1988 Honda VT600C Keihin Carb Questions - Honda Shadow ...

When I first got the bike it would start, but wouldn't take gas.... classic symptom of a bike that's been sitting for an extended period of time. I pulled the carbs so they could be cleaned, and it was evident that they'd been into before because the bowl screws were all buggered up. As expected, they were all yucky and the jets were clogged. The EPA caps over the idle mixture screws had been drilled to gain access to the needle for adjustment, but the holes were too small to actually get them out. I removed the remainer of the caps and the adjustment needles were removed. At the bottom of the needle jets there is a brass plug to seal them off from the float bowls. The one on the LH carb was missing completely. It wasn't even in the bowl so I can only assume it disappeared during a previous disassembly. This I fixed by tapping the bottom of the tube about 1/4" deep with an 8-32 tap, treated the threads of a brass screw with a sealant and screwed it in place. When the sealant cured I cut off the remainder of the screw flush with the bottom of the tube. Fixed. When the needles came in they were different than the ones that were in the bike. These had a fatter profile, but perhaps the ones in the bike were worn so badly to make them thinner. Dunno. In addition, they were the fixed variety, i.e., no notches in the tops for circlips to allow height adjustment. The ones that came out of the bike had the notches with circlips.

Eddie Paul's Extreme Chopper Building

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Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader,

Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader, February 2004

Walneck's Classic Cycle Trader, October 2003