Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

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robin1731
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Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#1

Post by robin1731 »

I'll let the pics explain. Before and after. If you send carbs that look like this expect to pay a little bit more. ;)
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#2

Post by Whiskerfish »

Varnish is for wood not Carbs!
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#3

Post by dontwantapickle »

Did you vapor blast those carb parts?
looks great.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#4

Post by robin1731 »

dontwantapickle wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2024 5:33 pm Did you vapor blast those carb parts?
looks great.
No. Have to completely disassemble to vapor blast. Throttle shafts and all. I soda blasted these. After a long very hot soak in the ultrasonic tank to get most of the varnish off. Spent nearly an hour then cleaning the tank. :roll: :IDTS: lolol
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#5

Post by Gowing »

Does running wing til it dies get bowls dry enough? Thanks Robin.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#6

Post by pidjones »

Running my '75 engine until it dies leaves quite a bit in the bowls still. I always drain them into a flattened-out pan after running until it dies.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#7

Post by robin1731 »

Gowing wrote: Thu Oct 03, 2024 2:47 pm Does running wing til it dies get bowls dry enough? Thanks Robin.

No. After that put a rag under the bowls and open the drain screws till fuel stops coming out. You'll be surprised how much is still in each bowl.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#8

Post by Sidecar Bob »

I use a rag too, and when I'm done I sit it in a place where the fire can't spread, ignite it, hang around until there are no flames and then douse the ashes.

BTW, the potential for deposits like that is why I prefer to drain the tank too.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#9

Post by Gowing »

Your right, Mucho fuel left in carb bowls after closing petcock and running til it dies.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#10

Post by GW Hobo »

Does using marine fuel (non-ethanol) alleviate the need to drain the bowls when not used for extended periods? I usually don't go more than two months without riding but I never want to clean my carbs again either. That was painful. Thanks in advance for the feedback.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#11

Post by Sidecar Bob »

No. Any gasoline will evaporate and turn to "varnish" over time.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#12

Post by dartman1962 »

I use to drain my carbs on all my bikes every November.
About 12 years ago after sitting for the Winter, I turned on the fuel petcock on my 1999 Honda Magna, only to find fuel running out of every gasket & hose. Ended up rebuilding carbs. My 75 GL1000 Carbs were rebuilt in 2009.
Both of my bikes sit in either a heated garage set to about 5 Celsius or 1 of them in my shed/workshop around 12 Celsius.
Since then, my 75 GL1000 & my 1999 Honda Magna, I leave the fuel petcock on, then in about mid December & mid February,
I wait for some -5 Celsius days & run them both for about 15 mins, get them nice & hot, then put them back to bed.
I live in Saskatchewan where Winter's go down to -40C Celsius :shock:
Just had them both running last weekend, running like a well oiled machine!
Since doing this, I have never run into any issues! :-D
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#13

Post by Sidecar Bob »

I don't understand why anyone would waste more time than it would have taken to drain the carbs & tank before storage to run an engine during the off season like that.
I drain mine and let it sleep until it is time to start using it again (same for the winter machine in the summer); It is better for the engine, doesn't waste fuel and if something prevents me from putting it back on the road when expected there's no fuel in it to go bad.
And if you don't think that can happen, the original owner of Mr.H stored it for winter and before spring he broke both of his ankles in an industrial accident and never rode again. When I acquired the bike 10 years later I looked inside the tank and was very glad that he had stored it properly.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#14

Post by dontwantapickle »

Sidecar Bob wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2025 8:38 pm I don't understand why anyone would waste more time than it would have taken to drain the carbs & tank before storage to run an engine during the off season like that.
Are you saying that it takes a guy longer to hit the start button than it does to actually drain the tank and carbs?
If so... I must be doing it wrong.
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Re: Why drain the carbs????!!!!!!!!

#15

Post by CYBORG »

I don't drain carbs either. When the snow fly's, and it does in a Michigan winter, I start all bikes and bring them up to temp, every week. And often it is to check some work I might have done. I'm not a fan of pulling carbs and haven't had to for years.
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