I have decided to clean my carbs myself this time cuz I'm 24 and I think I should have my big boy pants on. Besides I don't want to pay $200 for someone to clean my carbs when I can learn how and do it myself. I have been using the carb cleaning 101 page as a reference on my smart phone. I've gotten as far as getting the carb boots unscrewed and the throttle cable off. I even got the carbs to wiggle but I cannot get them to come off whatsoever. I tried wiggling them back and forth for a good hour and started sweating!!! Any suggestions would be helpful. Are there any bolts I'm missing?

 

There aren't any other mounting bolts, you've just got the two clamps on each boot, one on the carb side, and one on the engine side, and the only ones you really need to loosen, are the ones clamping the intake tubes on the engine (you usually can't get to the other ones with the carbs still attached, anyway).

Initially getting them off can be a royal pain, and if you have heat gun, you could apply some heat to the boots, which would make it a little easier, since the boots will be more "pliable"... I always use my cheap-o, $10 heat gun from Harbor Freight, to heat the boots before I boot the carbs back on, and use the tiniest bit of lithium grease on the inside of the boots, and the tubes on the engine, making it much easier to get back on... after that, everytime I've uninstalled/re-installed the carbs, it's been a breeze... it's just that first removal which can beat you up a little!

That heat gun is a lifesaver, and is regularly on sale for $9.99 - it has two settings, 550º and 1200º, if I remember correctly.
Good luck!

 

not to take anything away from JNS, but take a tech's advice and start small. before you get a heat gun and unmount the intake runners from the engine, try this: straddle the bike and grab the carbs from the front side and pull back pretty hard up and toward you. you may need to rock them back and forth a few times to break them free, but you will know it when it happens. you would be suprised with how much force it can take to break a set of carbs free. also, make sure that all of the clamps at the carb are completely loose, or you will cause damage doing this. taking the runners off of the engine can cause a whole host of other problems. you may have issues getting them lined up in that "sweet spot" again, you may mix them up (they would need to go back on to the original cylinders), and you may damage them when taking them off of the carbs to clean the carbs once you have them off the engine. its just plain physics. it is much easier to remove the carbs from the rubber runners than it is to remove the rubber runners from the engine and then the carbs. other than that, he was spot on. use grease or liquid wrench to get them back on. when you go to re mount the carbs, set them on the runners with a little bit of lubricant, and push down very hard to ensure that all four are seated. i have even had to break out a soft faced hammer and a block of wood to seat carbs before, but again, you have to be very careful and very precise.

 

So I am to loosen the clamps on the top of the runners aka boots instead of the ones closest to the bottom of the bike. I thought JNS said that would be near impossible due to them being on the back side of the carbs and are blocked by the motor.

 

If you can get to the upper clamp set on the boots, then go for it - taking the carbs out of the boots, and leaving the boots clamped on the intake runners is fine as well - it will work either way, but though you've got to be aggressive, be cautious at the same time - I assure you, that you have no less chance of doing damage to the boots or runners, going this route, as you do the other, if you're not careful...as in anything, use moderation,
You don't want to do unnecessary damage to any components, then have to shell out the dough for replacements.

I've had the carbs off of what is now my race bike, probably 8 times or so, and, a couple of times with the street bike; in each instance, the screws for the carb-side clamps were inaccessible, and I used the lowers instead - there has never been any damage done to the boots, due to the heat I applied the first time, or otherwise.

I recommended heat, because in your post, you already described that you had labored for an hour, breaking a sweat, wiggling the carbs back and forth... don't be afraid to use some heat, just be careful when doing so.
One of the chief rules in mechanics, is using the right tool for the job, and heat indeed is just one of the tools you can use, and is used in many situations But, bear in mind, I expect folks to use some common sense with this, as well as any other technique, i.e., you don't want to warp them, or worse, melt the surface!!

Everything in moderation... that really goes without saying!

All that said, those boots are a high-density compound of rubber - when you finally get the carbs off you'll note how stiff, and tough the boots are, and you'll notice the groove in the inside diameter, where the "lip" from the carb/intake runner seats... that, is what you're battling, when trying to remove them!!

 

You know, after reading your post, jeason, I was scratching my head, wondering why you thought it mattered which side of the boots are loosened and separated, and then I re-read your post, and I think you might have thought I was recommending something entirely different than I was!

I'm not recommending that anyone remove the boots from the intake runners on the engine, AFTER removing them from the carbs, lawdy no!!
All I'm saying, is that I remove the carbs with the boots attached, but I do not remove them from the carbs afterward, and have no reason to ever do so, as you can clean the carbs (assuming you're not dipping them), without getting carb cleaner on the rubber boots. By the way, jdub, don't get carb cleaner on any rubber parts, it will ruin them, unless the cleaner explicitly states that it is safe for rubber components - the boots are not as susceptible to the chemicals, due to their increased density, but if you do get "not safe for rubber" carb cleaner on the boots, spray them with some warm water and wipe them down.

Jeason, you are absolutely right, you want the boots to go on exactly the way they come off, and since I only remove the boots from the engine, that applies.
If you do believe that leaving the boots on the carbs is wrong, won't work, or will cause trouble, then I have to agree to disagree - it works fine, but if you're just saying that it's easier to do it the other way, than I 100% agreee, as that would be my preference, but unlike with other bikes I've done carb work on, which is too many, on both of my F2s the screws in question were inaccessible anyway, so there was really no decision to make.

jdub, try to read and understand all the things jeason and I are saying here, and I hope you're not more confused than when you started!!

 

i never heard of such issues on removing carbs...

 

Well I'm hoping you got them off by now but I also do it the opposite way of JNS. Leave the boots attached to the intake and loosen them from the carbs. Then you can just actually push down and back really hard and they should pop off. Definitely don't be afraid to really be aggressive in pulling. If they're still completely stuck sometimes a little shot of WD40 can help. Works with stuck ignition wire boots.
Another tip which my be in the cleaning 101 thread but I've never read it, be gentle with the float bowl screw. You do not want to strip them. If they're really stuck set the screw driver in and give it a few hard whacks with a hammer on the handle and that should break the corrosion and allow them to come out.

 

On mobile so I can't edit but I've also never heard of anyone having issues completely removing the carb boots. All you have to so is make sure they're flush when you put them back on. There's a stop in the middle to set the height exactly right.

 

I got the carbs off! Took some work. Had to sit on the bike and use a heat gun on the boots. Sitting on the bike helped with the lost momentum. I left the carb boots on. No its time to clean! After looking in the intake I have some concerns. I have some crud in there. Do I need to give the intake a bath?