Removing Carbs the Easy Way

Made a quick video showing how I got the carbs out of my girlfriends 1981 Yamaha Seca XJ750. I researched it beforehand and everyone made it sound like the end of the world, or at the very least you'd need to remove the air box. I managed to just slip the air boots from the carbs into the airbox to give enough room to slide the carbs right out. Hope this helps someone.

 

would have been better to see you actually remove the carbs.
I remove the carbs the same way and use a dowel to push the sealing edge into the air box i heat them up with a hair drier and do 2 from each side of the bike
some boots are overly stiff and need more heat than a hair drier can supply.

 

I saw a thread somewhere on here a while back about using a ratchet strap to pull the carbs off. I tried it and it worked GREAT!!! Then I discovered that it worked just as great putting the carbs back on!

 

Yes. I was getting nowhere trying to pull the carbs back out on my '85 Maxim by hand. So I used two of my bike tie downs and the carbs just popped right out. Haven't tried putting them back in yet. Still working on cleaning them.

 

Thanks for the hair dryer tip, I'm going to use that.

 

Thanks for showing. It helped me get mine off. I did loosen the air box though and could push it 1./2 inch back giving me a bit more wiggle space.

 

Yeah just went through this whole process. Getting the carbs off wasn't too bad, for some reason. Getting them on was a snap using really long wood clamps. I simply tightened each side a little at a time. The REAL pleasure is getting the boots reconnected. I think the only way to do it is pushing them into the air box and then working them back out. The outer boots are the easiest. Boot number 3 (assuming right to left) is a bit difficult and boot number 2 is the hardest because the clutch cable is right in the way. I wish there was an easier way to reconnect them I just don't know what that could possibly be.

 

Left to right, just like when reading.

The airbox boots get easier to reconnect with practice.

 

There is:

1. Have some else do it

Or

2. Buy new intake boots and airboots from Len.

Or

3. Get a hairdryer or heat gun, and warm up the boots to soften them. A light smear of Vaseline on the intake boots will help the c arbs to pop right in. Then, I move the airbox back forward and tighten the bolts. From that point, I work the airboots back on, using a heat gun to keep them soft, a radiator hose tool, a brake hook, and one hand working from inside the airbox. It also helps to make sure that the front of the airbox has been warmed, straightened, and cooled down so that it is flat again, rather than concaved.

 

I refitted my Carburetors today and it is quite easy once you get used to it, it was tricky the first time I did it but fine now.

 

Usually takes only a few minutes.

 

Yes Hogfiddles at bit trickier than my old CB750K2 (which I sold years ago) but the XJ is a great bike and I am looking forward to getting it on the road now after the work I did on it. My father was a carpet loom mechanic and I used to watch him working on cars and bikes when I was a kid. It is great to fix things yourself and have a forum of other XJ owners to communicate with. My father taught me a lot about bikes.

 

Also the airbox may have boots that are removable! I didnt notice that at first but the xj550 airbox has boots that come right off. You can remove them by gently rotating them and pushing them down to make way for the carb.

It seems the company noticed this problem and started making air boxes that weren't as much of a pain to deal with when doing carb jobs...

 

You just push them back into the airbox

 

It helped me! Thanks!

 

Easily (but CAREFULLY) remove the carbs from the intake boots with a ratchet strap on each side of the bike.

 

I just loosen the clamps, tip the rack up and down to pop them right out.

 

Did it the exact same way but what would be interesting is to see how to put them back on the easiest way. Does anyone have a magic trick that makes it a bit easier to put them back on?

 

A little lubricant on the boots a little lubricant on the carbs start on the right side and just roll them right in I can do this with hard boots or soft boots

 

thanks, worked like magic :-D