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Hi,

After reading Bamboo's post I had another look and between Clymer's (which tells you what to do but not how to do it) and staring at it very sternly I figured out to use a punch to remove the float's pivot pin. Then I removed the float assembly from the needle valve by accidentally-correctly sliding it off.

The needle was still in place.
Oh, by the way, did I mention the carburetor is still on the bike? That's right! I'm doing this Aussie Style!

So I take some old needle nose pliers and grab it and pull. And pull. AND PULL. The whole thing is over a metal paint tray I am using to collect the fuel. With the final pull it comes out and I hear a sharp "CLINK-RATTLE" as something else come away and lands in the metal tray.

I'm thinking, "Oh great. A mini-micro washer or pin or something tiny but important". As I'm looking in there all I see is what looks like a small rock. I tilt the pan a bit to see what I see and the rock moves making the same sound! That mico rock thing was jammed up there wedging the needle open, or at least making it impossible to close.

It looks like Bamboo was right on the money!

Now to get it back together. The needle won't stay put now and it's right-side-up on the bike. So I'll have to attach it to the float assembly and sort of feed it all together up there at the same time?

I did turn the fuel on and have a good look at the hose connection. That looked dry. I think that's okay for now.

Heading back out there now. Any advise or ideas are appreciated.
Now I'm wondering where the hell did that little black rock come from??

The black bits may be hardened rubber or rust from the tank. EDIT: looking at the fiche, it looks like you should have clips holding the needles to the floats. Is 6 and 7 what you are seeing? Do you have inline filters or the screens in the tank? New fuel hose? You can loosen the clamps fore and aft of the carb and twist it on its axis for a bit better access. It helps to have three hands, but it can be done. The float pivot pins are thicker on one end with splines and the other end has a slight taper. Don't force it, one direction of insertion will be better than the other. Those castings break too easy.

Hi,

The "rock" could be hardened rubber. There is actually a little white bit inside. It's tiny of course but I see black outside and a "quartz" inside.

Yes: Inline filters below fuel taps/petcocks.
No: New hoses. These are the hoses that came with the bike. I have no idea how old they are but I've not replaced them yet. Rubber not cloth though.

Got it back together.
Laying on my back...
• insert needle valve, but it will want to fall out.
• I used the pivot pin to hold the needle valve in place.
• managed to correctly align and slide the float assembly onto the small wire "paperclip" (YES: Item 7 ) at the base of the needle valve (as it was when I found it).
• Placed pivot pin back in place the same direction and orientation as I found it (splines or gimping on leading end {towards engine})
• GENTLY tapped the pin back in place.
• Tested by turning on the fuel. Manually raised the float assembly and it shut off. It worked. Reattached float bowl.
• Tested by turning fuel taps on.... No leak!

** (Optional) Taking the bike out for a victory dance.
Be back soon!

Thank you so much.
I could not have gotten this done tonight without your help.
Thank you, thank you.

Well done Souljer. Learning about that assembly was the first internet thing I ever learned online and it was here at boxerworks. It's a triumphant feeling isn't it!

No problem, I like cheap easy fixes...!

Bamboo812 wrote:No problem, I like cheap easy fixes...!

Here's to cheap and easy!

daz wrote:. . . Here's to cheap and easy!

Please tell me you weren't thinking about Diane when you wrote that!

Ken

Hi,

SteveD wrote:Well done Souljer. Learning about that assembly was the first internet thing I ever learned online and it was here at boxerworks. It's a triumphant feeling isn't it!

Thank you. Yes.
Victory by your own positive thoughts and actions is always a triumphant feeling!
As is riding around at midnight and it's mostly just you and the bike and the road...
And everything is working as it should. Not sure how, but the test ride around the block ended up around the city and took over an hour! Triumphant indeed.

Now that's fixed, it reminds me of my first thing which was probably simply removing the float bowl and letting the carburetor wash out whatever was causing an occasional leak. Even simpler and no tools required.
However this gives me pause as they are both probably warnings of potential problems down the road.

These little "kidney stones" (she probably passes most of them and the first was minor as it was intermittent leaks. This one required surgery) could be the warning signs of a failing fuel line. Or something else? Maybe it's time to replace them?

Yes, replacing fuel lines is one of the first things I do to any new to me bike. It's cheap insurance against similar problems down the road. Get the all rubber hose though, I've had some bad luck with the cloth covered hose from various suppliers. Consider hose clamps as well, belt and suspenders, I know, but worth it.

One of the biggest pleasures of owning an older bike is working on it and then having to take a test run to see if all is well. "The shortest distance between two points is boring" Go for a very long test run.