Topic: Terry's POS 1969 Suzuki T350 Redneck Reincarnation.

[Terry in Australia]

It was still bitterly cold today, so I stayed inside for as long as I could. My intent to have the carbs on was frustrated by the fact that 3 of the 4 carbs I had here didn't have serviceable float bowl gaskets in place, so I took the opportunity today to stay inside and make them. I used the one good (but rock hard) gasket as a template, and using a disposable scalpel that I found in a drawer in my work bench that's at least 20 years old, I carefully cut them out.

T350 Sunday 6 Jun 2021 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T350 Sunday 6 Jun 2021 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Of course I like to err on the side of caution, so I had to keep trimming them before they were a good fit in the float bowls. I bravely braved the cold for an hour or two trimming gaskets and eventually assembling the carbs.

T350 Sunday 6 Jun 2021 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I also discovered that there are some weird carb syncing/idle adjusting "nuts" on the top of each carb slide top that have a rod that is attached to the bottom of the slide, and looks like they are adjusted via these nuts. (sorry, forgot to take a pic) I only discovered this when I opened the bag with the plastic carb insulators looking for the rod that connects both carb's choke levers, and saw that one of the rods was broken, that I cracked open one of the other carbs and saw how the whole assembly works. Then I realised that the nice shiny OEM nuts and washers that hold the carbs on, that I'd carefully removed when I took the studs out to clean the old gasket material off had disappeared. Great.

Bugger it. It was cold and I decided to install the carbs and cables tomorrow, after I do some googling to make sure I've set them up properly. There also looks like a vacuum hose spigot on the front of each carb, not sure if that's for syncing the carbs, or just for a balance tube between them. I really wish that the workshop manual I ordered a hundred years ago would turn up before I finish putting this bike together, but with my luck, I suspect it'll arrive the day afterwards.........

[Trevor from Warragul]

There also looks like a vacuum hose spigot on the front of each carb

Maybe these attach to the fuel tap (for vacuum operated taps).

[Terry in Australia]

There also looks like a vacuum hose spigot on the front of each carb

Maybe these attach to the fuel tap (for vacuum operated taps).

Thanks Trevor, no, vacuum taps were mostly used with CV carbs, but the T350 has good old fashioned Mikuni 32mm slide carbs, and a standard tap. (petcock) I have a new tap on the tank now.

[grcamna2]

Terry, Iove those old-school Mikuni carbs with the little synchronizer 'spot' on each slide w/ the locator bolt which screws into the special 'spot'/hole:it makes synching both carb slides/cables quite easy. I believe those vacuum ports on each carb are possibly meant for the chokes? So both carbs enrich together.

[MauiK3]

Very good looking gaskets! Takes patience and time, like George Harrison said.

[BenelliSEI]

Terry..... curious what your definition of “COLD” is? My shop rarely gets above 50 degrees F inthe winter.......

[Terry in Australia]

Terry..... curious what your definition of “COLD” is? My shop rarely gets above 50 degrees F inthe winter.......

Ha ha, I know, I know, "You don't know what cold is!" and you're right John, it was around 50 deg F both days here, and really windy, so there was an arctic (to me) gale blowing thru the patio "Winter Workshop". It was sunny, so would have been a nice day for a ride if I was all rugged up, (but can't because of the covid-19 lockdown) maybe I should wear my motorcycle wet/cold weather gear while I'm working on my bikes? Anyway, yes I am a woose, and I think the older I get, the woosier I'm becoming.........

[MauiK3]

Here in paradise, when we are in the depths of winter and it dips into the high 60’s or low 70’s F we get our winter clothes out. I actually will put on a long sleeve shirt and shoes. We really get to be wimps here. I like it when it cools off so I can feel cooler with the riding armor on.

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, yeah I was talking to my mate Davey in Far North Queensland yesterday, he said when the temps dropped below 70 he puts his winter woolies on. I would love his winter weather down here, but he can keep the “Wet Season” where it’s in the 90’s every day, and humidity around 90-100%.

[RAFster122s]

I took a ride in today's heat and when I hot home on return leg I didn't realize how bad a shape I was in until I got off the bike. I had a cooling vest that nearly was completely dry after an hour on bike in 105-108f temps according to the bike's air temp thermometer. I brought my riding gear inside, medkit, and my tablet and was weak and super hot. Drank about 30 ounces of water while lying down with AC in bedroom turned down to 71f.
Took a 90 minute nap and felt better then.
Too fing hot to ride...
Reached 105f today and yesterday, cooling to 102f tomorrow afternoon. Overnight it has gotten down to 72-76 most nights... typical desert weather in summer when temps are above 100 during days. We only have about three months you have to ride very early or not ride.
You don't have to shovel sunshine...

[BenelliSEI]

That’s what my Mum used to say.” If I don’t have to shovel it, the weather is fine!”.

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, I guess it’s what you’re used to. We had a mild summer and I was able to ride whenever I felt like it, and unlike 2019 there were no massive bushfires to worry about. The problem we have here in Victoria is that the temps fall so rapidly, and I never get used to wearing shorts one day and fleecy track pants the next, or so it seems.

I really do hate winter here, I lived in Brisbane for 2 years and loved it, it never seemed to go below 70 or above 90 while I was there. Brisbane does have humid conditions but we acclimatised quickly, and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. In an ideal world I’d live here for half the year and Brisbane the other. I better start buying lottery tickets….

[34barab]

Very good looking gaskets! Takes patience and time, like George Harrison said.

+1. And loved George Harrison’s music.

[Terry in Australia]

Terry, Iove those old-school Mikuni carbs with the little synchronizer 'spot' on each slide w/ the locator bolt which screws into the special 'spot'/hole:it makes synching both carb slides/cables quite easy. I believe those vacuum ports on each carb are possibly meant for the chokes? So both carbs enrich together.

Tell me more Bill, I don't have a shop manual for these and I noticed that little "window", so are you saying that you use the knob (nut) at the top of the slide to move the slide while looking at the window to sync them both? What a good idea! (if that's right?)

[grcamna2]

Terry, Iove those old-school Mikuni carbs with the little synchronizer 'spot' on each slide w/ the locator bolt which screws into the special 'spot'/hole:it makes synching both carb slides/cables quite easy. I believe those vacuum ports on each carb are possibly meant for the chokes? So both carbs enrich together.

Tell me more Bill, I don't have a shop manual for these and I noticed that little "window", so are you saying that you use the knob (nut) at the top of the slide to move the slide while looking at the window to sync them both? What a good idea! (if that's right?)

Terry,you have any pics ?

[Terry in Australia]

I'll take some and post them after I come back from my weekly physiotherapy session Bill.

[grcamna2]

Ok Terry

[Terry in Australia]

Here you go Bill, I couldn't see sh1t thru the "windows", what's the trick?

T350 Monday 7 Jun 2021 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T350 Monday 7 Jun 2021 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

T350 Monday 7 Jun 2021 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[simon#42]

the old tz yamaha racers trick is to put the end of a pencil under each slide  . you then adjust the cable so they dip at the same time as you open the throttle ,  im showing my age again .

[grcamna2]

Oh,Ok Terry I see now.I thought you had carbs with a screw/plug on each slide tower and the slides each have a special indent in the exact same place in each slide,you then match-up each slide's indent to the viewing port.
The ones you have with that brass knob on each one is actually the idle adjuster,rather than having the idle adjuster screw further down in the traditional way we're all used to.The synchronizing of the slides together needs to be done using the cable adjusters on the top of each carb and the 'feel' method:what simon#42 says.
I would personally drop each slide All the way down to the 'rock bottom' floor as far as it will go and with the carbs installed and cables hooked-up,working from the back side of the carbs with the (flexible?)rubber airbox to carbs boot pulled out of the way.This is to make sure that both slides are pulling upward at exactly the same time all the way through their travel toward the top.I hope your throttle cables are in good condition(OEM?)or good quality new.
I personally like to hold the bike open at full throttle with my right hand,then reach-back with two long left fingers to 'feel' using a finger in each carb with my left hand,then lower both slides a hair and 'feel' if they are both exactly open the same amount at the top of their pull in each carb.
I can then adjust one carb to match the 'pull' of the other by adjusting each cable to match the other,exactly.This synchronizing makes a huge difference in how smooth your engine pulls in all situations.I would adjust the idle screws(top knurled brass knobs)last by using both my hands close-up toward the ends of each muffler output to feel how much output each cylinder is breathing,you get the idea Terry.This last part is accomplished best if you just got done setting your ignition timing with the dial indicator.

[MauiK3]

Dumb question here, I’m not a two stroke guy.
Carbs can’t be checked with a vacuum gauge to fine tune them?

[grcamna2]

Dumb question here, I’m not a two stroke guy.
Carbs can’t be checked with a vacuum gauge to fine tune them?

I haven't seen vintage 2-stroke carbs with the special synch port;they may have them:it's just that I haven't seen them 

The Yamaha RZ350 was a later model 2-stroke street bike which I've never wrenched on.I imagine that would be one to see if they used 'synch ports' in their carbs.I may take a look on an online parts description page for the Yamaha RZ to see if that synch plug piece is in their carb parts breakdown.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I think the spigots at the front of ech carb ahead of the slide could definitely be used to synch the carbs, and synching 2 carbs will be much easier than 4, so I'll add that to my list, I might buy some new rubber vacuum hose for my NOS genuine Honda gauges that I didn't use on my K2 or K0 due to the embrittlement of the original hoses.

I managed to find both an owners manual and a factory shop manual online last night, so read up about how to set up the carbs and ignition, and it all made sense. I'll "Bench sync" them off the bike with the new cables I installed in the last pic using the cable adjusters and a piece of wire like I did with my K0 carbs, then adjust the idle using the adjusting rod thingies, then vacuum sync them once it's running, and I've ridden it around the block to get it to operating temp, using the afore mentioned spigots.

I've got new plugs, points and condensors on their way, so I'll do the ignition timing once they arrive, unless it runs poorly this weekend, in which case I'll do the timing on the old points that I've cleaned and gapped already.  

[grcamna2]

Bench sync with wire sounds good enough Terry.What does the manual say about final synch,how do they do it ?
I've always done the 'feel method' with the slides up top on 2-stroke multis myself.

[Terry in Australia]

Bench sync with wire sounds good enough Terry.What does the manual say about final synch,how do they do it ?
I've always done the 'feel method' with the slides up top on 2-stroke multis myself.

Thanks Bill. The manual says to set the idle first, then sync them with the cable adjusters, using the "feel" method, i.e., holding the palm of your hand at the back of the pipes to feel the exhaust pressure from each until they feel even. I think vac gauges would be a little more accurate.