Progress Grinding To A Halt

[wjnfirearms]

I'm totally disgusted!

After the second time the carbs came here today, they are still dumping gas. The floats are adjusted correctly according to the guy and he even readjusted them a bit closer to restrict the flow a tad more. Still dumping fuel. He finally threw up his hands and I told him to leave them here and I'll have someone else set them up. I really thought he knew what he was doing. I even provided him with a CD copy of my Honda shop manual when he first got them at the beginning of winter. Everything is new internally in all 4 of them along with the gaskets.

He was paid for the parts but I'll be damned if I'll pay him for half a%#ed work.

Hopefully, Val will be able to help. She is supposed to be here tomorrow to interview for a job at the bike shop that I and my son are at now. If not, I'll be forced to pay someone else and I know of a long time Honda tech with a good rep that set up his own shop locally after the Honda/Harley dealership he worked at closed it's doors.

AARRRGH!!! i WANT TO RIDE MY WING ALREADY!!!!!

[El Taco]

Man, that sure is a drag. I set my floats too low and it now starves at WOT. No flooding issues, though. It ran well enough to go for a ride, even to take the missus for a spin.

I think we started on our projects at around the same time, and neither of us are riding.

[cbx4evr]

Send them to Pistol Pete or Mike Nixon.

[wjnfirearms]

I'm going to go with the local guy that worked for Honda and has his own shop. He is a customer at our bike shop for parts so I'm hoping he will take care of me on cost. I just want to get this damn thing on the road already. I really don't want to start shipping them hither and yon.

[JellyBelly]

Is he adjusting the correct tab in the carbs? Some mechanics adjust the wrong tab and all they are doing is adjusting the float drop.

[dingdong]

What does dumping fuel mean exactly? Where is the fuel dumping to? When you say, everything is new, what parts kit did you use? Specifically, what float valves did you use. OEM, Randakks or some other? There are aftermarket float valves as well as seals that are defective or sized wrong from the get go. Problem may not be the mechanic.

[JellyBelly]

What does dumping fuel mean exactly? Where is the fuel dumping to? When you say, everything is new, what parts kit did you use? Specifically, what float valves did you use. OEM, Randakks or some other? There are aftermarket float valves as well as seals that are defective or sized wrong from the get go. Problem may not be the mechanic.

yes indeed!

[wjnfirearms]

There is fuel coming into the center bowl where it coats the bottom. Has to be too much. Also, the exhaust is full of unburnt fuel to the point that it burns your eyes.

He allegedly replaced the needle jets and seats and o-rings along with the gaskets. Supposedly, everything was adjusted per the Honda manual which he has. The floats were checked to see if they were taking on fuel internally which they aren't. The jets and everything else where cleaned and checked and supposed to be ok. I don't know where he got the parts. I do know they aren't Randakk's.

Other than that, I don't know what to tell y'all.

[El Taco]

I can't tell you anything, as I didn't build the carbs. Have you got them in front of you? Perhaps you could bench test them with a fuel supply and find out where the problem is.

[wjnfirearms]

They're still on the bike. Carbs aren't my bailiwick at all, thus why they got farmed out in the first place. I could be looking at a messed up needle valve or bad jet and never know it. I admit when things are above my pay grade. I'm going to try and get hold of the Honda guy locally today. We should have his number at the shop as he is a customer for parts.

[portugeezer]

I did my own carbs and made some mistakes. I had them off the bike three times. The first time I did not unclog the hole in the center of the idle jets. The second time I did not have the carbs on their side to set my float levels which results in incorrect float heights. The third time I took them out because of hydralock. I had one needle valve where the small springy plunger did not spring. Once I got that all sorted out my bike ran great. I have cleaned carbs on a lot of paralell twins prior to the wings. They are much easier IMO. I think I pretty much have the Goldwing ones down now. I think you should have tackled the project yourself.

[portugeezer]

The worst pat of the whole job is the throttle cables. I really beat my big fat hands up disconnecting and reconnecting those. The rest is just sitting at a bench with some cleaning stuff and taking your time. Instead of caving in I remember what my grandad would say in Portuguese " Deus odeia covardes" I think you would do just fine if you gave yourself the chance!

[wjnfirearms]

You're probably right. Still, I just want to get this whole episode done and over with. This has been dragging on for way too long.

I called the Honda guy yesterday from the shop and talked to him. He told me that if I took the carbs back off and dropped them off today, he'd be able to look at them pretty much right away, kind of a professional courtesy of a sort, even though he supposedly has 20 bikes lined up for repair of one sort or another. I found out that he owns a '77 Wing himself. That made me feel even better about going to him.

Yeah, it would be a nice feeling of accomplishment to fix them myself and obviously cheaper that way. I'm at the point with this whole carb affair that I just want them done and to have the Wing that much closer to being on the road. I still have to paint the Vetter stuff as the weather hasn't been kind to paint anything around here yet. All of the prep work and primer is done. Once they are finished along with the carbs back and fixed correctly, I only need less than a day to have it roadworthy again.

[El Taco]

I've seen all of this before with an old friend of mine. He has a GL1100 he never takes out of storage. Every couple of years, he's hauling it into town to have the carbs gone through again. I'll bet he's paid three times for the bike just in carb overhauls. When the time came to go through mine, I didn't hesitate to tear into them. Of course, I've been through countless racks. I've done the carbs on my CB550 a few times over the years, built a set for my CB750, numerous other bikes I've owned, and even late model sport bikes for others. This would be my first horizontally opposed overhaul, but a carb is a carb. Mine runs okay, but it starves at the top of a hard romp in second or third. I'll admit that I eyeballed the floats. Still, I used off the shelf o-rings and made my own gaskets. Total cost for me was roughly carb cleaner, fuel lines, and compound. My buddy pays four hundred minimum each time, and he seems used to it, like it's a fact of life.

If I have to go into mine twice, even three times, it still hasn't cost me anything. Any problems that arise will be nobody's fault but my own, and I should know where to look to set it straight. You'll have to synchronize them, but that in itself isn't very hard. I really need to break down and buy a manometer. A friend of mine was supposed to give me his when he upgraded, because I made him a set of adapters, but I haven't seen him in a year or better.

[wjnfirearms]

I dropped the carbs off to Bob McChaskey at his shop after work. He is a really nice guy and promised me both that he would get to them right away and I won't be looking at much money. He is dubious about the parts used to rebuild them in the first place, which I'm sure you guys will chastise me for letting the first guy use whatever he wanted. He removed one of the float bowls while I was still there and was not impressed with a couple of the small O-rings he saw.

I wish I would have known that Bob went into business for himself after the Honda/Harley dealership he worked at for many years went under. It's a beautiful, well equipped and clean shop and he has a slew of bikes there for service along with 2 employees. To have a guy with that much experience, along with owning a '77 Wing himself, would have been a much better choice to take them to in the first place. He still has the Wing, by the way.

[Fred Camper]

Sounds like a great choice.

[portugeezer]

My fingers are crossed. Sounds like the right guy!

[wjnfirearms]

Aside from the carbs being in the right place, it's looking like the painting should be done this week, God willing. A close friend of my son's who has been spending time here lately offered to paint them for me. He is an experienced body man, so it sounds good. I've gotten to know him and he is one responsible young guy. The paint is here and ready to shoot. The Vetter stuff is masked, primered and prepped. Once that is done, all that remains is to mount everything and once the carbs are back, head into the wind once again.

[Fulcrum]

I agree with others on doing the work yourself. However, I have a bit of experience in DIY and a good selection of tools which is essential. Now, if I didn't have the assistance of the guys on this site however, I would never have accomplished what I have. The help and assistance from guys like these is essential. Saved my butt a couple times! But the accomplishment, and granted the money saved, are the real rewards of doing it yourself. Plus you learn something new and can use that knowledge later, or pass it on to someone in need. Nothing feels better than seeing something that was once dead, alive and running again because of your own hard work! Good luck my friend..

[wjnfirearms]

Thanks!

I'm probably one of the biggest hands on guys I know. There's little I'm afraid to try. The fact that I have not one, but two Craftsmen tool chests and all the drawers are full of well used tools, attests to this. I consider myself one of the kings of "McGyvering". But, I know when I may get over my head and that's when I look for help. I tried messing with carbs before when I picked up a neglected Kawasaki 440 for literally nothing and failed miserably. That's probably what jaded me from the start on this deal. I really want to be able to service carbs and am going to figure out how to do just that.

[Fulcrum]

Ah man, I had a 83 Kawasaki 440Ltd. Loved that little bike. But someone stole it. That was the most fun bike I have ever had.

[portugeezer]

I had this KZ440LTD until last summer. It was junk when I got it!

[wjnfirearms]

That be it. With the 750 LTD I have now, which is going to my son, that'll be two LTDs I've had.