97 carb removal

Trying to remove the carbs on my 97. Have everything disconnected but they are still stuck. Any suggestions to free them up? Searching for a fuel leek. Most likely they have never been removed. Less than 40k on bike.

 

I had same problem on my '83 after bike sat for 20 years. You need to realize metal throats on heads are at an angle and the openings are further apart than the openings on the rubber boots/carbs. That is why the boots have to be flexible. If they are old and hard, then plan on getting new ones and don't worry about hurting the existing ones.

What I did:
1. Removed metal clamps entirely.
2. Saturated boot/carb/throats with WD-40.
3. Used a large blade screw driver and gently pried boots away from metal surfaces, adding more WD-40 to exposed areas. Careful not to damage aluminum.
4. Now the rest is trial and error, try and rock carbs back and forth to break them loose. They will not come straight off due to angles of the boots. Once all the boots have broken loose, tip the carbs in one direction until the boots are off either set of throats on the heads.
5. I used a piece of wood under the carbs to gently apply pressure to lift carbs up. Rubber boots will need to deform to clear end of throats.
6. Once carbs are off, remove all the boots and clean metal surfaces. Al little grease on metal parts will aid in put them back together.
7. DO NOT take carbs off the metal mounting plate! If you have to replace on the connecting tubes, that can be done by removing just one carb. Take a picture of the throttle spring locations first.
Once you learn the tricks, it will be much easier next time. I had mine off and on three times one afternoon looking for a leak.

 

And get the old ones nice and pliable using a heat gun on low or a hair dryer. Of course, do not burn down your shop igniting any fuel.

 

helps alot to run the bike until engine is warm b4 pulling carbs.

 

On my '96 I wound up using a crowbar with protective pieces of wood { paint sticks } under the carbs. First time for me, so
I was a bit nervous, went real slow, drank more coffee, stared at it some more, worried about it, didn't want to break
nothin'.........finally they worked loose. By the way, Joe Nelson at V4Dreams knows what he's talking about.