Interesting.....Ron wrote:A good way I have found , It's not a quick way but fairly easy . I read this somewere but can not remember where , maybe someone else knows . I purchased a pail of Ford engine shampoo , removed the carbs off of bike . Removed intakes to reduce the overall size . Poured the shampoo into a plastic pail big enough to emerse the set of carbs , houseing and all . The reason for pail exchange is the shampoo comes in a steel pail with one small spout for pouring , can't get the carbs in . I let it sit a day or two flipping the carbs inbetween to insure no air was traped . Removed them and rinsed in several pails of water and garden hose . I then removed the bowls and tops placeing part in plastic bags for safe keeping , then spent some time blowing it clean with air . Be careful of the floats . Some bowl gaskets might be needed and the bowl drain screw gaskets . I did this with a set of carbs off a 76 that sat for around 8 years , put them back on and run the the bike . The more I ran it the better it ran , it wouldn't even start before . The only drawback is the shampoo costs around $80 but I poured the shampoo back in the original pail leaving any crud in the bottom of the plastic pail . The shampoo can be used again .
Ron
For carbs that have been setting a year or two, I'll use Yamaha carb cleaner. Following the directions on the bottle.
IMHO: Anything that's been setting for more than a two years, needs a REALLY good cleaning/rebuild!
Myself, I would only suggest something like this as a the first step in a rebuild... I have heard of soaking a rack of carbs in a slow cooker full of straight anti freeze... This takes all the nasty gunk & crud in the carbs, & turns it into something resembling snot........ It sounds yucky, but cleans 'em up like new inside... I haven't tried this method, but plan on it just to check it out.. Thing is, Susan won't let me use her slow cooker......
There are small brass screws at the bottom of each bowl. Be careful, as they're soft!