Agreed - that stuff will head straight for your eyes like crazy - and it hurts!
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- Thread starter Dozuki
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Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
LOL when cleaning my carbs on my 83'xs650 I got that carb cleaner in my eyes more than once ! and man does it burn ! put on your safty glasses !
I did AFTER the fact ! DUH !!!!
.....but it did get my carbs working like new !!!!!
Weekendrider : from what I have seen those pancake air compressors arn't worth the money... they simply don't last I guess,.... I saw 4 of them in a scrap heap when taking in scrap metal from our House fire at the ranch..... that is not a good sign ! do you have one ?
My wife offered to get me one of those cheepie things when I complained about not having an air-compressor...... but I declined the offer....
and I showed her the one I want at Tractor supply.... she said "Dream on dear ! " LOL..... oh well !
Bob........
I did AFTER the fact ! DUH !!!!
.....but it did get my carbs working like new !!!!!Weekendrider : from what I have seen those pancake air compressors arn't worth the money... they simply don't last I guess,.... I saw 4 of them in a scrap heap when taking in scrap metal from our House fire at the ranch..... that is not a good sign ! do you have one ?
My wife offered to get me one of those cheepie things when I complained about not having an air-compressor...... but I declined the offer....
and I showed her the one I want at Tractor supply.... she said "Dream on dear ! " LOL..... oh well !
Bob........
Dunno I like MY pancakes nice and fluffy.
Do not reuse old fuel lines. Some cheap bastard I know used to do that till he found slivers of old rubber jamming a float valve. Do the hot water dip test on the floats they more likely than not have hairline cracks around the perimeter that either are or soon will be leaking. Heat a cup of water, hold float with needle nose submerge for a few seconds bubbles = fail.
Do not reuse old fuel lines. Some cheap bastard I know used to do that till he found slivers of old rubber jamming a float valve. Do the hot water dip test on the floats they more likely than not have hairline cracks around the perimeter that either are or soon will be leaking. Heat a cup of water, hold float with needle nose submerge for a few seconds bubbles = fail.
Few appreciate a good tech manual read until they are removing the carbs for the third time........................
Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
LOL ! Yah ! I think your Right there !!!!!! 
HEHEHHEHEHEHEH !
Bob.........
HEHEHHEHEHEHEH !Bob.........
No comment.
Hi Gary,
do you consider Clymers or Haynes carb sections to be good tech?
My first XS650 carb clean was back in 1988 and because of the Prairie Winter's enforced storage time each year,
it's been carb-cleaning time every 2nd or 3rd Spring ever since and I reckon I could attempt to do the job blindfolded.
And the ol' triple-clean is STILL the charm, some years.
Sorry fred the best I know of is one the one the boyo's here wrote (well technically boyo's from the 650 garage) credit where due. I've been meaning to write a BS34 specific thread and shot the snot out of a set I'm doing for that reason. But IMHO drain the float bowls in the fall you should be good in the spring. As far as what I actually do? LOL shut off the key, walk away smell the oil stick and check level in the spring then brrmm brrrmmm. and off I go.
I'm not disagreeing with anything said here, but I do a few things differently. Cleaning the fuel tank, removing and cleaning the petcocks, cleaning the fuel cap vent, replacing fuel line and adding fuel filter/filters is just as important as cleaning the carburetors. I do not use carb cleaner where any rubber or paint is present, only on disassembled parts that have no rubber parts or paint. Where rubber or paint is present I use brake cleaner. I have never needed or used a "rebuild kit". I have needed to replace float bowl gaskets only after assembling the carbs and noticing that they leak. Diaphragm and float inspection..........
If a bike is idling and running, even if not so good, I will use Sea Foam in the tank, a drastic dosage of 1/3 to 1/2 can per tankful before any carb tuning, probably works 1/3 of the time without removing the carbs. Granted, I usually only do the Seafoam thing on carbs that I have already cleaned and checked float levels on at an earlier time, or if I am sure that the carbs have not been humped over by someone else.
Scott
If a bike is idling and running, even if not so good, I will use Sea Foam in the tank, a drastic dosage of 1/3 to 1/2 can per tankful before any carb tuning, probably works 1/3 of the time without removing the carbs. Granted, I usually only do the Seafoam thing on carbs that I have already cleaned and checked float levels on at an earlier time, or if I am sure that the carbs have not been humped over by someone else.
Scott
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PS I use ethanol gas exclusively.
Same here. Carb cleaning was a springtime ritual, way before ethanol was introduced to gasoline. I like the extended plug life post leaded fuel too.
Dozuki
XS650 Addict
Well that sounds like a good reason to get a compressor. I do have a face shield i use for turning wood so it can do double duty.
No, I do not own one. I did buy one similar to this for my son 4-5 yrs. ago. We followed break in instructions and it still works fine for what it does, airing tires, blowing off parts, etc. It does NOT run air tools, paint guns, nailers, staplers, acoustic sprayers nor does it run for extended times. It is small and easy to keep out of the way and at the price ($39 IIRC) it has paid for itself blowing up inner tubes for the stock tank wading pool.
Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
in my experience I've had Many Many manuals probably 50 over the years , but they burned in the fire and now I have only the on line manual
in my view , Most manuals SUK big time ! especially the ones that cover multable years ,or worse mutable modles ! but be that as it may they are better than nothing...by far....the black pictures in the hanes manuals and chiltons are so poor in quality you really can't see much of anything. so you are left with only your instinct ! the one good thing they do have is tune up specks.... and torque specks.... but I've seen manuals from Hanes and Chilton that had no torque specks in a list... you had to read the entire book to sift them out ...and I don't read fast and I learned to hate those manuals for that reason.......the best manuals I've had were Hard cover Motor's Manuals for Cars and trucks.... expensive but worth the money.
Year specific Manuals are the best in my view, but if you have 5 or 6 bikes of the same type then that is a diferent story and the Modle specific
is probably the best for you . to each their own on this as the more manuals you have the better off you are.
....
I remember very well having trouble with my Honda 90 when I was a Kid just learning Motorcycles I took off the side plate split the case and did a complete tear down because it didn't shift correctly.... one book I had on it said thrust washers were needed behind the gears in the transmition
the other manual said nothing about it.... I put it together following the wrong manual with no thrust washers under the gears.... it ran and shifted great but when I changed the oil there were aluminum fileings all through the oil ! so I tore it apart and put the thrust washers that were in the box (basket case bike) in the trans and had to go buy one to make it complete.... no more filings ....
I was young with no experience and simply didn't know....
but the thing that got me was the manual didn't mention anything about the thrust washers ( i think it was a 63' Pushrod Honda 90cc if you care to look it up.) sense that experience I have alwayse been leary about thrust washers ! LOL I'm almost certain it was a Hanes manual I was using but could have been Chiltons as those were the only 2 manuals available in that day and age.
I've done my share of basket cases.... they only frighten me when you get into it and find missing parts ! which sometimes happens.....then it's time to call a motor cycle salvage yard. Because special order from Japan takes forever !
f.w.i.w.
Bob..........
in my view , Most manuals SUK big time ! especially the ones that cover multable years ,or worse mutable modles ! but be that as it may they are better than nothing...by far....the black pictures in the hanes manuals and chiltons are so poor in quality you really can't see much of anything. so you are left with only your instinct ! the one good thing they do have is tune up specks.... and torque specks.... but I've seen manuals from Hanes and Chilton that had no torque specks in a list... you had to read the entire book to sift them out ...and I don't read fast and I learned to hate those manuals for that reason.......the best manuals I've had were Hard cover Motor's Manuals for Cars and trucks.... expensive but worth the money.
Year specific Manuals are the best in my view, but if you have 5 or 6 bikes of the same type then that is a diferent story and the Modle specific
is probably the best for you . to each their own on this as the more manuals you have the better off you are.
....
I remember very well having trouble with my Honda 90 when I was a Kid just learning Motorcycles I took off the side plate split the case and did a complete tear down because it didn't shift correctly.... one book I had on it said thrust washers were needed behind the gears in the transmition
the other manual said nothing about it.... I put it together following the wrong manual with no thrust washers under the gears.... it ran and shifted great but when I changed the oil there were aluminum fileings all through the oil ! so I tore it apart and put the thrust washers that were in the box (basket case bike) in the trans and had to go buy one to make it complete.... no more filings ....
I was young with no experience and simply didn't know....
but the thing that got me was the manual didn't mention anything about the thrust washers ( i think it was a 63' Pushrod Honda 90cc if you care to look it up.) sense that experience I have alwayse been leary about thrust washers ! LOL I'm almost certain it was a Hanes manual I was using but could have been Chiltons as those were the only 2 manuals available in that day and age.
I've done my share of basket cases.... they only frighten me when you get into it and find missing parts ! which sometimes happens.....then it's time to call a motor cycle salvage yard. Because special order from Japan takes forever !
f.w.i.w.
Bob..........
I have a couple "real" compressors but also have a small portable. It's not a pancake but rather one like this .....
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-to...lon-100-psi-oilless-air-compressor-97080.html
It's very handy for things like cleaning carbs, blowing up tires, testing valves for leaks. Not big enough for air tools but I knew that when I got it. I got it for what it does do and the ability to take it with me to someone's house and do those things. The fact that most cars and bikes run around on half flat tires is reason enough to get one.
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-to...lon-100-psi-oilless-air-compressor-97080.html
It's very handy for things like cleaning carbs, blowing up tires, testing valves for leaks. Not big enough for air tools but I knew that when I got it. I got it for what it does do and the ability to take it with me to someone's house and do those things. The fact that most cars and bikes run around on half flat tires is reason enough to get one.
Dozuki
XS650 Addict
hello all. I was looking at my bike thinking of what needed to be done and I noticed that it had the original tank on it. Now I'm sure I did see it when it was dropped off but it just didn't register. I thought it was being replaced by a nice new black tank. So I opened up the gas cap and discovered what could be contributing to my problem. And here is what I saw. You can see where the gunk came off when I rubbed my finger on it. My question is should I get a new tank or can this be saved
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Oh heck Dozuki - that's not bad at all. There are all sorts of methods of cleaning that right up and having it look really nice at low cost.
I have used a product called POR15 which works great - but it can be a bit messy and its laborious (incidentially, it is the same stuff that Jay Leno uses on all of his multi-zillion dollar car restorations.
NOTE: I strongly recommend that you NOT use a product called Kreme
as it seems to dissolve in today's fuels that often contain ethanol. When I was researching how to clean my first tank last year, I kept running into motorcycle shops that would do it for me using Kreme for $$$ - but I also kept running into people who said that this stuff is really bad news.
A number of folks on this forum have used much easier methods including one which simply called for you to block-up the fuel filler lid and the petcock openings and then do the following:
Now - you may need to stop the dryer and empty the tank a couple of times if there is a lot of crap in it - but the process really does work. It would work even better if you could figure out a way to really seal up the openings and put in some vinegar or even water.
Alternatively, if you poke around bike shops in your area, you might find someone who has a tank tumbler. I am building an XS650 cafe bike and am using an XS750 fuel tank for it - and one of my friends here built himself a tank tumbling machine. Here is a linky - and there is a YouTube video of it in action.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/build-thread-special-to-cafe-bike.48165/page-4
Again, as with the clothes dryer - the tank tumbler motion is pretty slow and relaxed - but over a few hours, the scouring action of the pebbles or nails or whatever really removes the rust amazingly well.
I have used a product called POR15 which works great - but it can be a bit messy and its laborious (incidentially, it is the same stuff that Jay Leno uses on all of his multi-zillion dollar car restorations.
NOTE: I strongly recommend that you NOT use a product called Kreme
as it seems to dissolve in today's fuels that often contain ethanol. When I was researching how to clean my first tank last year, I kept running into motorcycle shops that would do it for me using Kreme for $$$ - but I also kept running into people who said that this stuff is really bad news.A number of folks on this forum have used much easier methods including one which simply called for you to block-up the fuel filler lid and the petcock openings and then do the following:
- put a handful of small stones (like aquarium gravel) or even a dozen or two roofing nails in the tank;
- stick it in your clothes dryer - which you will also stuff with old towels, sleeping bags, etc.
- with the heat OFF - just let it tumble for a day or so.
Now - you may need to stop the dryer and empty the tank a couple of times if there is a lot of crap in it - but the process really does work. It would work even better if you could figure out a way to really seal up the openings and put in some vinegar or even water.
Alternatively, if you poke around bike shops in your area, you might find someone who has a tank tumbler. I am building an XS650 cafe bike and am using an XS750 fuel tank for it - and one of my friends here built himself a tank tumbling machine. Here is a linky - and there is a YouTube video of it in action.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/build-thread-special-to-cafe-bike.48165/page-4
Again, as with the clothes dryer - the tank tumbler motion is pretty slow and relaxed - but over a few hours, the scouring action of the pebbles or nails or whatever really removes the rust amazingly well.
Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
I'ed put about a quart of gas in it and shake the living shit out of it ! ..... then open the filler cap and get as much out as you can .... and repeat that 2 or 3 times .... this won't get it all out unfortunately .... if you can get the petcock off do so, and then do some sloshing in that direction as well...
clean the screen on the petcock as well while your at it ....
that looks like jelled gasoline to me or perhaps the reminates of chainsaw gasoline/oil mix that someone put in the tank years ago and most of the gas evaporated leaving that film inside....
that is what I'd do for that tank as long as you have no leaks your good to go !
....its hard to tell from the pictures if there is Rust in the tank to me it just looks like old gas. and or oil it will raise heck with your carburators so it needs to be cleaned out
.... if there is rust in the tank then Pete has the best answer.... if no rust just clean it out the best ya can !
......
Bob........
clean the screen on the petcock as well while your at it ....
that looks like jelled gasoline to me or perhaps the reminates of chainsaw gasoline/oil mix that someone put in the tank years ago and most of the gas evaporated leaving that film inside....
that is what I'd do for that tank as long as you have no leaks your good to go !
....its hard to tell from the pictures if there is Rust in the tank to me it just looks like old gas. and or oil it will raise heck with your carburators so it needs to be cleaned out
.... if there is rust in the tank then Pete has the best answer.... if no rust just clean it out the best ya can !
......
Bob........
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Dozuki
XS650 Addict
I think I will go the POR15 route. I have heard good things about their product.
