The brass "things" are the most important parts to get clean and you need to take them out to clean the passages behind them. They are the float needle seat, the main jet, the pilot jet and the emulsion tube. They do come out, usually very tight. Use the proper tools.

It is critical to get these parts clean especially the small pilot jet. I use a small wire to clean these as the orifice is very small.

I can't tell if that is a crack or a casting flaw in your picture. If it is a crack I would not use that carb.

Boiling may not be neccessary. I use carb cleaner, a brush and compressed air on the main carb body. Spray directly in all orifices and make sure there is flow through each. Blast with air to clean and dry.

 

I don't think the 87-88 carbs will work on 89+, they were different sizes iirc.

 

1990 is when they redesigned the engine so therefore 87-89 carbs are one size and the 90 carbs are another


Davewesh your carbs look very clean and you only probably need to make sure the jets are clean, as well as the inlet for the gas

 

WOOOO got her running!!!!!!

So i cleaned the jets, pilots and all. Cleaned or rather made sure the fuel cutoff filters were clean. double checked my choke bracket and bar and stuck them back on the bike. primed the pump and saw some really bad gas come out. Looked like watered down pepsi....yeah that bad. Annnnyway so i was excited and tried to start it anyway, obviously it didnt run, it didnt even try to run. So what ever trusty can of starter fluid. Got it running for a split second....twice. Then decided at 3AM it was quite rude. So i dealt with it calling my name for the week and waited for the weekend(IE Today). Dumped the gas, drained the float bowls. Ran some clean 91 through the filter and pump to clean any residual crap/Gas out. Put what i think was 1oz worth of seafoam in the tank after dropping about a gallon *i think* into it. sloshed it around a bit clean anything i could get any jelled gas i could and dumped it again filled the tank up again with 1Gallon of gas and a bit of sea foam, primed the filter and pump re-hooked them to the carbs and let her rip....... nothing.

STARTER FLUID, she ran for a good 10 seconds and started to stutter like she wanted to keep going. I tried again only this time with out starter fluid, while yeah she was being a pain, she started. Idle in the high 5K's, got the idle screw down a bit in the low 3's. While that might be ok i think thats still high so i figured id keep fitting with it. (after idleing for 5-10 minutes) i found that at a way low RPM around 1.5-2k it could be knocking, or pinging, not sure it could have also been my tank as nothing was fastened all that well.

Also smoking like a chimney, white smoke, even after running for the 10 minutes or so still smoking. Not exactly sure if that's cause of any oil in the combustion chamber or not.

So

1. Yay she runs
2. Slight knock at low RPM, Maybe a pinging sound any ideas? (possible oil problem?)
3. White smoke, oil? antifreeze? time for a new head gasket?

 

The 'knocking' sound may just be your cam chain tensioner. Peoples definition of a knocking or a clanking vary...

As for the white smoke, usually its water being combusted. After 10 minutes, I'd think any condensation would be burned off. You can try a leakdown test to identify a leak.

 

I noticed you said you put seafoam in the tank. That could be the cause of the smoke too

 

Ok, so it does sound like a kind of rattle, is there a way to recondition the Cam chain tensioner, also is the tensioner the part that sticks out from the engine just under the carbs or is it the internal Cam chain guide-Like thing. Is it best to go aftermarket manual or is there a reason one would do that vs OEM for the same price?

 

Hey guys, Well Im glad i didn't just go a head and buy a new cam chain tensioner. Looked at it today and decided to pull it off, Easy popped right off gasket intact even better. moved it about freely, no problems what so ever, and im thinking ****, i've got major issues then. So i put it back on and start the process of taking the radiator down so i can get to the head cover. I bumped one of the exhaust (barrels-tubes-whatever lol) and it made a weird sound.

I had a hunch that maybe that was the reason it was making what ever pinging noise. So i hooked the carbs up again, got everything ready and started the bike up, messed with the idle until it was around 1.5k or so, and listened for the rattle, obviously it didn't take more than a split second to find it, Pressure on the exhaust and sure as s**t no more sounds. I turned the bike off to find that it was actually loose, like 1/4inch of play loose, tried to tighten it up and the hardware store nut that was on it was stripped out i literally pulled it off with my fingers, so ill hit up fastenal find a lock-nut in the right size and tighten it up, look for some more aesthetically pleasing nuts later.

 

Hey guys, I hopped on the bike today to make sure everything was in order before i start buying gear for the season. I noticed a few things, Starting the bike with the clutch pulled in (at both extremes of the cable screw) it would lurk forward on the power strokes as if the clutch wasn't engaged. Starting the bike in neutral pulling the clutch and shifting into first gear it would jump a little bit, i let go of the clutch and nothing happens, my feet on the ground is enough weight to keep it from moving but it does roll forward on idle a tiny tiny bit. So my question is.... Is my transmission dead or would it be my clutch disks and plates?

not to sound demanding or anything but a swift answer would be greatly appreciated so i can order what parts i might need for the weekend so i can work on the old gal.

 

I would suspect something with the clutch more than a transmission problem. Have you tried adjusting the cable yet? If the cable is adjusted too tight it won't allow the clutch to engage.. you might try loosening the cable to where there's just a little bit of slack in it and see if that changes anything.

If not you'll probably need to pull the cover and inspect the clutch & discs for damage.