My poor carbs :(

Gloveberg · March 13, 2015, 10:34:10 PM

Greetings everyone, I'm not dead

I'm afraid the time has come to look at selling ye olde Magna

. Since the SV650S came into the fold the Magna has been ridden less and less and in fact it may very well have been over a year now. At first I thought it would be awesome to have two bikes but I realized that one will eventually get neglected. Last time I tried to get it running I used some seafoam and it started but wasn't happy about it. I'm afraid the carbs are gummed up, if not totally then at least partially. I helped Greg C. replace the jets a LONG time ago but I don't remember specifics about it. I'm pretty sure I could probably pull them but not so confident about going into them. My main fear is yanking them, screwing them up and being left with a partially disassembled motorcycle to continue to sit in my carport. I'd even be willing to ship them to somebody for cleaning...lol.

Advice? Tips? Prayers?

lragan · March 13, 2015, 10:54:21 PM

Jimmy, the writeup is still on the web site, isn't it? I have used it three times in the last 7 years, with no difficulty -- and I am all dumb thumbs, with a tremor to boot!

You can do this! (If you really want to, that is).

TLRam1 · March 14, 2015, 12:19:18 AM

The easy part is cleaning them, the hard part is on and off.

hootmon · March 14, 2015, 07:19:28 AM

Lawrence is a genius mechanic compared to me... find the instructions and follow them and you will be OK...
I did, and I survived...

Gloveberg · March 14, 2015, 02:18:28 PM

Quote from: lragan on March 13, 2015, 10:54:21 PM
Jimmy, the writeup is still on the web site, isn't it? I have used it three times in the last 7 years, with no difficulty -- and I am all dumb thumbs, with a tremor to boot!

You can do this! (If you really want to, that is).

I forgot about that write up

v4_jeff · March 22, 2015, 10:11:28 AM

I'm in the same boat. My Zero has been getting all the attention, meanwhile the Versys' battery died and the Magna's low-speed jets clogged. I pulled the carbs a few weeks ago, thought I'd gotten the jets cleaned out but must not have done enough as it still runs like crap until it's up on the mains even after a full tank of new gas with a seafoam overdose. I'll probably pull the carbs again this week and give it another shot. This is the last carburetted machine I'll own, EFI or bust (or electric

).

Gloveberg · March 30, 2015, 02:16:53 PM

Well this weekend I pulled the carbs and sure enough they were clogged. Cleaned them out and tried to start it and lo and behold it cranked and idled (Yay!!!)....but there's gas coming out of the left side carb closest to the seat (Booo!!). UGH!!!!!!!

What I did was pulled the bowls on each carb and the two jets, at least that's what I'm calling them, in the bowl that have slots for removal I cleaned those out with carb cleaner and an air gun. There's a third needle something in there with no slot to remove it so I just sprayed that too. The floats seemed ok but I'm assuming one is not closing now and that's where the gas is coming from? I didn't touch the diaphragms or the main jets.

LIMagna · March 31, 2015, 06:31:44 AM

You may need to replace the float needles ... the little rubber tips can harden up over time and not seal so well, especially when exposed to what passes for gasoline these days. It's a good idea to clean out the seat area too with a q-tip dipped in some carb cleaner. Just make sure it's all dry in there before installing the float needles or the cleaner could possibly damage the rubber needled tip.

Gloveberg · March 31, 2015, 07:53:42 AM

Ok I found this picture online. I cleaned what they are calling the "Pilot Jet" (yellow) and the "Main Jet" (blue). Where would the float needle be?

LIMagna · March 31, 2015, 08:03:24 AM

Here you go ... you have to slide the float pin out and remove the plastic floats. The needle sits on top of them in the location I've indicated in the picture you found.

Gloveberg · March 31, 2015, 11:42:15 PM

This?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-94-03-VF750C-VF750CD-VF750C2-Magna-K-L-Carburetor-Repair-Kit-18-5394-/391004649267?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5b09b17733&vxp=mtr

TLRam1 · March 31, 2015, 11:43:54 PM

Quote from: Gloveberg on March 31, 2015, 11:42:15 PM
This?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-94-03-VF750C-VF750CD-VF750C2-Magna-K-L-Carburetor-Repair-Kit-18-5394-/391004649267?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5b09b17733&vxp=mtr

That would be it.

Gloveberg · April 01, 2015, 02:50:25 AM

Much much appreciated guys. From what I could tell it was only one carb and it's the rear left. It was dripping so bad I wondered if the bowl drain screw was loose

. So just to be sure I understand the float needle is attached to the float and as the bowl fills and the float rises it pushes the needle into the orifice (?) to stop the flow of gas into the bowl?

I really hope this is it because I dread working on carburetors. We just don't mix well.

LIMagna · April 01, 2015, 06:55:44 AM

You've got it ... the float valve just sits on top of the floats (think it's retained loosely in a little slot). It's got a little spring loaded pin that the float will push against as the bowl fills with gasoline to seal the opening and stop the flow of gas.

Gloveberg · April 01, 2015, 06:54:45 PM

Quote from: LIMagna on April 01, 2015, 06:55:44 AM
You've got it ... the float valve just sits on top of the floats (think it's retained loosely in a little slot). It's got a little spring loaded pin that the float will push against as the bowl fills with gasoline to seal the opening and stop the flow of gas.

Sweet. At $28 a pop I hope it's just this one carb