carb bowl gaskets

[Dick Eastman]

Previous owner rebuilt carbs and the rubber bowl gaskets are swelling, enough to interfere with float operation. It could be the ethanol in today's gas. The overall size of the gaskets no longer fits well into the carb body recess, and the gasket sides want to bow into the sides of the float bowl.
I don't know who's aftermarket kit he used, but any suggestions here appreciated.
Just a side note: after reading on here about setting the float height, I changed the ht. setting to LM's method of setting ht to flush with the jet holder. The engine now idles better, and the transition from idle to mid-range is better. Page 60 of my Clymer's manual calls for the "h" distance to be 26.5mm from the gasket lip [not the notch], and setting the float flush with jet holder now makes the float ht. 24.5mm from the lip, ie, the bowls now have less fuel in them when fuel flow shuts off. A crisper idle is the same thing I noticed in my '01 Kawasaki ZRX1200R, when I reduced the fuel volume in the bowls several mm. as well.

[G-Man]

Dick

These guys sell float bowl gaskets separately.

http://4into1.com/rounded-float-bowl-ga ... cb72-cb77/

http://4into1.com/float-bowl-gasket-161 ... b77-cb750/

G

Previous owner rebuilt carbs and the rubber bowl gaskets are swelling, enough to interfere with float operation. It could be the ethanol in today's gas. The overall size of the gaskets no longer fits well into the carb body recess, and the gasket sides want to bow into the sides of the float bowl.
I don't know who's aftermarket kit he used, but any suggestions here appreciated.
Just a side note: after reading on here about setting the float height, I changed the ht. setting to LM's method of setting ht to flush with the jet holder. The engine now idles better, and the transition from idle to mid-range is better. Page 60 of my Clymer's manual calls for the "h" distance to be 26.5mm from the gasket lip [not the notch], and setting the float flush with jet holder now makes the float ht. 24.5mm from the lip, ie, the bowls now have less fuel in them when fuel flow shuts off. A crisper idle is the same thing I noticed in my '01 Kawasaki ZRX1200R, when I reduced the fuel volume in the bowls several mm. as well.

[Dick Eastman]

Thanks, G-Man. I checked it out
Dick

[48lesco]

Good info, but wouldn't a 24.5mm float height mean that there's more fuel in the bowls? I usually find that the Dreams run better with a float height of slightly more than the 26.5mm spec and I measure it from the gasket surface (in the notch). It's the fuel height that matters anyway and that can be affected by a number of of other things not related to the measured float height like the weight of the float. I found one once that had been repaired with so much solder that I wouldn't have even called it a "float" anymore. You can check fuel level with a clear tube from the drain. Should be a few mm below the gasket.
-48

[Dick Eastman]

Good info, but wouldn't a 24.5mm float height mean that there's more fuel in the bowls? I usually find that the Dreams run better with a float height of slightly more than the 26.5mm spec and I measure it from the gasket surface (in the notch). It's the fuel height that matters anyway and that can be affected by a number of of other things not related to the measured float height like the weight of the float. I found one once that had been repaired with so much solder that I wouldn't have even called it a "float" anymore. You can check fuel level with a clear tube from the drain. Should be a few mm below the gasket.
-48

You are correct. A 24.5 float ht. would have more fuel in the bowl than 26.5mm. What I did not mention was that the ht was previously at 22.5mm as per the previous owner, who had made a gage according to a sticky here. I got this gage with spares and extras with the bike, and the floats were at this ht. Changing the ht from this to flush w/ the jet holder lowered the fuel level, and the bike idles better, with a better transition to mid-range.