SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400
Carbs got to come off again
Athame57:
--- Quote from: Ken4004 on June 17, 2026, 03:17:50 PM ---So just as a question what’s the average amount of times you have to remove your carbs over a calendar year ?
--- End quote ---
So far not in 2026 at all. :) That said, 'too often' is all I can say, definitely a bit of bad luck and lack of experience involved :o and then there are the plenty of times that someone else did it.
Ken4004:
Thanks for the feedback guys I’ll try some preventative measures to try and keep my carbs in fine fettle and keep my fingers crossed.
Mikep328:
2+ years ago, just after acquiring my 400, I pulled the carbs. It idled badly and bogged severely when given full throttle. I pulled/cleaned/adjusted the carbs, reinstalled them and found the bogging reduced considerably though still present and the idling was still poor.
So I pulled them again and found that one of the idle jets was still clogged. This time I used a piece of wire and thoroughly cleaned all passages with that/carb cleaner. Put the carbs back on. Still didn't idle well. Took the carbs off again and looked carefully at everything - using magnifier glasses. I discovered that two of the slow jets had distorted "holes." It appeared they had been longitudinally crushed and some of the holes were now egg-shaped/smaller than the original holes. I replaced the two slow jets. Carbs have been fine ever since - idles perfectly/takes the throttle with no bog at all. As far as how often they "need" to be pulled," - I owned a 550 and three 750 fours back in the day and never had to pull the carbs on any of them the entire time I owned/rode them. BUT they were ridden almost every day. One of the worst things for mechanical devices is sitting unused...
FWIW, my 400F sits for approximately 4 months every year; I put some StaBil fuel stabilizer in the normal (E10) fuel for each layup. I use Stabil in all our vehicles during storage. One motorcycle sat for 2 years in storage and started immediately with no problems. All of our vehicles (cars and bikes) sit for a minimum of 4 months unused, some sit for nearly 8. Been doing this (fuel stabilizer) for MANY years now and all the vehicles will start after storage as if they had been running yesterday. We only use "normal" fuel - typically E10; I have never made any attempt to find/use non-ethanol fuel.
exvalvesetdabbler:
I have some miller oils ethanol protection fuel stabiliser and carry a small 8ml bottle in my jacket pocket and empty that in the tank when filling up. Never used E10, the cost difference to E5 isn't worth worrying about given the small amount I used.
Regards
Dave
Ken4004:
Well I stripped down the carbs and have found light brown deposits in all the bowls, some in the form of fine particles and some a little larger.
Not sure what this is , might be rust but there’s no sign of it in the filter, so new hoses and a new paper filter purchased and as Dave suggested once I have flushed out the tank I will add some fuel stabiliser and see how I get on.
Cleaned the bowls with carb cleaner and removed the pilot jets and have them a blast with cleaner , Also blasted the pilot jets and galleries do will fit them back on the bike in the next couple of days.
Hopefully adding the fuel stabiliser will prevent it coming back but only time will tell.
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