Carburetor q's

[nickajeglin]

So my bike doesn't want to idle nice, and tools looks a the headers and says it's too lean, and the choke is giving me troubles. I need to tear down and clean my carbs, but it's a big project for someone as inexperienced and broke as I am, so I'm hoping to leave it until towards the end of the riding season.

Right now I'm most worried about the lean condition of the mixture. I've heard that it can make the engine run hot enough to cause all sorts of terrible things. I peeked at the mixture screws, and they're all in completely in different positions. Is this normal? Recommended? Can I just back them out a liiiiitle tiny bit to fix the lean-ness, or should I just suck it up and do the whole thing now?

I'm having trouble finding resources on how to tell when the lean vs. richness is at the right level, and since there's no engine temperature gauge, I also am having trouble telling just how hot I'm running.  How do you know when you're getting close to overheating?

If I do need to do it now, I'm pretty darn broke, so can I reuse the gaskets and do a bench sync as a temporary measure until I have enough monies to buy a sync tool and gasket kit? I've heard that one can recondition rubber in wintergreen oil, so if one was beyond repair, I could maybe just order one set of gaskets.

[nickajeglin]

Bah, I've been doing some other reading, and it looks like a bench sync is pointless. Especially without adjusting the valves and the cam chain.

I'll start from the beginning and do it right, I want this bike to last long enough to give it to my unborn children or something.

[seestheday]

Fuel mixture screws all need to be backed out by the same amount.  That said, there is no way to tell if they are by just looking at them - at least this is the case with mine.  You have to screw them all of the way in, counting the turns, then back them out until it idles best.  The procedure is clearly laid out in the FSM.  A 90 degree screwdriver helps a lot here.  

I've heard someone people can do it with a small screwdriver but I've never been able to make that work (maybe it's easier on an SOHC).

[Hoosier Daddy]

See's is close but not quite on the standard procedure. They will most like not all be out the same exact amount. The Factory Serice manual will list a starting point and that is the last time they will all be the same..
Very general: With the engine warmed up to operating temp, shut it off and turn them all the way in until seated (not too tight, just snug) and then out that specified amount from the manual, be it 1 .75 turns or 3 turns.
 Then you will restart the engine and beginning with one carb, turn it's screw in until the idle speed drops, then back out until it no longer climbs, then usualy 1/4 turn more out. Then move to the next carb. So depending on where the idle speed settles in on each carb is where the final position of each mixture screw would be.

That said, in order for this procedure OR a sync to work your carbs have to be functioning right in the first place. If something is wrong like a plugged jet, or a vacuum leak, it will be near impossible to tune.

[seestheday]

Huh, I'm going to have to recheck the FSM but I think I just learned something new about these carbs.  Thanks Hoosier.