carb float needles

[arfa vmax]

brief reminder of the carbs on my 82,the p/o said they needed new float needles because they leaked fuel from the overflows.got some needles and seats off ebay which were listed as 82 xz 550 but when they came the part number on them was for 83 carbs according to info from kwells. strippped the carbs and guess what they are different :'(where the seats fit into the carbtop they are the same and they clamp in the same but the seat and needle protrude about 6 mm on the 82 and 8 mm on the 83.the 82 has plastic tips on the needles,the 83 all metal.on top of this the p/o seems to have butchered the seat as the protruding end has been cut at an angle.on the end of the seat there is a symble of a square in the corner of a square and on the 82 it says 1.8 and on the 83 2.0. after all this my question is can i fit these seats and needles and adjust the float hight to compensate for the different seat/needle hight     

[Lucky]

i'm not sure anyone has played with that setup here before, but there are interchangable needles & seats for alot of different carbs & i wouldn't be surprised if it worked anyway.

i have seats from a Kawi someone gave me long ago (RickG perhaps?) that i have no clue what part number they are, but they have a screen built into the seat, and the needle has a capture wire on it....

--Lucky

[ironb12s]

Run a test, install the new needles and seat, set up a "pony tank" like Tiff did, hold the needle shut manually, pour a wee bit down the funnel and hose, see if it leaks.  If it don't, then that is why there's adjustment on the float.  If it does, back to drawing board.

Lemme tell you, tho', I only trust the CBMMA's tubing gauge for setting floats anymore.  It'll tell you the true height of the fuel in, or the distance below, the top of the bowl.  I make adjustments from what I read from my CBMMA float level tool.

[h2olawyer]

The Haynes manual has a method to check float height with just a piece of inexpensive clear tubing.  It's what I use & it works well.  Probably not an option on the interior carbs on inline bikes, though.

H₂O

[ironb12s]

You'd be surprised, where there's will, there is a way.  :D  If you wanna know, the inlines are set on the bench using the "pony tank" method.  If you need to get the correct angle of the carb when on the bike, slide one end carb into the opposed ends intake boot, and measure them, with the CBMMA float level tool that you've mentioned.   ;D  The only way this works is if you can get the carbs out easily and the bowls off to make the adjustments.  Twins are easy, but still need removed to adjust the float properly.  I got real good with a 750 Virago that was having troubles fouling plugs, until I employed the CBMMA tool, it was never right.

[Tiger]

The Haynes manual has a method to check float height with just a piece of inexpensive clear tubing.  It's what I use & it works well. H₂O

:) This is a good way to check, on a Vision... 8)

                          8).......TIGER....... 8)

[h2olawyer]

Whatever the hell CBMMA is . . .

H₂O

[Lucky]

Aparently a Yamaha Triples club:
http://www.cbmma.net/cbmma-faq.html

[h2olawyer]

Thanks, Lucky - I was too lazy to do a search for something that ought to be spelled out in the first place.  If I needed the tool, I might have been more industrious.   ;D

H₂O

[ironb12s]

Thanks, Lucky - I was too lazy to do a search for something that ought to be spelled out in the first place.  If I needed the tool, I might have been more industrious.   ;D

H₂O

Glad to have you enlightened...   ;)  If you tend to wrench your own, and go as, um, frugally as possible, consider yourself at least an honorary member.  It should NOT be limited to just Yamaha Triple owners... even if I are one of them, I got my CBMMA membership working on my GS750.  The Vision Fork Cap tool is one of the CBMMA tools, as well.   ;D

[MotorPlow]

If the seats and needles aren't too buggered up, you might just need to replace the orings on the seats. I had a problem where the fuel was leaking past the orings as the orings had shrunk with age.

http://motorplow.blogspot.com/2007/11/sinking-floats.html

~MP

[kwells]

yah...I replaced mine as well.  I went to Pep Boys and bought one of those O-ring kits that has tons of different sized o-rings. If you find u are in need of some...that would be a good purchase.

[Rick G]

When working on some thing that float needles are not readily available for , I have (in the case of  all metal needles , won't work on the ones with vitron tips)  applied a tiny bit of fine valve grinding compound to the tip and rotated it against the seat  for a few seconds . clean all the compound out and test . So far its worked every time!

[ironb12s]

When working on some thing that float needles are not readily available for , I have (in the case of  all metal needles , won't work on the ones with vitron tips)  applied a tiny bit of fine valve grinding compound to the tip and rotated it against the seat  for a few seconds . clean all the compound out and test . So far its worked every time!

Very good method, you can use it to clean up worn needles and seats.  Glad you told us.   :)