I was doing a lot of fuel system troubleshooting yesterday and as you all know our bikes can be pretty troublesome considering most of us have four carbs on each bike. Lot's of times it seem you need to pull the whole rack just to get access to everything and be able to remove and install components. You have to remove the battery, its tray, airbox, unplug the electrical panel and remove it, etc.
If you haven't already figured it out, a small, ratcheting screwdriver can be purchased that allows you to get the bowls off while the carbs are then installed.
The leaf spring and the main jet, as well as the idle jet, can be gotten at fairly easily then. But what about the fuel shutoff valve? This I had a hard time with. Once you take off the float, it just falls out. Given how small it is, and especially for those of us with large hands, it can be a bear to hold in while simultaneously holding the float in place and replacing the brass pivot shaft.
I found out a solution to doing this. Get length of painter's tape, about 3 or 4", and a razor blade. Slice a small X in near one end and place the needle valves pintle through the X on the sticky side. Leave about 4mm or so from the edge. You can now hold the piece of tape and manage to hold and manipulate it enough to stick up in it's brass holder. Once there, press the tape against the body of the carb with the slack of the tape going towards the front of the bike. This excess will stick out for a reason.
Now get your float and reinstall. It should now be directly under the needle valve. Gently tug on the slack going towards the front of the carb and it should rip fairly easily and drop the valve on the float tang. This is why you want just enough slack from the edge of that X you sliced, so it will rip easily. I had to do this 3 or 4 times last night and it works like a charm. Saved me from having to R&I the carbs quite a few times! Not to mention removing all the other stuff to get to the carbs.
