Finally some good luck with a "bad" carb

Well ok, the whole carb on the XJ1100 wasn't bad. In fact it was working quite well with one exception: a buggered idle mix screw on the #1 carb. All the others came out easily while cleaning, but #1 basicly just shattered. Yes the screwdriver was a proper fit, made sure of that before I started.

After attepting to get the srew out with heat, penetrants, oils and what was left of the top, I thought I was going to have to either replace the carb or just suffer with it as is.

The idle mix needed to be set, so I decided I'll try easy-outs. I started with a 1/4" drill (just fits snugly in the reccess) bit to "flatten" out what was left of the top. Then I drilled down the middle of the screw with a 5/64" bit, basicly drilled about 3/4 of the threads worth deep. Inserted a #1 screw extractor/easy-out/whatever, gave it a tap and it came out just as easy as the other screws.

Now all I have to do is wait for the replacement to get here so I can re-assemble everything completely. I feel a little better about the bike now and a little luckier in general.

Now to train the 9 month old to put the tools back when he's done eating them...