Surf, The POs are the easy targets. It looks like whoever worked on the carbs re-used the gaskets which were torn and applied a lot of sealant to fix the problem. I spent a lot of time cleaning the carb bowls, the bodies and the jets, and since removing/reinstalling the carbs is a pain, I didn't want to have the carbs leaking on me because of a simple omission and have to remove/reinstall again...
Back to the gaskets, I bought an OE carb gasket kit replacement from K&L SUPPLY (1JA KLS182666 - See link below for description and photo). The gaskets do have a rounded top that fit the shape and the groove of the bowl itself. The side that goes on the body surface side is flat/ square and has a groove all the way around that looks like it's designed to receive a bead of sealant. Hence my question about it. The gaskets that I removed look exactly the same. However, I'll take your advice and install the gaskets with no sealant. It's possible that whoever worked on the bike didn't have replacement gaskets and had to use sealant because of the tear in the gasket. In fact, it looks like this happened more than once because I had to clean what looked like 2, possibly 3 different types of sealant. Go figure... Thanks to you and the others for your help and advice. Richie http://www.jcwhitney.com/float-bowl-o-ring-and-gasket-set/p3074619.jcwx?filterid=d9111y1985j1&skuId=6559173&mc=1 On Feb 21, 3:57 am, surfswab <[email protected]> wrote: > +1 on ethanol. It's not the cause of your problem. > > And +1 on the gaskets. They are o-rings and should not have "flat" > spots. > > Replace the gaskets, clean out every trace of gasket sealant (and > don't use any more of it), do a scrupulous cleaning of jets, needles > and passages, reassemble and synchronize, and you'll be back in > bidness. > > You're biggest problem is the PO (previous owner). PO's take a lotta > heat around here, but they mostly deserve it. > > On Feb 20, 6:26 pm, [email protected] wrote: > > > I just looked at a spare carb and was reminded that the gasket is a molded > > o-ring that matches the shape of the groove in the bowl. The o-ring looked > > to be round(cross section). > > > On Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 1:23 PM, 85_NH650 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi Guys, > > > > I finally decided to take the plunge and clean my carbs myself. I have > > > an 85 NH 650 that had terrible recurring issues with hesitation/ > > > choking/stalling at low speeds while performing fine at higher speed. > > > I had the jets cleaned a couple of times but the problems came back > > > within days. This started around the time ethanol was introduced. > > > > I'm still in the process of cleaning the carbs, but I'd like to know: > > > 1). which side of the gasket faces the float bowl (bottom part of > > > carb): the rounded side or the 'grooved/flat side? > > > 2). Do I need to use any kind of sealer/compound or RTV (?) type stuff > > > on the gaskets before installing? Or anything else to 'treat' the > > > gaskets before installation? > > > > It looks like whoever worked on the carbs before used some type of > > > gasket sealing stuff and I had to soak/clean up a mess of old and > > > newer material that had deteriorated and clumped into the carbs and is > > > probably effecting the low jets. We shall see. > > > > I'd appreciate any help/advice you can give me as this is the first > > > time I tackle this task to cut down on the cost of having someone else > > > do it for me. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Richie > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected]. > > > For more options, visit this group at > > >http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en.-Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en.
