Bandit carbs

[grimeric]

Not sure if I should have posted this here or in general. I've been reading up on posts through search but apologies if this has been covered before.

My 97 b6 seems to be running rough on idle. Off choke it will tick over anywhere between 500 - 1000 rpm. Kind of hunting and bouncing between the two. It doesn't seem to hold at a steady rpm. With a little choke it will fast idle around 1200-1500 rpm steady.

I have attempted to adjust the idle knob but it doesn't really seem to help much. Other then that the bike seems fine and will rev freely to redline.

Here is where my limited knowledge of carbs comes into play. Could this be crap or gunk in the carbs or maybe balancing? I am tempted to remove the carbs and strip and clean them and see if that helps. I am okay with a spanner and I am fairly confident that I can dismantle and rebuild them but its the setting up afterwards that I would struggle with. Are they hard to set up on a stock engine and are there any major tools I'd need to get hold of?

I am trying to read up as much as I can but I'm struggling to find anything that actually goes through a step by step setting up procedure.

Maybe I should just leave them as they are and live with it?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm pretty new to bikes and I don't really have any local bike friends who I can call on fit tutoring and advice.

Thanks for reading.

[captain chaos]

before doing anything with the carbs, make sure that the valve clearances are set correctly, and the ignition system incl. spark plugs are in good condition.

If balancing the carbs doesn't help then a strip, clean and rebuild will be needed.

[grimeric]

Valve clearances are spot on, I only did them last month. New plugs and filter at the same time too. I whipped them out last week for a look and they look like healthy plugs.

So you think I should get the carbs balanced first before I do anything else?

[kokolis]

Yes

[grimeric]

Right. Will get then balanced and see if it makes any difference.

[jaydee]

May 18, 2015 19:27:55 GMT grimeric said:

So you think I should get the carbs balanced first before I do anything else?

I'd strip down the carbs first. Clean the individual parts, use compressed air on all passages and jets. Replace all o-rings and calibrate the float heights and reset mixture screws. Clean up the spark plugs. Even a week of driving with fueling issues will fowl them a little. Then balance. 
Since you have the valve clearances set, why not get everything else bang on before balancing. Balancing a set of carbs that need work only masks the problem. The bike might be running a lot better after a balance but is it running as good as it should? 

[grimeric]

Cheers for that Jaydee. Makes sense. I've no problem stripping and cleaning them as I've got a compressor and ultrasonic cleaner. It's the setting up is have issues with. Are there any websites that I can read that will teach me how to actually set them up?

[jaydee]

May 18, 2015 20:24:58 GMT grimeric said:

Cheers for that Jaydee. Makes sense. I've no problem stripping and cleaning them as I've got a compressor and ultrasonic cleaner. It's the setting up is have issues with. Are there any websites that I can read that will teach me how to actually set them up?

Having an ultrasonic clearer is a great advantage. Don't panic with the setup. If you're capable enough to do your own valve clearances then servicing your carbs won't be a big deal. Spend time and care on the carbs. It's the little tips when working with carbs that save time. I find most of the shitty soft philips screws round very easy. Have a sharp small faced chisel close by so you can chip against the side of the screw head to loosen. Saves time not having to drill off the screw heads. Replace with stainless allen head screws, save effort for future work. You can make a template for setting float heights correctly. There not a whole lot to setting up a set of carbs for balancing. Three quarters of setup is cleaning. Use the right tools. Try and use the right fit screwdrivers on jets to save damage. Have a light hand when tightening jets and setting screw turns.

And do it in a room that you can find any part thats hit the floor.

Murphy's Law, the more cluttered the room, the smaller the part will be that pings across the room.

[jonny1bump]

All above good advice, sounds like pilot jets are blocked.

[jonny1bump]

Then balance and set pilot screws to spec if you know anyone with co2 meter even better.

[grimeric]

Thank you for all the advice. I will get some new o rings ordered and gather my tools and give it a bash on my next day off.

[wsn03]

Be very careful where you order from. I've bought aftermarket o -rings that completely distorted my float height settings. I've also never bought a needle float valve from any of the aftermarket suppliers that wasn't complete scrap - buy OEM Mikuni.
I've seen Mikuni parts on US Ebay very cheap - or buy from a UK dealer, but warning very expensive. For me it must be OEM.

Test the carbs on the bench before connecting to a bike - hook up a remote tank (Demon Tweeks do one), turn the tap on and let it sit for a few hours. If the level drops a lot and fuel comes out you can spot where from etc (you won't know once its on the bike, and the potential damage is worrying).