Float Bowl Journals - DAMN! They are hard to clean!

What I said.

No wonder the bike would not run at all. The idle jets that are cast into the float bowls on my 750 were completely blocked.

So far I have boiled them in lemon juice. Gone at them with a needle. Gone at them with a few different gauges of guitar strings. Boiled in water. Frozen with water (physics class anyone?). And now boiling them again in water.

Maybe this time they will be completely free!

 

physics 101 taught me to use carb cleaner. and not that spray can either.

the actual gallon of cleaner used to soak the carbs. soak for an hour. rinse with water. and blow compressed air. DONE. or use carb spray cleaner for compressed air.

i've had carbs that were completely filled with hardened slime that cleaned right up. no scrubbing necessary. no lemon juice either.

but now that i think of it. i haven't seen that stuff for awhile so i don't know if it's even sold anymore. since the carburetor died in 85.

 

I was talking with a friend about an hour ago and he told me about that stuff. The only catch is that I could not see myself using it again, ever. So I don't know if it is worth it.

One would think that straight gasoline would do the trick too. Gas is a great solvent, right?

 

Gas is what caused the jet to get clogged in the first place.

Seconded on the carb dip. Had one bowl jet that opened right up after a good long soak. Yes, it's still available -- just gotta find an auto parts store that still stocks it.

 

Autozone, Berryman Carb dip; 1 gal-$16.99 last time I bought it.

 

soak the carbs.
keep in mind that it's not a good idea to soak the rubber
parts overnight.
i've used the spray stuff without ill affect to the seals.
Others will chime in if an hour or so will hurt the soft stuff.

 

I just used the spray stuff. I sprayed a couple cans out into a big bowl and let the float bowls soak.

 

I remember trying that, and it didn't seem to work for me. (shrug)

 

If I am understanding this correctly you are taling about the hole in the wall of the float bowl that has the diagonla hole from the inside of the float bowl intersecting it. Drill them out. I use a dremel with a very small drill bit. 1/32". You can buy the small set of bits made for the Dremel at any Lowes. It is a set of 5 or 6 very small bits. Worked for me.

 

Use a welding tip cleaner set(the small one)
Make sure not to enlarge the hole

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I managed to get them clean by doing the boiling and freezing trick 3 times. Each time I worked at it a few minutes with the guitar string and safety pin.

Fortunately, I have the time to just work at it slow. Also, I have the patience. Plus, I couldn't justify spending the money on carb dip if I am going to just use it once.

It is amazing that journal is so small and has such an impact on how the bike runs, or if it runs at all.