I wanna be brave....but then again maybe not

[kozy]

I just got Morley's kit and I am seriously thinking about installing it all myself and trying to get the whole "jet kit" project done on my own. Another part of me says to take it to the stealer because I don't have a DAMN clue what I'm doing.
If I follow the step-by-step instructions in the "How to change main jets" and "How to sync carbs" threads, is that all I need to do? I would have to tinker with the A/F mixture somehow to get it jetted properly though right? It was awesome that Mark posted those two threads with picture, because I believe that I can follow along. Aren't there steps missing though?

Pardon my idiot-ness. I know nothing about engines or carbs. I only know how to take everything ELSE apart and work on it.

Oh...and would I need to get new gaskets for the Kerker headers? Or is it safe to do it without gaskets? I'm pretty sure that when I removed the stock exhaust, there were no gaskets.

Or should I just take it to the stealer and have him do it? I really don't know. I'm scared that I'll fuck my bike up.

 

[one2dmax]

With the lists help I am confident you can do it. Use the money you save to buy a carb sync tool.

Sean

 

[texmax]

You aren't gonna fuck your bike up anymore than they will. Hell, I'll almost bet you'll have to work on it some more after they're done with it. That is of course if they even know what a V-MAX is :ummm: Seriously, the first and last time I took my bike to the stealer, it was nothing but a bunch of youngsters who couldn't even change my rear tire without fucking up my tripmeter knob. Do it yourself. I'm sure if you have any questions, Sean or anyone else from this outstanding forum who has installed it would gladdly help. Thats what I intend to do when I get mine.

 

[RazoR333]

Have faith bud,..there's more than enough helpful peeps in here that would gladly help out. If in doubt, take digital pic's as you go thru, and if there's anything that doesn't seem right , you can post em and we can all have a gander.
Don't rush. savor it . I had the same fear's getting started on a XS 400 twin .
After awhile I could take out the carbs ,clean, adjust and have them back in and go riding that same afternoon.
Use good tools,..cheap screw drivers will bring you grief.
Don't use harmful solvents near the rubber diaphragms.
ENJOY.

 

[kozy]

Ok, so let me tell what I know I have to do and hopefully one of you can let me know what I don't know that I should do.
I tried to find a Stage 7 installation instructions online, but to no avail.

I have to follow the steps in the thread "How to change main jets."
Once I remove the carbs and get the main jets changed, I then have to install the rest of Sean's kit (t-looking thingy, rubber tube, and oil fill cap).

That's about all I know that I have to do. I know that I have to end with syncing the carbs. Can you tell me what I'm missing? And how do I get it tuned right?

 

[gamorg02]

ekozy...

sounds like we're on the same page.. i'd say if you have the time and a digital camera.. take your time and do it right. post pics whenever u have any question and the carb guru's will help u out along with plenty of others... tons of help here man... can't screw it up worse than the dealer might.. at least this way u know its done 100% right..

create your own thread for it if you need to. read ng's carb cleaning writeup too...

 

[lankeeyankee]

Ok, so let me tell what I know I have to do and hopefully one of you can let me know what I don't know that I should do.
I tried to find a Stage 7 installation instructions online, but to no avail.

I have to follow the steps in the thread "How to change main jets."
Once I remove the carbs and get the main jets changed, I then have to install the rest of Sean's kit (t-looking thingy, rubber tube, and oil fill cap).

That's about all I know that I have to do. I know that I have to end with syncing the carbs. Can you tell me what I'm missing? And how do I get it tuned right?

When working with carbs you need to have a high qaulity set of screw drivers and the correct size.. Some of the screws can be difficult to remove and if you round any of the heads off you better have a set of vice grips.
I dont know how mechanically incline you are, or how well you are detailed in your work. This is something that cant be measured over the internet. Following directions is a great start. But not all arecompetenet with tools in there in hand and tools actually turn into destruction weapons. I will tell you this much though, dealers suck and most mechanics are fuk ups!
I was in the same boat as you back when I had my GSXR and was wanting a jet kit installed, I messed up by taking it to the stealers after 3 times of them making my bike slower in the 1/4 mile I started to learn about motorcycle carbs on my own....
Stealers tuning my GSXR
1/4 MPH
Not jetted ran 121
Stealer Tuning first trip 117
Stealers Tuning 2nd trip 115
Stealers Tuning 3rd trip 113

After all said and done of me tinkering I had a 90 gsxr 750 street bike running 11.0's at 123 mph in the 1/4 in street trim.

Yes you have donut gaskets for your exhaust. Order new ones before your header install.. I also use RED High or Copper High Temp RTV silicone on the donut gaskets just for shits and giggles. Copper RTV looks better just dont eat any of it.

 

[Firewrench]

Can I add that you should only dis-assemble 1 carb at a time. That way you have a complete unit to reference to should you run into trouble. In my opinion the hardest part is re-installing the throttle cable after you're done with the carbs. Take your time, have an area where you can take the carbs apart that is clean and has enough room to lay out the pieces in order of removal. Do you have an air compressor? It's very helpful for blowing out the tiny passages to make sure they are clear.
Never poke anything into a passage, keep caustic cleaners away from the rubber stuff and you'll do fine.

 

[kozy]

I also use RED High or Copper High Temp RTV silicone on the donut gaskets just for shits and giggles. Copper RTV looks better just dont eat any of it.

What does putting silicone on the gaskets do? I've never heard of that before. Where can I get any of that stuff?

 

[kozy]

In my opinion the hardest part is re-installing the throttle cable after you're done with the carbs.

If I read correctly, you don't even need to remove the throttle cable. You can leave it connected while you're changing the main jets.

 

[Firewrench]

When I work on my carbs, I remove them from the motorcycle completely and work at a bench. Easier for my tin man knees and back.

 

[lankeeyankee]

When I work on my carbs, I remove them from the motorcycle completely and work at a bench. Easier for my tin man knees and back.

I am with you on that. And the for the first time I would do the same also.. Remove the carbs and work on them on a bench in a well lit area. Stay organized and the use of a digital camera makes for a good memory reference for the first time..

RTV Gasket Selant is used to add a seal to a gasket. Exhaust and Water is the onlything I use RTV silicone on.

Its made by Permatex and can be found at any auto store in the chemical aisle. Red or Copper is used in high heat extremes.. price is around 4-6 bucks for a tube. It also makes it easier to hold the gasket in place while fumbling around with the pipes

 

[Rusty McNeil]

If I read correctly, you don't even need to remove the throttle cable. You can leave it connected while you're changing the main jets.

Lot's of good advice here..I'll add some....

Fully 90% of mechanics will fuck your carbs up if they even look at them........

I don't know how deep you have to go with Seans kit, but if you are not needing to remove the float bowl covers, then you don't have to "unrack" the carbs.

Unracking means separating the carbs individually, as they come off the bike with all four connected with a bunch of pretty sturdy brackets. You have to remove these brackets to separate the carbs and do a full tear down.

And yes you can change the main jets with out removing the float bowl covers using the toothpick method.



OK, assumming your not removing the float bowl covers, then your not unracking the carbs, which means that you are not going to need to remove the throttle cables, you simply disconnect inside that plastic thingie (that's a technical term) underneath the left side plastic steering neck cover.

Synching....

Someones going to call bullshit on me for this one..but....

Synch isn't THAT big a deal, except at idle, when the butterflys are opened very much past idle, the difference in throttle angle opening becomes more minor the wider the throttle is open....Poor synch WILL NOT make your bike run like crap when rolling down the road, it can effect your idle and barely just off-idle performance.

For years I synched the carbs MECHANICALLY back when I had V65Hondas.....

Starting while they are racked, and prefererrably mounted on the bike..I used a piece of stainless tie wire or other ROUND small diameter something, and used it as a feeler guage on the #1 reference carb; you have to hold the slides back to do this.

I set the idle screw so that the gap between the throat wall of the carb and the butterfly would be the same size as the wire diameter, then went to the other three carbs and set them the same. That way they are mechanically synched although true/vacuum synch might be different due to valve clearances and such.....

I did this on my Vmax before I got a real synch tool...ran it over a year without touching it, and when I put a real synch tool on it it was so close it didn't need any adjustment.....

Go for it,

Rusty

 

[lankeeyankee]

Synching....

Someones going to call bullshit on me for this one..but....

Synch isn't THAT big a deal, except at idle, when the butterflys are opened very much past idle, the difference in throttle angle opening becomes more minor the wider the throttle is open....Poor synch WILL NOT make your bike run like crap when rolling down the road, it can effect your idle and barely just off-idle performance.

For years I synched the carbs MECHANICALLY back when I had V65Hondas.....

:clapping:Great Advice Rusty but I dont agree with the Synching part..
Synching is important well it has always improved the way the bike sounded. I cant tell you any performance increase since I havent compared synched and unsynched carbs on the track.. BUTTTTTTTTTT I know when my carbs are out of synch.. cruising down the road at 3500-4500 RPMS she just isnt smooth as when synched...
The tool to synch is cheap under 30.00 and can be performed within 25 minutes once you done it a few times..

Anyone else want to add before and after synching carbs on there VMAX:confused2:

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Synching....

Someones going to call bullshit on me for this one..but....

Synch isn't THAT big a deal, except at idle, when the butterflys are opened very much past idle, the difference in throttle angle opening becomes more minor the wider the throttle is open....Poor synch WILL NOT make your bike run like crap when rolling down the road, it can effect your idle and barely just off-idle performance.

For years I synched the carbs MECHANICALLY back when I had V65Hondas.....

:clapping:Great Advice Rusty but I dont agree with the Synching part..
Synching is important well it has always improved the way the bike sounded. I cant tell you any performance increase since I havent compared synched and unsynched carbs on the track.. BUTTTTTTTTTT I know when my carbs are out of synch.. cruising down the road at 3500-4500 RPMS she just isnt smooth as when synched...
The tool to synch is cheap under 30.00 and can be performed within 25 minutes once you done it a few times..

Anyone else want to add before and after synching carbs on there VMAX:confused2:

I guess I should clarify, that if out of synch, yes performance is affected,...even beyond idle when it's way off....

But by mechanically synching them the way I described, they are dead on except for the variances created by valve clearance and seat wear issues...which are there and cannot be accounted for without a real synch tool....
I think my method works pretty good, but will correct it to say that synch does become important if it's totally out of whack....my method doesn't leave it perfect, just pretty close....

My carbs are off the bike right now, So for shits and giggles when I put them back this weekend I'll try my cheapskate method and then throw the Motionpro synch tool on there to compare.....

 

[kozy]

For all of those who have Kerkers (Donn, Sean, etc.) I have a question sort of off-topic.
I put the pipes on my bike....without gaskets...the first time and there was just BARELY enough thread on the front headers to get the nut started. Am I doing something wrong? Supertrapp's products are supposed to be high-quality and the exhaust I put on my bike fought me tooth and nail the whole way. I'm waiting to get it back from Jet-Hot and hopefully will have something figured out to make the installation of them easier.

• Step 1
  Remove carbs and replace main jets with new ones
• Step 2
  Replace carbs and then remove springs
• Step 3
  ?
• Step 4
  ?
• Step 5
  Sync carbs
• Step 6
  Somehow figure out how to tune the carbs to be correct.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Are you sure the gaskets aren't still in there?

They are not really "gasket looking", but are a very hard fiber/asbestos looking donuts that seat down in the machined hole in the head.
Rusty

 

[kozy]

Are you sure the gaskets aren't still in there?

They are not really "gasket looking", but are a very hard fiber/asbestos looking donuts that seat down in the machined hole in the head.
Rusty

They may be. I'll have to inspect the heads to see.

 

[maleko89]

They are often hard to see and stick in there due to soot.

 

[kozy]

Are you sure the gaskets aren't still in there?

They are not really "gasket looking", but are a very hard fiber/asbestos looking donuts that seat down in the machined hole in the head.
Rusty

I do believe that they are still in the exhaust ports. At least I thought that's what I felt. Can I get away with leaving them in? Or are new gaskets a must?