Topic: 1974 550K needle and seat question

[Tattoo]

  I'm rebuilding my carbs on my 550K. I noticed the needles the spring end are not the same tention. If you turn the carbs upside down with the floats on two collaps all the way to bottom, one half way down and the other one stays all the way up. You can push the float down and it comes back, but that's the only one. Anyway my question is will it hurt the float level and should I replace them all? Thanks Tattoo

[TwoTired]

If you have kept the needles and seat matched from where they were installed, you probably just need to soak them a while to get the gunge out of the spring sockets.
If you haven't kept the needle and seat match up, then you might as well replace them.

Cheers,

[Tattoo]

I did keep them seperate. Everything. The springs move freely they don't stick at all by themselves. Just the springs seem soft? It might be nothing I don't want to put them back before I checked with you guys. Tattoo

[TwoTired]

The springs that seem hard to you are the ones that have gunk in them.  The gunk allows only part of the spring to flex.  This shortens the moment and it feels like it is stiffer.
A spring is simply a coiled rod.  Half a rod length will flex less than one that is full length.

It's possible that if you give the bike regular use (at least a half hour of operation per week), the fuel sloshing will eventually clean the spring sockets.  Fuel is a descent solvent when renewed frequently.

Do you have any acetone or MEK or lacquer thinner to soak them in a couple days?

If you can still get carb cleaner with methyl chloride in it, it will be the most aggressive and fastest acting toward fuel deposits.  But, in some states in the US. the EPA/government thinks people are too stupid to use it properly.

Cheers,

[Tattoo]

  LOL I don't believe I'm to stupid to use carb cleaner. When you turn the carbs up sidedown should all the floats be the same height if the needle springs are working properly? Tattoo

[Tattoo]

I do have some MEK. Tattoo

[Tattoo]

 I guess what I'm asking is will it hurt if some springs are softer than the others will it hurt anything if the float level is set correctly? Tattoo

[TwoTired]

I expect there could be some relationship with actual fuel level variance along with changes in spring strength.  I've never experimented with such differences, personally.

Cheers,

[Tattoo]

Thank you, Tattoo