Topic: carbs?/

[Freddy kruger]

How much would it cost to get your carbs cleaned at a machanic charging 75 $$ an hour???  Baught new 550 four that hasn't been serviced in years. Will it change the performence and the reaction time of the throddle? not confident to do it myself!!

[vrrvroom]

check out this post first: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=34426.0

if you're intimidated by the idea of doing a full carb rebuild, don't be.  it's really not that bad after the first time around, which you'll want to do very slowly, take photos, arrange parts carefully, etc.  but then again there's an easier approach that might just do the trick.

try just removing the carbs from the bike, removing all the jets, floats, gaskets, etc.  and then dunking the entire rack in a 50/50 solution of simple green that you can pick up at your nearest walmart/hardware store.  let it sit for a few hours and then rinse everything out and blow it dry.  clean the jets with some carb cleaner and blow those out with some canned air.  if the float needles are sticking or the bowl gaskets are worn out, replace them.  you can pick them up for < $30 on ebay.  there's a guy that sells po'boy carb rebuild kits that work great for quick jobs like these.

good luck.

[Shenanigans]

Its not that hard to do by yourself and its helpful to know and understand what you have going on under you. I did my first set on my 550 without any previous mechanic experience or idea on what I was doing. The majority of the time your gonna get ripped off having mechanics do it unless they have a background with these types of bikes. Grab a manual and you should have no problem. Just my opinion however...

[silentone]

I'd never worked on carbs or a bike before and I managed to do my carbs on my 550.  It's really not hard.  Just go slow, stay organized, and you'll do fine.  Plus you'll save a lot of money and build a lot of confidence!