Hello all. I just picked up a 88 Hurrincane for fre from a buddy of mine.The bike is in good condition. The bike ran perfect when my buddy owned it, he then laid it down and never got around to repairing the fairing. Unfortunately he lost all interest in the bike and it ended up sitting for about 3-4 years. I just picked it up and of course the battery is dead, which I am replacing. My question to you guys is.......I am assuming the carbs are all gunked up and need to be cleaned. Where can I find a step by step instruction to do this? I am very mechanically sound whne it comes t autos but this would be my fist motorcycle. Should I even be attempting to remove and clean myself? Should I try to start the bike before cleaning them? How much would a professional charge to clean the carbs? Any help would be awesome. I searched the forum but only saw already removed carbs.....no DIY.

 

Well, it's almost guaranteed that the carbs are pretty messy in there; you'll probably open them up and it will look like someone filled them full of vaseline. So, don't bother trying to start the bike.

To get the carbs off, you need to take the the fairings, gas tank, and both black plastic parts of the airbox. Remove the fuel line and the choke cable, and the two throttle cables, if you can get at them. Then, you need to loosen the phillips head screws that tighten the metal collars on the 4 rubber manifolds. Loosen the ones on the CARB side, that way (hopefully) the manifolds will stay on the head. It doesn't really matter where they end up, though.

Then comes the fun part, as everyone will probably tell you. You need to rock the whole carb assembly forward and back in the frame while pulling upward. You might try to squirt some penetrating lubricant around the manifolds, or you might try some heat, like a hair dryer or heat gun.

This step might take you 30 seconds or 3 hours, you never can tell. But once the carbs come off you'll feel better about it.

Once you have them off, you need to open them up and clean every part you can find, especially the idle jet and the main jet assembly. The idle jet has 8 cross-drilled holes in the bottom part of the jet, the main jet holder has 10 holes all sideways. You need to make sure all the holes are clear, and that gas or liquid will pass through the jet itself. Otherwise, just clean the crap out of everything and don't lose any pieces. Make sure all the floats will still 'float' in a little bowl of gas; if they don't you will need to buy some new ones.

Once you get it clean and all back together, there's a MUCH bigger chance the bike will start right up!

 

is there a diy somewhere on this with pictures? How much can I expect from a local shop?

 

Have you ever rebuilt a carb on a car? Not much different. I have auto experience as well and I find my bike easier to work on just because most things are more easily accessed, smaller and unfortunately... more expensive. However, you only have to learn one carb as the four are the same. I would give it a shot yourself just so you personally will know exactly what has been done and you will get to know your ride better. I believe that there is a downloadable shop manual somewhere on this site, if you need pictures and instructions. Go for it! As for a shop quote... call and ask at least 3 different shops. See if its cheaper if you just bring in the carbs off the bike (should be).

 

Thanks for the replies..... I went to the local dealer and they quoted me $600 to clean the carbs and that is with ME bringing them in off the bike...:lol:

So far I have replaced the plugs, emptied the old gas but there was a little bit that still would not come out. I think itis sludge and rust Is there some sort of tank cleaner I can use? Is there anyway to empty the tank completely?

I have also replaced the fuel filter, air filter, and a broken coolant hose......also I got the throttle unstuck and replaced the shifter bracket. I think I am going to try and start her up as is first. Also, is it ok to spray carb cleaner into the carbs while on the bike and the bike turned off?

 

you can spray carb cleaner in there. one thing i would try actually is seafoam. that stuff really works. i was going to get my carbs cleaned but after running a few bottles of that through a couple of gas tanks it has solved all my fuel issues. (rought/irratic idle and sputtering) im also running an 87 cane here.

 

I definitely plan on using the sea foam if I can get her started. I am going to buy a new battery on my way home from work and try to start her up.

AQny ideas on the tank?

 

for the tank id say drain it the best you can and then use half a bottle of sea foam mixed with some gas. seal it and close the fuel valve and giver it a good shake then let it sit over night it should eat what ever is in the bottom of the tank and it should poor right out. there is also a fuel strainer in the bottom of the tank before the fuel valve. get that out and clean it i bet its plugged right up.

 

How do I get the strainer out? When I fill the tank up and take of thefuel valvecompletely off shouldn't the fuel just dump out the bottom of the tank? The fuel barely drips out of the bottom of the tank even when I put fuel in it as if it's clogged. I gently put a screw driver in there and eventually it hits something but I didn't want tp push too hard. is there something else I can take out?

 

If you take out the petcock assembly the strainer should come out right with it. It's whitish-yellow plastic and sits around the tube part of the petcock. You can just order a new one too if the old one is too nasty.

You can also use denatured alcohol to clean the gas tank. Buy a bottle of it and put it in the tank and swoosh it around and leave it for a few hours or overnight.