Is there an easy way to remove carbs?

I have had the bike sitting for quite some time while i was very ill. About a year and a half. I didn't treat the fuel as I never expected to be off the bike for very long before getting sick. When I went to get the bike going again, it started, but very smokey. Then nothing. I opened the tank to find a brown layer had built up on the tank walls where the fuel was sitting. Not rust but a jelly like sludge. I think it has gotten into the carbs and clogged the fuel jets. I've got a quote to fix from a honda dealer and I'm looking at alot of money for them to just remove and refit the carbs, without doing anything to them. Im looking for any way to remove them myself as I cannot see how they are even attatched.

Thanks for any help.

First up you will need to remove the side covers, fake tank, service covers, and then the grey trim either side of the tank. That will allow you access to the clamps that hold the carbs to the engine. Remove the airbox lid, air filter and then remove the airbox base from the carbs (squeeze it past the intake funnels). Release the choke cable, and pull the big hoses off the sub air filter by the steering head. With a long phillips head screwdriver, loosen the clamps that hold the carbs onto the inlet rubbers.

Get a pry bar and insert the end under the alloy plenum chamber, above the fuel inlet pipes, and lever up off the frame cross-member. Lever only on the plenum, don't lever on the carbs themselves. The carbs should pop off the inlets with a bit of force. Once they are loose, you can take off the throttle cable bracket (two philips screws) then the cable can be removed easily. Pull the drain hoses off the floatbowls. Remove the fuel hose and you should be free to walk off with the carbs.

Carb inlet rubbers get hard with age, and new ones don't cost much, with new ones refitting the carbs is much easier. Grease the inlet rubbers where the carbs slip in, get one side properly inserted, then line up the other side. Make sure the ramps on the inlet rubbers that guide the carbs into the second inlets are sticking out, and a bit of firm pressure on the plenum should see these slip home. I used a piece of wood placed on top of the plenum edge, and a rubber hammer, to persuade them in, but with new rubbers I can do that by hand.

To the above. To loosen the four clamps at the TOP of each carb rubber mount, use a long shank phillips screwdriver.

Don't forget to remove the stamped steel metal covers for each of the carb slides after you remove the carbs. Inspect the diaphrams for tears and holes.

Suggestion:
I used a piece of broom handle to pry up the carbs from the flanges instead of a pry bar.
That way nothing can get damaged.

Another quick tip for replacing them is warm the inlet rubbers with a hair dryer and a smudge of oil on each one, they will slip back in without hitting them.

On the hair dryer trick.

I use a thin coat of silicone dielectric grease smeared around the inside top of each carb rubber mount.

Then the carbs will slip back in like a ( I'll skip the metaphor - use your imagination ) .

I, unfortunately have had to lift more than one set of 1100 carbs and I always take the fuel tank out as well as all of the above.
This allows you to rest the broom handle (I have broken one!) on the cross member as a fulcrum.
N.B. Some words of warning.
On left side, as you're sitting on the bike, there is an electrical connector that you'll have to unplug *before* you lift the fuel tank. If you fail to unplug the connector be ready to do some additional electrical work before you finish!

Jim Van said:

Then the carbs will slip back in like a ( I'll skip the metaphor - use your imagination ) .

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...especially if you'd decided to install new, soft carb boots/isolators... and not left the ancient, hardened, probably already cracking bits in there ;-)

Martin :

I use the silicone grease even with new carb rubber mounts ; makes it much easier to remove the carbs next time, even if it's years later. I had my carbs off recently after three years and they slipped right off with hardly any prying. Sweet !!

BTW, taking the old girl for a SS1k around Lake Michigan this Saturday. Looks like we will have about 35-40 bikes & Riders participating. But it's not a big group ride. Leaving at 6:00 am and most Riders will probably return after 1,018 miles at around 1:00 am .

Any IBA ride activity in Austria ??

Jim Van said:

I use the silicone grease even with new carb rubber mounts...

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Jim, I'm totally with you on the silicone grease...
But like +5 years old carb boots (especially if the rig saw a lot of urban stop'n'go) are a PITA...
I replace mine so every 2~3 years, makes carb de/installation sooo much easier...

Any IBA ride activity in Austria ??

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Nope... probably the same issue why CC isn't popular on bikes: not enough straight road avail ;-)
One day I do intend to go from Gibraltar to the North-cap... we'll see...

Jim Van said:

To the above. To loosen the four clamps at the TOP of each carb rubber mount, use a long shank phillips screwdriver.

Don't forget to remove the stamped steel metal covers for each of the carb slides after you remove the carbs. Inspect the diaphrams for tears and holes.

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While the carbs are off, replace the screws on the 8 clamps with SS socket head cap screws. Then get an extra long Bondhus Balldriver to turn them. Far, far superior to Phillips head screws and you'll have a much easier time tightening and loosening the screws.

Martin_b said:

While the carbs are off, replace the screws on the 8 clamps with SS socket head cap screws. Then get an extra long Bondhus Balldriver to turn them. Far, far superior to Phillips head screws and you'll have a much easier time tightening and loosening the screws.

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I followed this advice from Martin_b several years ago and can vouch for his advice. Even without using the special tool he mentions, it was a snap with my 1/4 inch drive socket on a long extension.

Bush said:

I followed this advice from Martin_b several years ago and can vouch for his advice. Even without using the special tool he mentions, it was a snap with my 1/4 inch drive socket on a long extension.

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Just don't do what I did and not pack the proper tool in the bike's tool kit. I was on my way back from WeSToc in Idaho and 40 miles north of Bend, OR my thermostat failed and I overheated and blew one of the coolant hoses that goes from the head to the thermostat housing. The repair story is long but to make it short, I found I had no way to turn those screws and had to rent a car and go to Sears and buy a set of allen wrenches and then find a way to cut the hardened steel short end off and then bond it into an appropriate 1/4" drive socket. I got it to work but it would have been a lot less hassle if I'd thought to pack that one extra long Bondhus Balldriver. Oh well.....

I'll add that the next time I have the carbs off I'll also replace the sync screws with socket head bolts... should make sync'g the carbs easier. FWIW

John

I agree with this, in fact I replace ANY of the screws that are prone to stripping out. That was the first thing I did on my Nighthawk when I tore into those carbs. I stripped a couple screws on the top and bottom caps. I didn't have much luck locating the appropriate SS screws but, so far, the allen heads have been enough to work with.

Im totally into a hose repair, got the carbs off
. looking for the carb boots..any parts recommendations on line?

Engineer39 said:

Im totally into a hose repair, got the carbs off
. looking for the carb boots..any parts recommendations on line?

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Aftermarket ones are available,.........but for the some $60 for all four(IIRC from some 5yrs. prior), I'd order or get the OEM carb boots from a local Honda dealer. Longgivity and quality rules over cheap aftermarket carb boots.

It has been years since I have owned a ST1100, but when I took off the carbs to fix a coolant leak, I learned a few things.

Replace every hose you can access with the carbs off. Ditto for the carb boots. Cheap insurance.

A LONG Phillips head screwdriver is your friend, an even better friend would be a long JIS screwdriver. Accessing those upper clamps is a PITA, especially the upper right carb.

Heat and lube are your friends, you have to pry to get the carbs to release; I also had to use a lever, a rope and a homemade jig to get the carbs to pop back into place. It was cold outside when I did this, and, the shop was cold. I should have warmed the place up as well as the carb boots before doing this.

After installing new carb boots topside of motor(located correctly for clamp screw access), spray a bit of quality silicone inside each boot before carb bank installation. Makes for WAY easy carb bank installation!