October 2010 12

Hi:  I received my seca which sat for 18 yr.  The carb was dirty, so I cleaned it.  I noticed that the 225 air jet was furthest from the screw that holds the cover  over the air jets.  This jet was frozen into the carb and I coulldn’t get it out.  Then I didn’t know how to clean it, so I bought a used carb set, and the largest jet was 195 (UK) but it was closest to the screw that holds the cover.  Now.  the manual (Haynes) shows a picture of the air jets with the large jet furthest from the screw.  And they have an arrow showing that it is the main air jet.  Now, in the discription page it says that the main air jet is number 80(a very small hole) and the pilot jet is the large one.  What a quandry.  I am still running the bike with the small air jet furthest from the cover retaining screw.  But the bike runs so terribly rich that after only a couple months, the spark plugs are really sooted up.  Help.  I don’t know how the resolve this delema!  Thanks, Curtis

If you’re real rich you can soot up the plugs in just a few miles.

The Main jet is the larger one. The 80 is the pilot jet. The Main jets are directly in line with the needle.

Did you read my carb cleaning article? I was using a 82 Seca for all the photos.

http://cycles.evanfell.com/2008/09/how- … right-way/

Main jet is the top in this picture.

what is this and what is it supposed to do?

Hi Iprete –

That looks to me like a couple wires that have just been plugged to bypass a switch. The dark green/red wire is for the neutral switch on the CB500, so I’d wager a guess that the neutral switch stopped working and this was the solution. Where do the wires lead?

hello Evan, Good Afternoon. My friend gave this bike to me its Honda CB350F. I dont know where to look how many CC this motorcyle also i dont know what year is this bike? I wanna register this motorcyle on my name but dont have the papers and the key on this bike. What do you suggest me to do on this. I been dreaming to have a motorcyle, I dont care if its old. Can you pls help me here. I thank you for spent your time reading this message of mine. You have a good day now. Thanx’ Mherdeleine

Hi mherdeleine –

The CB350F’s ar,e great little bikes. They made them from 1972-1974. You can tell what year yours is by looking on the headstock of the bike, there should be a serial number and year of manufacture printed there. All three years are virtually identical.

The registration process will vary from state to state, so you’ll want to check with your DMV to see what’s necessary. What state are you in?

For a key – You can find used ignitions with keys on eBay no problem, just keep your eyes open and replace yours. A good locksmith might be able to make you a key if you bring the ignition to him. I’ve done this several times; sometimes they can make the key, sometimes they can’t.

Cheers!

1991 ZX11 sat for two years. would start and run with choke lever only. Any throttle = motor dies.
Pilot circuit fouled?

I have disassembled and boiled in lemon juice. New float bowl gaskets, new main, pilot and needles. All passages cleared with 100psi.

Reassembled, replaced. Motor started and ran on first try. excellent throttle response, idle at 1000K, sync carbs with Carbtune. very smooth running now.

After sync, notice a fuel leak from the fuel tube between Carb 1 & 2. I did not break down the rack and replace these O rings.

Question: Is it difficult to remove each carb from the rack and replace all of the O rings in the connections between the carbs?
I cannot find any instructions regarding taking the carbs completely separate. I do have the factory service
manual, but cannot find anything regarding this.
any help would be appreciated. (I ordered a complete set of O rings for the fuel tubes.. the dealer said it would take 12 O rings two per tube or fitting.

Thank you.
John

Hey John –

Yes, if it would start with the choke but died otherwise, then your pilot circuit was clogged.

Great to hear the carbs cleaned up well and the bike is running properly again!

If you have enough mechanical skill to pull the carbs apart and clean them then you can definitely tackle separating each carb to replace those o-rings.

The carbs will come apart pretty easily, you just need to be careful with the throttle linkages between each carb. I’m not sure what style your bike has, but they often have a small set screw or spring which can be easily lost. Just take your time breaking them apart and you’ll be fine. Keep the parts organized!

It’s very common for the o-rings on those fuel tubes to leak, thankfully it’s an easy fix and they’ll last another 20 years.  12 o-rings is correct.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, I will break them down when I have the O rings in hand…I will post a picture when it is completed…
I appreciate your great web forum…very helpful…
btw..I have a pdf service manual for a ZX1100…how do I send it to you for posting?

John

You won’t have any issue swapping out the o-rings. It’s a fun little project. Nothing better then having a rack of carbs in tip top shape.

I’d love to have the manual to share on the site, thanks for offering. If it’s under 100mb you can upload it to http://drop.io/ and link me to it. Cheers!

I assume that I do not have to remove the bowls and slides…all the gaskets are new and I hate to break the seals if I don’t have to…

the carbs are CVK40’s

I will check the size of the manual…thanks again.

Correct – you don’t need to open up the carbs in any way.

Evan, thanks for your help and encouragement. The instruction and advice was excellent.
The motor started on the first crank. I replaced all of the o rings in the fuel tubes…pretty daunting
with all the springs and adjustments. After I synced the carbs, the bike purrs and idles better than new.
I forgot what a pleasure it is to work on the bike and the satisfaction from having everything work the way it is supposed to.
Never again will I will be at the mercy of a shop that doesn’t care about my motorcycle the way I do.

My reward is a ride on beautiful Oregon backroads to the beach. The weather is perfect.
Thanks again.

Here is a picture of my completed carb project 1991 ZX1100

Wow john – Those carbs look brand new! Great work! Glad to hear the bike is purring as it should. I’d love to see a photo of the whole bike. Looks like it’s in real nice shape.

Ok I found a thread from a member looking for an ignition switch for a CX 500 … it was suggested that the only way to find the part was off an old CX 500.

Oh and by the way I’m hunting this problem down for a friend of mine with CX 500 … spent the afternoon taking the switch apart and looking for his problem … he usually solved his ignition problem by wiggling the harness connection.  Now nothing works.

You can hot wire the bike with no problems so I’m guessing that because he originally solved the problem by wiggling the harness and the plug below the switch that it was in this area.

So … what my question is could you by pass the switch with a toggle switch, and if so could anyone suggest how to wire it.

I can do the wiring but I don’t have a schematic on which wires I should connect straight and which wires should I connect through the switch.

Replacing an ignition on any older motorcycle with a toggle switch is very easy. There are only 3 wires going to the ignition in most old bikes. One is a hot lead coming in, one is for running position, the other is for the accessory position. All you need to do is cross the hot lead (usually red) with the wire for running position. If you don’t know which is which, just cross 2 wires and try to start the bike. If the bike starts then you have the right wires crossed, if it doesn’t then switch wires and try again. Once you know which 2 wires you need to cross for running, just connect them to a toggle switch. Something like this:

I have a V-65 Magna that is in need of exhaust..  Anybody have any sources as where to get one.  The bike looks great except for the pipes..  Thanks

MAC still makes brand new exhausts for the v65 Magna’s and Sabre’s. I know Old Bike Barn carries them. They ARE NOT cheap! If you’re looking for an exhaust on a budget then eBay is going to be your best bet.

Here you go:

http://www.oldbikebarn.com/VF1100-V65-M … gory=52592

http://www.oldbikebarn.com/VF1100-C-Mag … gory=52592

Would I have to rejet my carbs with this exhaust ?

If you have a factory exhaust currently then yes, you will likely have to up-jet a size or two when switching to the four into one.

Hey there

I have torn apart my carbs, and I want to boil them in lemon juice, mostly because it sounds fun but they were heavily varnished. My question is the float needles have little rubber arrow heads on them, and they seem to be ok, but two of the four floats have no ‘spring’ to them, not a physical spring, but they dont bounce back like the other two, what is a remedy for this? new needles (not sure if thats what they are called) or ???

thanks in advance

Well there are tiny little springs inside the float needles (the piece with the rubber tip) that allow the bumper to go up and down. If the spring is not working then you’ll want to replace the whole piece, there isn’t a good way to clean the internals.

If you are referring to the floats themselves not swinging well on their pivots (float pins), then soak the pins in cleaner and scrape off any varnish. Do the same with the hole the pin goes through in the float. They can both be cleaned up and lubed and made as good as new.

thanks evan. the floats are sparkling clean, i gave them a lemon bath, and the pins are as well. if the carbs are upside down, and the bowl covers off, two of the floats are bottomed out essentially and two have a slight gap so the are springy when you push on them. I guess it doesnt matter too much i guess? The other issue i had is breaking off the castle nut type tabs on my air/fuel mixture screws, they seem to be pretty darn fragile. and i cant source replacements anywhere…..

Well, yes and no. All four float needles should provide the same ‘spring back’ effect you are describing. If two do not spring back then likely the springs inside the float needle are sticking or stuck. This can cause issues with keeping the bowls filled and metered properly, but sometimes you can get away with it. Throw the carbs on, see if you have any issues, and if so, replace the two needles that aren’t providing spring.

The air/fuel mixture screws with the tab on them are always extremely fragile and break all the time. I’m sure you can source some. I don’t know off hand what carbs are on your bike, but likely those same air fuel mixture screws are used on all sorts of bikes. If you dig around I’d bet you can find new replacements.