Carb Air Tube Connects to What on the Bike

WD, do your clamps still have the limiting collars?

 

I am not sure what limiting tabs are but here is the culprit. It looks to me like it is meant for a large bore carb, not 30mm.?

 

Many Hondas have collars installed on the screw between the tabs to prevent over-tightening. Somehow the clamp changes (stretches) and no longer clamps effectively. I have installed those clamps on new insulators and the result is the same, the clamp is changing. Removing the collars (when present) gives back some clamping ability.

Sometimes the clamps can be the original ones and are too loose even if they didn't come with spacers. There is a chance that somehow you got 84/85 clamps but I really suspect it is just another instance where the clamps have changed. I have seen it many times.

My ST1100 clamps (no collars) when tightened all the way could still be spun with light pressure by my finger. They had 30K miles on the bike and been only removed twice in it's life. Not good. I had to use VF750F clamps.

 

I have definitely used all the screw on these. I am going to look for some narrow width (8mm) 30 mm diameter worm drives. I dislike worm drives since they strip pretty easily if you are not careful. Worm drives were outlawed at the lab I worked for ... they were root cause for a lot flooding! Have you ever used high temperature vacuum grease on the isulators? Pretty good stuff but super expensive. It is silicone based, I work with high vacuum for a living.

 

I use Miller Red Rubber Grease on insulators when installing carbs. Also not cheap, but not on the same level I'm sure as what you describe. It provides lubrication for install and certainly helps make a good seal when the clamps are tightened.

Let's try this first. Take a clamp off, re-tighten it all the way down and with some calipers measure 2 or 3 places and give me the average (in millimeters).

 

I'm assuming that all 8 clamps are in similar condition?

 

All eight are in similar condition. This one I pulled off averages 43mm ID. As close as I could measure very roughly the OD of the insulator is 37mm. 86 carbs are supposed to be 30mm correct?


I ordered some of these insulators off Ebay just to get the narrow band worm drives. There for 36mm throat carbs but look like they will clamp far enough to work on 30mm. $25 won't kill me.

 

Let me know if the worm drives don't work out and I'll do some digging and see what measurements I get on some out of the parts department.

84/85 are 32mm bores, 86 is 30.

 

I have used this stuff on some of my vacuum applications along with this more reasonably priced vacuum grease. As to the grease the little plastic tub goes allow way, You only use a super thin film. The surfaces need to be semi-conductor grade clean for it to work though.

 

Mine is an 86.

Thanks

WD

 

Okay back at work on the 86. I have new clamps for the insulators that were leaking. The old (OEM) clamps were shot. They had used up all of the screw and both taps were touch each other. I ordered some of these guys picture below. After some research I found these they are much heavier duty that your typical Home Depot hose clamp, used by most Euro car manufactures. Norma Torro, this is the critical part they are only 9mm wide so they fit in the recess areas of the Insulators! I am thinking that this should stop the need for the bike to idle only with some (most of) the choke applied. I will report back.

Started cleaning up some other stuff while I was waiting for the clamps to arrive. Getting ready to pull the fork to install new seals, and am rebuilding my petock..This time I will install the four hole grommet on the valve side that I neglected last year! Not puddle under left fork tube!

 

Those are the same clamps Honda uses on coolant hoses except for those semi-circular ramps.

 

Yessir! I looked at those while I was scratching my head. So looked em up. They are made in Germany. I recognized them from some process stuff I have worked on. Bike is running with no choke! Idles the video below is at 1200 rpm indicated. It still has a mushy throttle below 2500 plus minu? At least I can put my gauges on her now. (Need to learn how to use them. Also had to buy all new orings for the screw attachments for the balance ports.

Thanks all
Wavey

 

Idle adjust now down to about 700.. Purrs like a kitten isn't hesitating as much as intially when started. Needs a good warm up.

 

good work. well-cleaned carbs if it will idle that low, but keep the idle speed about 1200. if it doesnt warm up, check that your thermostat is ok, not stuck part-open.

 

Thanks. The stat works, and I have had the fan start and stop as it needs to. I am going to turn the idle up before I start to ponder balance gauge set up. I may take it around the block a time or two before I get into that, to see if I can tell how far out of sync it is. After I get new rubber on the ground of course. Still have to get my petcock put back together.

WD

 

Yeah, idle speed s/b ~1200. My point about being able to go under 1000 is when you know that things are getting right, just like SM says.

Knowing that your bike will idle smoothly below 1000, I'm not expecting your carbs to be wildly out of synch.

Good luck!

 

Idle set to 1200 +- RedKoted tank installed(Well cured, coated it last spring). Road up and down my street, shifted up and down through all five everthing felt pretty good. Left fork has no oil but that is the next project. Tires are ordered from the big smile will be here next week. Just in time for the winter to hit full time! 65 here in Four Corners today.

 

65 deg... love some of that right now.

Bad news though... I think you might have left 6th gear somewhere on the road.

 

Hah! That's what that noise was!