[sparty]

i recently just got an '86 gs450 out of a police auction. the problem i'm having is i cant figure out which tubes are the vacuum tubes on the carburetor. there is one tube coming out of each carb but from different spots and there is only room for one on the petcock. one of the tubes is right before the butterfly valve and the other one comes out somewhere else after it. the tube that comes before the butterfly vavle is only available on the one carb. my guess would be that it is the other tube but i cant figure out how to hook both of them up to the petcock. any suggestions?

 

[dirtyfingers]

I think you may have mistaken a float vent tube for a vacuum source. Each carb or rubber intake (some have both, some have only one) should have a tube on the engine side of the thottle plate (butterfly) for carb synchronization. You only need one hose going to your petcock, cap the other one off. But dont plug the bowl vent tube.

 

[sparty]

ah yes, just dissasembled the carbs and no floats... hmmm, anyone think this may be the reason the carbs arent getting any fuel and i cant start my bike? just making sure that i need these. and kind of wondering what they do?

 

[dirtyfingers]

Oh man. Carbs are a complicated series of systems, and if not understood you can get angry at them quickly. I would suggest taking them to a pro but I understand if you wnat to fix this yourself.
Floats are usually made of black or white plastic, sometimes brass. These work the same way the ball valve in your toilet works. when enogh gas gets into the float bowl these "float" to the top pushing a valve closed. When gas is consumed by the engine, it lowers, opening the valve again allowing more fuel to enter. I would assume you have floats in there otherwise you would have a non-stop flow of fuel. Perhaps theyr'e stuck?

 

[sparty]

nope, no floats, thus why it wasnt working, and i was missing the main jets as well, all being ordered right now tho. it'll soon be in working order. and after i gave it some thought, thats what i figured the floats did, but not after alot of staring at the carb diagram. thanks