Float Seat?

Does anyone know what this little round silver piece if for? The package calls it a float seat, but I didn't see this come off of the carbs when I disassembled them. Anyone? You'll have to enlarge the picture when you get there, it looks like a watch battery with a hole in the middle of it.


float seat

 

Pilot screw plug, I would say most folks do not put them back in once they drill them out.

 

Cool, so mine's been drilled out already apparently? lol I guess when I read "plug" I think of something rubber, hmm.

 

And the pilot screw is the one that goes all the way down and then back out 2.5 turns? Ahhh, I'm so confused, lol. Will keep reading.

 

Yes, the pilot screw is that brass screw that is on the top of the carbs in front of the top hats.

The pilot screws are what adjust your fuel/air mixture.

From factory, I believe the carbs are adjusted to spec and then they put those caps in to prevent uneducated tampering or something along those lines.

When doing a rebuild, it is important to make sure the passageway is clean and the needles are clean.

When you are done with adjusting the fuel/air, you can choose to cap it off again. I would recommend not doing it though.

And yes, they are the ones you screw all the way in and back out 2 1/2 turns

 

Ok, thanks!

 

Do you have a colortune? There are a few ways to adjust your fuel/air mixture. A colortune seems to be the easiest and some would say one of the more accurate methods. You will need a 14mm if I remember correctly.

 

Not yet, but it does sound like a pretty good investment from what I've read everyone saying on here, as well as a few other tools, lol.

 

i have the color tune... works pretty good. The only thing Im missing is the YIC's tool.

 

You would need a 12mm ColorTune with a 550; the 14mm is for the bigger bikes (except I believe the Max-X uses 12mm plugs too.)

Don't worry about "ColorTuning" until after you've vacuum sync'ed the carbs; and you won't be able to get a good vac sync if you need a valve adjustment.

So, have we checked those valve clearances yet? That should come before carb tuning.

 

No, haven't checked the valve clearances yet, seems pretty daunting but so did removing the carbs and I got past that, sorta, lol still trying to get them to past the clunk test and put back together. Do I need any special tools to check the valves? Feeler guages?

 

Mac, read this post from Fitz, great write up on checking and replacing valve shims.

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... +shim.html

 

For checking all you need are feeler gauges; get a set of "Primarily" metric ones (most dual-scale feelers are in "American" sizes, and the metric equivalents are some pretty odd numbers so a lot of silly math is required.) The clearance chart as well as exactly what's involved are covered in detail here: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html

Commonly available metric feeler: KD2274 http://www.tooltopia.com/kd-tools-2274.aspx

For changing shims, you'll need a valve bucket hold down tool, also commonly available (Len carries them as well) for under $20. http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/partno/08-0020

Or you can go "old school" and do it the crude way: See http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=29209.html for an explanation of the use of the aforementioned tool and a popular (but not personally recommended) alternative.

You may also want to consider replacing the valve cover gasket as well as the metal/rubber composite "donuts" that go on the bolts. Those "donuts" are what actually press the cover down, as the bolts have stop collars on them. Once you've replaced the gasket and donuts, they can be reused over and over with no issues. Your originals are likely dried out/cracked/baked and petrified.

You have to check the valves. You have to check them again every 5000 miles, and keep them in spec; or you'll end up burning a valve. Don't put it off because it looks difficult. And you really should be sure they're all in spec before attempting to do a vacuum sync. Honest.

 

Thanks Tskaz and Bigfitz52, I appreciate it!