasn't in the way!
Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Are they just stuck in the boots? I mean the ones bolted to the head? if so, make sure all the clamps are loose, then carefully insert an Allen wrench that's fairly stiff between the carb and boot, and go around the carb flange to break the seal. Then grasp the two outside carbs with gloved hands and while moving the carbs up and down, in a swinging motion, pull them rearward and the should slip right off. If they still resist, get a long screwdriver and find a space that it will fit and gently pry them off the boots. Make sure to only make contact with the steel carb connector rail that runs along the top of the carbs.

 

Getting the carbs off is usually the easy part. Just wait till they have to go back on.

 

You say:

"...they are jamed between the intake and the airbox"

Did you shove the boots from the airbox into the airbox to give the carbs room to get out?

It's like opening the cage door for a bird who's been caged it's whole life, it'll be reluctant to come out still, but eventually, with coaxing, it'll fly free. ;-)

 

+1 on retract the boots - and to not mar anything, you can pry with wooden hammer handles or similar.

To re-install, you can use a ratchet strap and also pry against a custom cut wooden block.

 

Don't forget to loosen the airbox mounting bolts so that you can slide the airbox back the 1/4" or so. Not much movement, but every little bit counts here. Then, push the airbox boots right back into the airbox holes until the lip/flange that goes over the front of the carb is just sticking out of the airbox hole. Now, make sure that the enricher cable, the throttle cable are disconnected from the carbs, AND the clutch cable is disconnected and lifted up and out of the way of the retainer hook. Finally, make sure that all the carb to manifold ring clamps are loose. Now remove the carb set.

If you still have trouble, give us a photo of what the current situation is, and we'll id it for you.

Dave Fox

 

Thanks everyone. Turns out I'm just a puss... and one of the boots to the air box was out and now tweaked... Now after reading the Church of Clean stuff I wanna use a 20 lb sledge and go buy a Victory. However, I will eventually get this thing apart and clean and back together. I might even get it done this year! But hey, at least I don't have to worry about maniacs trying to kill me with their minivans/suvs when I'm in the garage. The wife on the other hand... Bahhh never mind.

 

Something that might help is new boots. They aint cheap at around $50 for a set, but they do make the task much easier as, unlike the 30 year old ones on the bike, they are soft(er) and more maliable.