350 GTR Carburetor Issues......... Again!

[Steve S.]

Yeah I love it too, it's surprising the GTR wasn't an option in the GTO gold, what were the boffins @ Bridgestone thinking 
My offer still stands on the carbs, I'm on holiday but will be home by Tuesday, so if you have had a change of mind drop me a pm
You have looked to see if there is some waxing in the needle seat ?? I know it's unlikely but it would stop the needle re-seating properly, oh and have you tried switching the carbs round just out of curiousity I'd have to do it.
Regards Colin

Thanks again for the offer Colin, but I'm already on my second set of used carbs.  I'm only interested in purchasing an NOS set of carbs now.  If anyone has a set of NOS carbs and wants to part with them please let me know.  I would be willing to pay top dollar for them.
Thanks.

[Steve S.]

in one of my carbs there have been holes drilled and enlarged brass bushes inserted into mounts for the float pin .maybe there is a bit of wear in this area causing floats to move around slightly just a thought

Yes there is some slight wear on mine also.  I don't think it's enough to make the float bind.  I am going to change out the carb body tomorrow and see what happens.  I suspect I may have some kind of irregularity (hairline crack?) in the body.  We'll see.
Thanks.

[Colin]

Hi Steve,
No problem I will send them to ziggy I believe he is in need of a spare set of carbs, good luck with the hunt for nos carbs, however that particular carb is probably fitted to quite a few different Japanese bikes with different jets/needles being the only change so it might pay dividends to find out which bikes, it might then be easier to track down some new ones.
Oh the power of the internet is something else, I wish it had been around for longer and when I think of all the over inflated prices I have paid through lack of choice at autojumbles and from shops. 
Regards Colin.

[Steve S.]

O.K. Just a quick update to those who have been following this thread.  I changed out the carburetor body on the side that continued to leak.  That solved the issue!  I have taken three (3) hour plus rides since and no leaks have re-developed.  There was something wrong with that carb body, just not entirely sure what.  If I figure it out I will let you know.
Thanks for all your suggestions.

Steve S.

[slawsonb]

A friend that I used to work with referred to this kind of a problem as a "lurking dog"....hard to spot and you never know when they will jump out and bite you, so identifying the "dog" would be a good thing to add to the BS body of knowledge...Glad (again) the problem seems to be solved.
...bert

[grundlegrabber]

Well here's a thought for ya. I too have had a problem with leaking carbs. After rebuilding the carbs on my GTO this past winter, I got the bike running for the first time only to find out that both carbs leaked badly. The bike had a few other issues to be sorted out as well, and I had not gotten back to the carb issue until this weekend. Today I looked closely at the carbs. I found they were leaking where the float bowls meet the carb bodies. New gaskets had been installed and the float level was set right. SO I took the carbs apart and used a straight edge to check the float bowl mating surfaces. Both bowl surfaces were warped. Not severely, but enough so that when screwed down, the corners has plenty of pressure against the gasket but apparently not enough clamping force on the spaces between. So I filed the surfaces of both bowls and reinstalled them. Result: 95% of the leakage has stopped. There is still some very minor seepage there. I wonder if the carb bodies are not warped as well? So there ya have it guys. Check for warpage when rebuilding your carbs!

[Harry]

Have you tried to put the floats in hot water.  This expands the air inside the float and if there is a leak you will see bubbles coming from the leak area.  Just a thought. Harry