Remember that commercial, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop"? Well, in this case, it should be "How many times do I have to R&R these carbs to get it right?".
I had the carbs off at least four times, and that's after 78Whiteorbs had been through them a couple of times AND my carb guy had done them once.
Everyone says "re-use the brass....it doesn't wear out and is better than aftermarket". Generally, that's true. But in this particular case, it caused a lot of headaches. The pilots were corroded, the mains appear to have been drilled (on a bone stock bike....why??), and the needles simply didn't fit the emulsion tubes correctly anymore. Maybe the needles and tubes had lost their "mate" somewhere along the way and had gotten mixed up? A couple of them showed damage from screwdrivers and there was some corrosion on the bowl ends of a couple.
Much of this wasn't readily apparent to the naked eye without magnification. And I've rebuilt and re-used some
really cruddy carbs before. But....for whatever reason....these just wouldn't work. I chased a rich condition for a long time before finally ordering new needle sets, main jets and getting some known good pilots from Harisuluv.
That seems to have cured it. I have over 60 miles on it since replacing the brass and it runs better than it ever has. No more bogging or loading up, fouling plugs, etc. It pulls cleanly from any speed in any gear now.
Emulsion tube damage
new main jet (L) vs. old main jet (R)
Two of the pilots had corrosion on the ends like this
And one was heavily corroded near the threads
One slide had scratches on it that I could feel with my fingernail. There's a matching one on the other side. I replaced it with one from my parts carbs.
New brass and new air box boots.
