1200 Carbs and Carb Repair

[StrongEagle]

I'm a Honda Valkyrie guy who has decided to purchased a 1200. The Valk as 6 carbs, the Wing 1500 have 2 carbs, and do I understand correctly that an 87 Apsencade will have 4 carbs.

If yes, maybe the bike I am looking at is the one I want. It's been sitting for a while, excellent condition for it's age, but seems to miss at idle, although pulls strongly under acceleration. If it's 4 carbs, would I be reasonable assured that the miss at idle would be the result of a fouled carb? Anything else? What sort of sound might I expect from a cylinder that is not firing at idle? Obviously, if it's one carb per two cylinders this theory wouldn't work.

OK, I admit... I'm like the guy who goes to WebMD with a hang nail and diagnoses cancer. But, it's not easy to do a compression test, and I don't have any idea of how hard it is to get the carbs out for a rebuild (on the Valk, I'd lift the tank). I know Honda engines are pretty much bullet proof (my third Valk had 98,000 miles on it), and, is there anything that would be a warning sign about this bike I should look for?

Finally, if I were to pay a shop for the carb rebuild (Houston, Texas area) has someone got a SWAG as to costs?

Thank you.

[virgilmobile]

If you have already done carb service,the 4 carb setup isn't any different.Theres not a lot of space to get the carbs out but it can be done in a hour or so.There removed from the left side .They must be pre-tested on the bench before putting them back.Only because of the time it takes for R/R.They must be synced to the engine after install.
Personally I'd be more concerned about replacing the timing belts and age verification of the tires.Tires are expensive.
Expect to replace every drop of fluids in the bike as a preventive measure.Brake fluid,forks,engine oil,diff oil,grease splines.etc....
Test the miss problem...Start the engine from dead cold.Dont rev it up..idle for just several seconds...Shut it down..lightly tap each exhaust pipe..the cold one is your dead cylinder...##spark.compression.fuel.##
Possible causes...Plugged idle jet..Fouled spark plug..low compression...bad spark..etc.
I've seen a wing run pretty darn good on 3 cylinders.
I always suggest getting the engine going right first then attack the rest of the restore...Nice looking doesn't make it reliable..just nice to look at.
The last running bike I bought with a few problems took 2 months and near $600 to get it back to my standards...Turn key..start..drive...and get me back home.