Author Topic: How to get your Carbs back on... with a ROPE! (Read 14839 times)

TireSniffer · « **on:** October 19, 2010, 05:38:55 pm »

Hi, don't know if this has been covered, sorry if it has... so, after taking off and putting the carbs on my '79 CB650 about 10 times... the 11th time I did this... getting them on without swearing... my usual bear hug on the motor was not necessary...

I used a one piece length of nylon rope and carefully wrapped it around the carb backing plate between carbs, in a loop towards the front of the motor, then ran it over to the other side making another loop around the carb backing plate again (my explanation might not be the best..hopefully this will come across in the pics)... make sure you haven't pinched anything, I then put a piece of wood in the loop at the front and twisted, slowly tightening the rope, make sure you're not doing any damage to your cooling fins (I went under the head), wiggle your carbs a bit, keep twisting... POP!... they went back on!! no swearing, no sweating.

The_Crippler · « **Reply #1 on:** October 19, 2010, 05:51:14 pm »

Ratchet straps also work, and a heat gun helps a lot.

SOHC Digger · « **Reply #2 on:** October 21, 2010, 07:33:40 pm »

Love the band-aid for explanation too!!!

Step 5) Make sure your thumb is out of the way of said piece of wood... HA

TireSniffer · « **Reply #3 on:** October 27, 2010, 09:44:09 am »

Quote from: The_Crippler on October 19, 2010, 05:51:14 pm

Ratchet straps also work, and a heat gun helps a lot.

True, that's a good idea! I don't have'em though.... got to get me a set o ratchet straps, I just have the reg kind. I also read that wintergreen really softens up those boots... I don't know if we have that in Canada... never seen it before..

TireSniffer · « **Reply #4 on:** October 27, 2010, 09:50:18 am »

Quote from: SOHC Digger on October 21, 2010, 07:33:40 pm

Love the band-aid for explanation too!!!

Step 5) Make sure your thumb is out of the way of said piece of wood... HA

Yep! Hey it looks kinda like I'm giving "devils horns" in one of those pics... ROCK AND ROLL!!! We used to call it a "cleveland" don't really know why....

Really? · « **Reply #5 on:** October 27, 2010, 09:50:28 am »

Interesting trick.

I got mine back on this last Sunday with spit and about a 4ft 2x4 - knee on one side, one hand reached over on the other end of the board and one up top around the handle bars. Pushed them on.

The_Crippler · « **Reply #6 on:** October 27, 2010, 10:01:59 am »

Quote from: TireSniffer on October 27, 2010, 09:44:09 am

True, that's a good idea! I don't have'em though.... got to get me a set o ratchet straps, I just have the reg kind. I also read that wintergreen really softens up those boots... I don't know if we have that in Canada... never seen it before..

Never used wintergreen myself, but I know a lot of people that swear by it. I'm going to have to give it a try for the heck of it some day.

Heat gun and a couple of ratchet straps should run you less than $20 at Harbor Freight - and since you're not actually relying on the straps to secure a load in a truck or anything, the Harbor Freight price over quality policy works in your favor.

cookindaddy · « **Reply #7 on:** October 27, 2010, 03:18:47 pm »

The wintergreen oil and xylene treatment is great. Works wonders softening old rubber. There are a few threads on here about it.

The Gardener · « **Reply #8 on:** November 05, 2010, 02:23:53 pm »

Good idea. What I did, after a lot of cussin', I sprayed some dry film lubricant on my finger and then wiped the inside edge of the carb boots. aligned them up and pressed them on.Yes it still took pressure, but went on easy. No more cussin'.

metalmechanix3 · « **Reply #9 on:** November 10, 2010, 09:58:05 am »

Heat gun and silcon spray works well

swan · « **Reply #10 on:** November 15, 2010, 05:31:09 pm »

Wintergreen oil treatment http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=29707.0
I soften my boots and put my carbs on easily. No 2' x 4's. ropes, rachet straps etc. They push right in and seal nicely with no air leaks.

TireSniffer · « **Reply #11 on:** November 26, 2010, 07:00:37 pm »

Quote from: swan on November 15, 2010, 05:31:09 pm

Wintergreen oil treatment http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=29707.0
I soften my boots and put my carbs on easily. No 2' x 4's. ropes, rachet straps etc. They push right in and seal nicely with no air leaks.

Thanks for the info

cgrayiii · « **Reply #12 on:** January 07, 2011, 09:40:26 am »

After taking my carbs off and putting them back on more times than I'd like to think about, I tried the ratchet strap idea. I took two of the small width (1-1/2" wide) straps and carefully routed them through the carb rack on each side. I took some 3-in-1 Oil and lightly oiled the barrel of the carbs and the carb boots. I made sure the carb barrels were lined up with the boots and then I slowy tightened the ratchet straps evenly on each side. This method worked like a charm!!! I was able to get all of the boots on evenly and then tighten the clamps without worrying about the carb assembly slipping. Great idea!

Really? · « **Reply #13 on:** January 07, 2011, 09:48:17 am »

Did the wintergreen oil thing on the carb boots. They slid on the intake things snug but doable by hand. The carbs still relied on a bit of spit and a 2x4 so I can work them on. One thing I did notice with the wintergreen oil treat is that they also swelled a bit longways. So, it was a little tight getting the airbox mouted to the frame with the upper two bolts.

Holubs · « **Reply #14 on:** January 07, 2011, 10:45:43 am »

When I left mine in the Wintergreen Oil for longer than overnight my boot had swollen as well. After a couple day they had gone back to the original size and were still pretty soft.

The boots to the air cleaner on my F1 were so hard I thought they were made of plastic instead of rubber. Overnight in the Wintergreen Oil/Toluene mixture and I could roll them into a ball the size of a quarter and have them spring back into shape.

Did make reassembly much easier.

Holubs

sinks88 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 07, 2011, 01:43:30 pm »

nice!

fishobos · « **Reply #16 on:** March 08, 2011, 02:22:39 pm »

I was lookin to thank the guy who said to use a broom stick to take thhem off and put them on. It would have gone better with a little oil. This is my first 400f. I got the carbs off, cleaned and put in carb kits, put them back on with the broom stick and the bike fired right up. Awesome and thank you for all your handy tricks everybody.

92sc300tt · « **Reply #17 on:** January 17, 2012, 06:27:38 pm »

This method saved me a ton of headache i got frustrated came online read this quick and had the carbs on in like 5min after fighting with them for about 30 minutes. i did it a little different i ran the rope around the back of all the carbs then thru the top fin on the engine and around the frame rails i used a rear brake strut to tighten the rope

messeduptriple · « **Reply #18 on:** January 17, 2012, 08:07:04 pm »

Where can u get this wintergreen oil at??? I will be putting my carbs back on soon and wouldn't mind some pointers. So warm the boots with blow dryer ok??

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

cookindaddy · « **Reply #19 on:** January 18, 2012, 01:34:06 am »

Try Walgreens or your local pharmacy

WhyNot2 · « **Reply #20 on:** January 18, 2012, 04:00:23 am »

Geeezzz.........I must have been one lucky dude..............................

Have a 350f and a 750k and had the carbs off of both bikes, and they slide right back on.

The hardest part for me was getting the air box boots on.

Accorn · « **Reply #21 on:** January 21, 2012, 05:35:08 pm »

Quote from: messeduptriple on January 17, 2012, 08:07:04 pm

Where can u get this wintergreen oil at??? I will be putting my carbs back on soon and wouldn't mind some pointers. So warm the boots with blow dryer ok??

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

Amazon has it. you can get the xylene too.

LesterPiglet · « **Reply #22 on:** February 02, 2012, 04:24:44 pm »

For heatgun read hairdryer.

lucky · « **Reply #23 on:** February 03, 2012, 01:49:05 pm »

Tightening a loop of rope by putting a stick through the loop is called a "Spanish Windlass" Sailors developed that method to tighten lines. It can and has been used for many things.

tango911 · « **Reply #24 on:** February 03, 2012, 01:50:25 pm »

Quote from: The_Crippler on October 19, 2010, 05:51:14 pm

Ratchet straps also work, and a heat gun helps a lot.

i use this

Tdinova · « **Reply #25 on:** May 13, 2012, 03:55:09 am »

All I do is put a small amount of grease on the inside of the boots. Took my finger and smeared it all around. The carbs slipped on with ease

cookindaddy · « **Reply #26 on:** May 13, 2012, 05:37:13 am »

Wintergreen oil is available in drug stores here (Toronto area). You might have to ask for it but it is not expensive and you don't need much. I think I sent someone to Wallgreens and they got it there.

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Author Topic: How to get your Carbs back on... with a ROPE! (Read 14839 times)