Problems Balancing carbs?

[Yoshi823]

I wrote earlier in another thread about how i've encountered a number of multi-cylinder bikes that've experienced problems with the correct mixture settings & trying to balance the carbs.

If the inlet manifolds are removeable there's normally some sort of seal, & the proximity of this seal to the heat of combustion normally leaves this seal in a pretty sorry state after a few thousand miles. I first encountered this sort of fault on a friend's Kawasaki Z400 twin many moons ago. The bike had been into a dealer who couldn't find the fault despite a weeks worth of labour...they initially tried to suggest that it was the way that he was riding the bike...

Anyway, whenever you have the carbs off a bike like a 500/550 four it's a good idea to have a quick look see at the seals...as we all know the carbs are difficult to get on & off at the best of times...even more demoralising when the fault is there when you've just spent two or three hours getting the carbs back in place.

http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb550f1-super-sport-550-four-1976-england_model17113/partslist/E02.html

#15 on the diagram...

[470four]

Best check your mount rubbers too... my middle two 400/4 rubbers had had enough of being cooked for years behind the cylinder block, dried out and suffered a classic bond failure between the alloy & the rubber itself...





Couldnt get the top screws undone to get them off either, no room for an impact driver??!  Took the top corner out with a chisel, this allowed them to be rotated round out the way letting the tension off the screws, easily undone with molegrips... 

[Seamus]

That does not look too pretty, but needs must.

Useful trick is to spray the rubbers with WD40 or similar when it is running. If it improves, then the rubbers are leaking.