Carb Kits and some observations

[pistolpete]

I have had many opportunities to evaluate carb kits and the brass parts that were included.
One item of interest is the pilot screws and there springs for the GL1000.

The springs that are sent with most of the pilot screws are deficient in their design.
They have sharp ends on the them and WILL cause small shards of plating or brass to flake off when they are backed out when the carbs are balanced.
These shards will migrate to the seat area and cause leaning.
We discovered this quite a while back as I could not get the set to balance correctly on the engine.
Very frustrating to say the least.

Also some of the A/M pilot screws have a smaller O.D. at the o-ring groove. This can allow the spring to overlap the outer diameter causing shards or deflection of the pilot screw.

[Lefty]

Pete would you say this hold true with all carb kits? Xlnt observation thank you for sharing it. Is ther a remedy like for example filing the sharp ends on the spring and what about the o-ring seat?

[pistolpete]

I have in the past filed the ends of the springs to keep them from digging into the brass/plating.
However I never use the small O.D. pilot screws. It just isn't worth my customers having an issue down the road.

To answer your question on all A/M products; I have experienced broken or extremely loose jet needles that are purchased aftermarket for the GL1100.
The seat diameter of these is also smaller than OEM.

I would make a general statement about A/M metal parts for GL carbs: Most manufacturers try to emulate the Keihin products but most just fall short.
I would encourage everyone to be cautious when replacing perfectly good OEM metal parts.

[Recycled Roadkill]

This kind of thing is the reason I chose to have my carbs rebuilt by a professional. Zero frustration! Thanks Pete.