I have been a motorcycle technician for 35 years, with my own service business the past 25 years. In my experience, most technicians at dealers these days have no experience with carbs & many dealers here in Northern Ireland won't even work on carbed bikes. I would suggest whoever worked on this first hadn't a clue what they were doing, but took the "how hard can it be" approach. I can't remember the number of bodged carb jobs I have had to sort over the years, I actually enjoy working with & setting up carbs, it can make a massive difference to how the bike runs. Very satisfying.
I am not a motorcycle technician and I know nothing about carburetors, but I was somehow able to diagnose torn diaphrams and successfully rebuilt the carbs for my VFR400 from a kit I ordered online a few years ago. Am I some kind of mechanical genius, incredibly lucky, or is this just not that hard as long as you're thorough and methodical, like it seems? I'm flabbergasted by the incompetence on display tbh. Why would you clean the outside of the carburetors without cleaning out the insides too? Why would you reuse screws that are fucked? Why would you partly reassemble things with parts missing? Why aren't the loose parts bagged and labelled? Fuckin cockwombles.
I agree providing you have first-hand knowledge of the work of the other shop. However, doing so based on second-hand information is risky both from the perspective of potentially harming the reputation of another shop in error and risky from a legal liability perspective. Given he has only second-hand knowledge at best, he was wise to not say anything, even if he knew which shop it was. There are as many bad owners as there are bad shops and if you only have the owner’s story, it is risky to call out the shop without hearing their perspective.
I have run my own auto shops, my own construction company, and a tow company. I can tell you straight up that when you bash other companies, you are really bashing your own trade and creating a sense of dread in the customer's mind of your trade in general including you. It is like dating a girl that was cheated on, they now think you are going to cheat on them too. When you call out piss poor work, it just makes them think "Is this one bad to?". Your workers are also a reflection of you personally. You might be a straight up honest know your stuff guy, but we've all had 'that guy' that you just want to fire but can't, because he's so close to what you want him to be and he took a long time and money to even get there with him.
No surprises what you continually find Jim, after a "factory trained technician" has had their hands on a bike. That's why I have not taken a bike to a dealer service department since 2005. That was a brand new 600 mile ZX10-R C1H that I took in for a first service. They took the fairing panels off, kicked them around the workshop, test rode the bike seemingly around a quarry, over-charged me and then simply claimed the damage was already there when it came in.
I've never taken a vehicle to a garage/some where else for repair or service due to stories like this, I've bought tools and learned how to do it myself.
Damn right brother, I recently put my 1290 Superduke into a Crawley dealership to have the track pack unlocked. They charged me £350 and stole the vehicle tracker system off it. I only found out 2 months later when I took the seat off to remove it
I never let a "pro" mechanic touch any of my stuff. That's why I will never buy a bike that they say they require any of the services to be done by their mechanics. That's an immediate walk away for me.
@@memememe2674 In the US, legally they're not allowed to tie warranty to their service. However a lot try and you'd probably have to hire a lawyer to get them to honor the warranty. You'd also probably almost have to video every service you did yourself and get an independent mechanic to certify that you appear to have done the service properly, to uphold your case. I have bought 4 new motorcycles and never had any issues in warranty. These days I buy used bikes, so it's not an issue anyway. Modern motorcycles are extremely reliable.
In my lifetime (64y) I have found that it is rare to find a man who really understands carbs, and even rarer to find a tech or mechanic that can actually rebuild, repair or tweak (tune) these finicky bits of motorcycle sorcery. If you do find that guy, don't ever loose his number because one day he will save your bacon, after you have foolishly purchased a bike that does NOT run. Words to live by mon frère. Very cool content on your channel.
We are loosing one of these rare carby magicians here in Melbourne Australia currently due to early retirement from severe back related issues , he did it right and served the industry well for decades, a Webber agent , a humble guy and his personable service will be missed . Everyone here knows who he is . Unfortunately when the torch cannot be passed down - the craft is lost . So it will be "time to hit the books again boys" ! 😁
As another place had it for 8 months, they had time to get a set of JIS screwdrivers to not chew up those floatbowl screws. You're brave taking on other places "cant fix this" bikes as there could been all sorts of fuckery commited. But fair play to you and a great video.
As it was apparently a dealer they should have already had them, I have a feeling it was in someone's garage for eight months not at a dealership, I feel someone was passing the buck there.
Given probably 70% of all motorcycles in the world are Japanese and use JIS screws, I'd say the place that had it was probably a mate-of-a-mate type deal rather than a legit bike shop. Any mechanic worth anything has a set of JIS screwdrivers. Hell, I'm not a mechanic and I've never worked on a bike but I have a set. Quite a lot of Japanese cars (I'm lookin' at you Honda) have JIS screws everywhere too.
Many years ago I came to the understanding that some people shouldn't ride motorcycles later I came to the understanding some people should never work on anything mechanical and in fact should not own tools! I think you have just encountered one of the results of those people. Thank God for good honest machanics. A rare breed indeed.
I'm in Australia, Jim, but you've just got another subscriber. I've been riding since 1966, lots of bikes since then. One of my favourites was a 1981 Suzuki GS1000G for its sense of presence on the road. I bought it used and a previous owner had cone filters on it and it ran like shite. I had a mechanic who was an expert in older carb bikes and he got it back to airbox etc and running perfectly. People send him bikes from all over Australia to get back in running condition. He's got a reputation among older model Ducati owners for correcting similar errors that previous owners did. He's in a tiny town called Wattle Flat (almost middle of nowhere but on a great bike road) and works from an old shed, but inside is a dyno tuner and shelves of specialist stuff. People like him and you are hidden gems.
Cone filters on a bike like that hey , slight vacuum problems I'm tipping . It's like all these tossers putting pod filters on cars , pulling in hot air from the motor instead of cold air through a factory air box and infact "Decreasing Their Horsepower" . Who cares if it's illegal or loosing power from it , it looks sick mate ! Factory engineer's put thousands of hours into their work and testing to balance performance , quiet operation , efficiency and longevity for a reason . People that are not in the industry have no understanding of this (Eg; Cold air makes good power) and more often than not , create headaches . Backyarders should stick to cutting the grass ! Only recently I pulled off the middle of the road , two random intake boots with a pod filter attached , , , with gaffer tape ? Now that's a performance gain if I ever saw it , tipping a P Plater not hearing it fly out of his engine bay amongst the doof doof ! 😁 Good to hear you found someone proficient to sort your bike mate 👍🇦🇺
Great work and video! Please don't assume that ALL dealers are muppets cos they are not. I have purchased bikes and servicing for the last 30 odd years from Alf England in the Midlands and after maybe 35 bikes I have NEVER had nor seen anything but honesty. I still have 4 bikes, all Yamahas. The quality of the bikes AND the dealer are 100 percent. Any dealer who keeps a bike for months is not a serious outfit.
Agreed , I am a sole operator not from a dealership upbringing , and have tried to explain to people it's not always the business itself that's at fault , it's the individual that carries out the work . I have seen some real tools in my time and could not wait to see the back of them , not only as I have had to correct their work constantly with frustration trying to build a reputation , but it also can severely affect your income through poor reviews . There are many dodgy operators out there , but people cannot judge all by a few bad apples .
Jim, your not only an “artist”, but a trained,experienced, honest true engineer, with years of knowledge and understanding of manufacturers thoughts of design and production, INVALUABLE, whatever you charge,i doubt its enough, You know you will die doing this work! But its what you love doing, ITS YOUR ADRENALIN RUSH.
I'm glad there are good and honest mechanics/technicians like you out there. I also am glad I don't work on anything except vintage and veteran bikes, these Japanese, Italian and so on modern machines are way too technical for me.
I hear ya , I'm the same but with classic old /sports cars , modern EFI stuff just does my head in sometimes , stuffing arround with scanners and misleading fault codes and crap . Give me old school any day , these things have character , are repairable - Not disposable . 👍
Being a heavy diesel mechanic working on my first project bike, honda magna 1983 v45 750 x2 American bikes in Australia I definitely picked up to not shortcut a thing on the carbs and be very patient and spot on. The carbs are truly the heart of the bike. Inspired ty.
Another good one Jim. With all these dubious mechanics out there, you really need to take on an apprentice to pass on all your invaluable knowledge. Young ones need to learn from someone like you. Great tubes keep em coming.👍
Nice job. Lots of good information for this occasional rider. It's one thing to have access to the tools and equipment, but a whole different thing to know how to use them. It's also nice that you don't censor yourself but speak from the heart. Subscribed.
Youre a legend , love your vids. Got my 2001 r6 2 years ago running on 2 cyls , worried the worst. Watched your carb clean vid , sorted my carbs ! Only still had to replace the burnt reg / rec plug , replace ignition coils.. and plugs. Was still getting a tapping sound if i listened inside oil filler , was to scared to poke the acct tension reset .. saw someone say roll bike backwards in 6th gear , and wow it worked ! Tapping gone , engine timing fixed and bike is night and day from when i got it
I’m not a biker or a motor mechanic but I am an engineer who loves fixing shit & all like minded folk knows that “Every day’s a school day” I like your dilligaf attitude with a good measure of professionalism thrown in 😂 You get my sub fella 😃👍🏻
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing! when I worked in the workshop I dreaded hearing things like, my mates, dads brother once fixed a pushbike puncture so we took it to him to fix it, that was usually the top of a very slippery slope!
I love it when the UA-cam algorithm gets it right. Smashing channel, I've binge-watched quite a few vids and feel like I've learnt loads. I'm pretty useless mechanically, although this is just down to lack of practise. Cheers, Dan.
I've been working on bikes since the early eighties, I know carburetors inside and out. Back in the day we didn't have ultrasonic cleaners, we just use wires and carb cleaner. You got to look at the new mechanic who just came out of school who's never worked on a 4 carburetor bike before maybe he learned a little bit in school but he's not going to be well versed in it like an old school mechanic would. Just like when I got my first fuel injected bike it was a bit of a learning curve.
I don't mind the waffling, Jim, it gives an insight into your thinking process. When my bikes are laid up for the winter, I always drain the tanks, then run them till they stall out, on the plus side, My royal Star |Venture carbs, can be removed in 10 minutes ( I timed myself once ) and every other year I give the carbs a strip and clean
Jim, when you take on these tasks which the customer claims have been with a dealer or independent, you should make contact with that place a requirement. Get the story from both the customer and the mechanic that way. It will likely help cut down on your time and will reveal any lies told and billed for, when you get to work.
I had a similar problem with my Yammy Fazer, and was told it’s likely to be the fuel had emulsified. I removed and completely cleaned out the carbs, and drained the fuel tank. Built it all back up again, filled the tank, and it ran superbly for the two years I kept it, without problems. Wish I still had it ! 😁👍🏼
You’ve no idea how wonderfully refreshing it is to watch a video without irritating background music, irrelevant & annoying subtitles, and a real human voice. Add to that, all this from a true professional! And as a former biker - hopefully again in future! - I know I would trust you with a bike of mine. Nice one!
Subbed . I am helping a friend with Dragstar 125 , a V twin piglet from yamaha , which suffered from a couple braking up as it sat for 18 years covered up outside in the UK . A new battery and tyres , only 1370 miles on the clock , and more ultrasonic cleaning than our nerves could stand ( still needed one new jet replacing ) has it pretty well sorted it seems . Oh , the petrol was like a beef and onion soup made with weed killer . The tank needs derusting and maybe sealing and the tap overhauled , If the hours of tender , experienced labour was counted this project would have never have started , but it is for another friend who needs a hand at the moment and that makes it worthwhile .
You did it! 36.2k Subs today (11 July 2024) that bike sounded so nice after you'd ... well, cleaned it really. It needed a carb clean and an oil change.
It would be nice to have a little section at the end of the video showing the people getting their bikes back if they are ok with it, love the vids and info.
I have only Met one Engineer who has your determination and knowhow to make it happen in all my years so its refreshing to see a Top man at work. first time viewer to your channel and Had to sign up immediately . Keep up the good work
Great vid thanks. I had an FZR1000 b back in the 2000's which was a rocket ship but did develope a weird lurching off power at about 3000rpm , it appeared to have oval warn holes in those brass tubes with the holes on the sides you showed that the needles go into. it wish i knew more about cleaning the jets etc as you have shown at the time. was still a great bike though. cheers from New Zealand. subscribed !
Hey mate, Kiwi here too, I'm restoring my 87 FZR1000 at the moment, just done my carbs and the emulsion tubes (the brass tubes with the holes) was also worn on them, luckily all the parts are still available to rebuild a set of these carbs.
i agree with the comment about the self proclaimed "pros" unfortunately the world is full of them - i bet the owner is happy as can be after your save, what a great result !
I think that the owner of that bike should give a shout-out loud and publicly announce the name of the shop where the bike was previously to prevent others from falling in the hands of those crooks. And they probably charged him for the excellent expertise work.
Too many people buy jets and modern ones can be sized incorrectly, when jets do not wear out. Most get damaged when things are poked into them. JIS screw drivers and suddenly all the screws are easy to undo. Who knew?? Anyhow. Great video with valuable lessons to learn.
Loved my Thunderace, it's just a great all round sports bike that I could actually fit on and use as a daily, unlike its successor that was just too small.
How refreshing to find a professional who tells it like it is!!! I subscribed as soon as I heard you say "...it suggests they were worked on by a chimp that has no clue what they're doing"!!😂. Most excellent sir👍🏻🥃... You are the bollocks.
As long term dealer (now almost retired) amazed at bikes that had main dealer service history and when looked at nthing much had been done filthy air filters valve clearences not checked covers never been off plugs not changed I only charged for what I did in a service my sdvise find independent sevice shop and stick with them 😂
I have seen cars serviced from a certain manufacturers dealership , that In The Customer Service Book had the external barrel fuel filter changed 3 times throughout the service history and customer charged for it , but the physical fuel filter on the car still covered in the wax spray protection coat , from shipping from Germany ? This is fraud . Be careful People (coming from an honest mechanic ) they are out there , and they are ruining the reputation of All of us . Not on .
I’m new to your content and have to say it’s brilliant I love that you take us along for the first ride after fixing the problem, it’s very satisfying 👌
The one important thing I learned from doing maintenance on a moped being 16 years old; keep the carb(s) clean! 98 fuel was still pretty common back then. Modern 'organic' fuel is becoming garbage.
Hi mate, my yzf did a similar thing. I could see fuel leaking down the inside of the # 1 carb from out of the side of the needle. A carby pull down and clean would fix it for a little while, then it would return. You could smell it running rich when the leak would return. Rough idle as well. If you let the bike sit for more than a few days it would even make that horrible hydraulic lock sound when you would go to start it. A cylinder full of fuel and fuel in the oil! Apparently the brass hole that the needle passes through, can go out of round, allowing fuel to bypass the needle when it's seated.
Ok. I subscribed. I do like to hear someone swearing at the sort of things that get me. Ive got a 1986 Moto Guzzi Le Mans IV, Triumph Tiger 955i and XLH 1200 Harley. I do all my own repairs and maintainence and have since 1984 when i got my first socket set that i still have.
I love 90s superbikes, I fancied a thunderace once but it was just a bit cramped for my old knees. I still have my 1999 zx9r c2 though and been all over Europe on it in the past so there's no way I'll ever part with that. I've had it since it was just over a year old and I still love it. It's not a mint garage queen but I'm thinking of stripping it all down and refreshing it (and getting rid of all the spare nuts and bolts as I always seem to have left over when I've worked on it 😂) as soon as I've finished building the new garage. Love watching your videos m8, all the best for Christmas and the new year 😊👍👍
It’s worrying how many people take the time to comment saying they don’t like swearing and think that it’ll change a thing. Keep it up Jim, anyone who’s actually been in a bike workshop will know this is tame in comparison.
top job jim, engine sound reminds me of my old fzr600r question have a 99 fireblade now, and it is missing the rubber flappy mat on top of the carbs. should i get one?
Nice fix. 👍 I wonder if the issue the other place had was because carbs are old school these days, the ‘chimp’ trying to fix it had little or no experience with carbs of any sort? I am old enough to know what cabs are, and the theory. When I had carb issues on my 1998 GSF600, when it was 25 years old (in 2023) the first thing I did was buy a second hand set from eBay, strip them fully, and reassemble. No knowledge of those exact ones, so a set to practice on and familiarise myself on. What goes where? What way up is it fitted? Once I was familiar with the layout, how to take them apart, and which springs duck off and hide if you are not careful, tackled the problem ones, the ones on the bike. I found a fair amount of rust in the float bowels. The fuel tank has now been lined, and a small fuel filter fitted. One float bowl was a microbial experiment. Full of, for lack of a better word, snot. Lots and lots of snot. I sort of did what you did, so it’s nice to see that I, an experienced amateur, had basically the right approach. I also replaced the rounded off made of toffee factory screws. Not sure if I did the right thing, but I went stainless for all screws/bolts, with Allen key heads. One thing I wonder though. The green staining, that you attribute to ‘stale fuel/varnish’ to me looks like copper oxides from water traces in the fuel reacting with the brass components. No disagreement that it needs to be cleaned off and removed - dirt it dirt, and needs to be gone. But is it copper oxides or varnish? Or varnish impregnated with copper oxides? Who really cares, remove it and the problem is removed.
Yes, always clean out the spark plug wells as you said. I prefer to use soapy water and a hose if possible to flush the area before using the air as that quickly confirms if the drain holes are clear and the soap tends to loosen more debris than air alone. Then use air to dry. It is good to see you being thorough and checking things like the drain holes. So many techs just do the minimum to get by and leave things like clogged drain holes to cause future grief.
It really is mind-blowing how many shops are out there that will just waste your time and string you along. I think less than there used to be, but there's still some out there.
Good job Sir. I had a Thunderace for 6 years from new and loved it. The wife still says it was the most comfortable bike too. Very fond memories of that grunty low revs engine
Been riding since September 1995. Taken my brand new bikes to main dealers 2 times ever. Both times was a free first service, both times the result was shocking.
I'm subscribed. This is a great channel. Before I got into aircraft repair, I was a motorcycle mechanic at a Yamaha dealer in the 1980s. I am really thinking hard about going back into the field.
I have an FZR600... the carbs are always worse on the left hand side, where the fuel sits due to the side stand. I always ley mine up after emptying the bowls (run the bike with the gas tap off until it stalls on its own).
Its the thing with good sealed air filtration, without it, the pilot circuit on the carb's is the first thing that gets blocked resulting in delayed starting, rough idle and transitioning off idle. A good way to clean is to airline with cleaning fluid into the very tiny holes, just past the butterfly where it seats in the venturi on the engine side. I generally do this in conjunction with an ultrasound cleaner, which is a full strip down and immersion in white spirits.
As a car mechanic here in Australia. I have seen this stuff from shops over and over. I have had my own managers lie through their teeth to people and it was disgusting. I don't know a lot about carbs as we didn't get taught much about them in training. But i know enough that ive fixed a few. Usually it is carb clean and compressed air, and do it to every single hole you see. It is really simple.
I had a FZR1000 Exup in '91, the same engine, which I foolishly laid up for six months over Winter with around a 1/4 tank of fuel and trying to start it was a problem. It took a lot of cranking and ran dog rough with quite a bit of smoke when it eventually fired. I drained the tank and refilled it with fresh fuel and within 5 minutes it was back to normal. Carbs are prone to this problem far more than modern sealed FI system. The chewed up carb screws come from using a Philips head driver and not a JIS head no doubt. I had a T ACE in '96 but only had it a year and went back to a Fireblade. Another "issue" I found with the Yam engine was the need to keep the EXUP valve cables adjusted. If/when they get slack the valve can rattle and sounds like a major engine problem.
Loads of automotive engines have rubber boots to fit over the spark plug hole that would help to keep the crude out of the spark plug tubes. Alternatively, basic Doughty washers from a roofing supplier work, they are high silicone content so should withstand the heat
I never took none of my motorcycles to any dealer used to do them myself self-taught from the early 2 strokes 4strokes up to rrw fireblades I loved it rebuilding them.
i also got the same problems whit a dealer i decide to do it myself never touch one before only brakes and oil change but never repairs it works fine now.good job
I came across this video and I’m going to subscribe now you get to the point there no bull s..t I wish you could do my bike iv not road it for 12-years any way are watch more of your videos can’t believe a shop had that bike for that amount of time.💪
just stumbled upon this and it tweaked my interest as I used to own a thunderace many years ago, I got to say, really informative stuff and i love your straight talking - good job! subscription added 👍
Nice video, great job on the fix! Been a while since I've been on a bike didn't realise i miss it so much, to hear it start up and just to be able to go for a ride! Now I find myself looking at bike sales!
I've owned three of these Thunderace's over the years. Fantastic bikes, very underated. I always have to strip and clean the carbs because they're full of gunk. Never had a compression issue, but I know I'm a tiny subset of a gazillion bikes. Easy to work on, very powerful. I traded my last one in for a ZZR 1400. It too is fantastic but somehow not as 'nippy' as the Ace.
Most of my bikes are fuel injection but Ive gotca v old Suzi DR650 where I hope to be able to apply some of Jims teachings. Thank you for your super clear explanations Jim!
I have been a motorcycle technician for 35 years, with my own service business the past 25 years. In my experience, most technicians at dealers these days have no experience with carbs & many dealers here in Northern Ireland won't even work on carbed bikes. I would suggest whoever worked on this first hadn't a clue what they were doing, but took the "how hard can it be" approach. I can't remember the number of bodged carb jobs I have had to sort over the years, I actually enjoy working with & setting up carbs, it can make a massive difference to how the bike runs. Very satisfying.
I am not a motorcycle technician and I know nothing about carburetors, but I was somehow able to diagnose torn diaphrams and successfully rebuilt the carbs for my VFR400 from a kit I ordered online a few years ago.
Am I some kind of mechanical genius, incredibly lucky, or is this just not that hard as long as you're thorough and methodical, like it seems?
I'm flabbergasted by the incompetence on display tbh.
Why would you clean the outside of the carburetors without cleaning out the insides too?
Why would you reuse screws that are fucked?
Why would you partly reassemble things with parts missing?
Why aren't the loose parts bagged and labelled?
Fuckin cockwombles.
What’s the difference between a mechanic and a technician?
@@donalfinn4205 different terms for mainly the same job.
@@donalfinn4205bragging rights
Technicians are better dancers.
Calling out some ones piss poor work is not unprofessional its a public service. If your a professional you can always defend your actions.
I agree providing you have first-hand knowledge of the work of the other shop. However, doing so based on second-hand information is risky both from the perspective of potentially harming the reputation of another shop in error and risky from a legal liability perspective. Given he has only second-hand knowledge at best, he was wise to not say anything, even if he knew which shop it was. There are as many bad owners as there are bad shops and if you only have the owner’s story, it is risky to call out the shop without hearing their perspective.
It’s very possible one of his buddies worked on it and is now trying to blame the dealer
Absolutely. And they charge the earth for it too ….
I have run my own auto shops, my own construction company, and a tow company. I can tell you straight up that when you bash other companies, you are really bashing your own trade and creating a sense of dread in the customer's mind of your trade in general including you. It is like dating a girl that was cheated on, they now think you are going to cheat on them too. When you call out piss poor work, it just makes them think "Is this one bad to?". Your workers are also a reflection of you personally. You might be a straight up honest know your stuff guy, but we've all had 'that guy' that you just want to fire but can't, because he's so close to what you want him to be and he took a long time and money to even get there with him.
@@LTVoyager whele the bike the evidence, but yes, concentrate bike its self?
No surprises what you continually find Jim, after a "factory trained technician" has had their hands on a bike. That's why I have not taken a bike to a dealer service department since 2005. That was a brand new 600 mile ZX10-R C1H that I took in for a first service. They took the fairing panels off, kicked them around the workshop, test rode the bike seemingly around a quarry, over-charged me and then simply claimed the damage was already there when it came in.
I've never taken a vehicle to a garage/some where else for repair or service due to stories like this, I've bought tools and learned how to do it myself.
Damn right brother, I recently put my 1290 Superduke into a Crawley dealership to have the track pack unlocked. They charged me £350 and stole the vehicle tracker system off it. I only found out 2 months later when I took the seat off to remove it
I never let a "pro" mechanic touch any of my stuff. That's why I will never buy a bike that they say they require any of the services to be done by their mechanics. That's an immediate walk away for me.
What about the warrenty?
@@memememe2674 In the US, legally they're not allowed to tie warranty to their service. However a lot try and you'd probably have to hire a lawyer to get them to honor the warranty. You'd also probably almost have to video every service you did yourself and get an independent mechanic to certify that you appear to have done the service properly, to uphold your case.
I have bought 4 new motorcycles and never had any issues in warranty. These days I buy used bikes, so it's not an issue anyway. Modern motorcycles are extremely reliable.
I absolutely applaud how thorough yet straightforward and down to earth you are! Best wishes!
This is the best motorcycle repair channel on UA-cam. Thanks!
The guy to watch to actually learn something. I like the bearded mechanic too but for entertainment.
@@colincarrot5485 what did you learn from this?
In my lifetime (64y) I have found that it is rare to find a man who really understands carbs, and even rarer to find a tech or mechanic that can actually rebuild, repair or tweak (tune) these finicky bits of motorcycle sorcery. If you do find that guy, don't ever loose his number because one day he will save your bacon, after you have foolishly purchased a bike that does NOT run. Words to live by mon frère. Very cool content on your channel.
We are loosing one of these rare carby magicians here in Melbourne Australia currently due to early retirement from severe back related issues , he did it right and served the industry well for decades, a Webber agent , a humble guy and his personable service will be missed . Everyone here knows who he is . Unfortunately when the torch cannot be passed down - the craft is lost . So it will be "time to hit the books again boys" ! 😁
As another place had it for 8 months, they had time to get a set of JIS screwdrivers to not chew up those floatbowl screws. You're brave taking on other places "cant fix this" bikes as there could been all sorts of fuckery commited. But fair play to you and a great video.
After 8 months I would think that 2 weeks at Jim’s would be a pretty decent turnaround time
As it was apparently a dealer they should have already had them, I have a feeling it was in someone's garage for eight months not at a dealership, I feel someone was passing the buck there.
Great job ! The dealership should have been able to repair it as you did ! Knowledgeable honest mechanics are few and far between. 👍
Given probably 70% of all motorcycles in the world are Japanese and use JIS screws, I'd say the place that had it was probably a mate-of-a-mate type deal rather than a legit bike shop. Any mechanic worth anything has a set of JIS screwdrivers. Hell, I'm not a mechanic and I've never worked on a bike but I have a set. Quite a lot of Japanese cars (I'm lookin' at you Honda) have JIS screws everywhere too.
@@woopimagpie Japanese Industrial Standard
Many years ago I came to the understanding that some people shouldn't ride motorcycles later I came to the understanding some people should never work on anything mechanical and in fact should not own tools! I think you have just encountered one of the results of those people. Thank God for good honest machanics. A rare breed indeed.
I'm in Australia, Jim, but you've just got another subscriber. I've been riding since 1966, lots of bikes since then. One of my favourites was a 1981 Suzuki GS1000G for its sense of presence on the road. I bought it used and a previous owner had cone filters on it and it ran like shite. I had a mechanic who was an expert in older carb bikes and he got it back to airbox etc and running perfectly. People send him bikes from all over Australia to get back in running condition. He's got a reputation among older model Ducati owners for correcting similar errors that previous owners did. He's in a tiny town called Wattle Flat (almost middle of nowhere but on a great bike road) and works from an old shed, but inside is a dyno tuner and shelves of specialist stuff. People like him and you are hidden gems.
Cone filters on a bike like that hey , slight vacuum problems I'm tipping . It's like all these tossers putting pod filters on cars , pulling in hot air from the motor instead of cold air through a factory air box and infact "Decreasing Their Horsepower" . Who cares if it's illegal or loosing power from it , it looks sick mate ! Factory engineer's put thousands of hours into their work and testing to balance performance , quiet operation , efficiency and longevity for a reason . People that are not in the industry have no understanding of this (Eg; Cold air makes good power) and more often than not , create headaches . Backyarders should stick to cutting the grass ! Only recently I pulled off the middle of the road , two random intake boots with a pod filter attached , , , with gaffer tape ? Now that's a performance gain if I ever saw it , tipping a P Plater not hearing it fly out of his engine bay amongst the doof doof ! 😁 Good to hear you found someone proficient to sort your bike mate 👍🇦🇺
Yeah, he’s in a ‘tiny town’ but you could advertise him properly. (Name of the workshop etc.)
The carb guy wins again
Great vid you can never over explain basics first and how important cleanliness is
Great video. I love watching somebody that knows what the hell they're doing. Hello from the great northwest of the United States.
Great work and video! Please don't assume that ALL dealers are muppets cos they are not. I have purchased bikes and servicing for the last 30 odd years from Alf England in the Midlands and after maybe 35 bikes I have NEVER had nor seen anything but honesty. I still have 4 bikes, all Yamahas. The quality of the bikes AND the dealer are 100 percent. Any dealer who keeps a bike for months is not a serious outfit.
Agreed , I am a sole operator not from a dealership upbringing , and have tried to explain to people it's not always the business itself that's at fault , it's the individual that carries out the work . I have seen some real tools in my time and could not wait to see the back of them , not only as I have had to correct their work constantly with frustration trying to build a reputation , but it also can severely affect your income through poor reviews . There are many dodgy operators out there , but people cannot judge all by a few bad apples .
What an uplifting moment when the motorcycle comes back to life after such a long time.
Great work.
Surfing UA-cam feeling shit with the plague and came across this. Love the plain talking, mechanical advice and then success story. Subscribed.👍
Jim, your not only an “artist”, but a trained,experienced, honest true engineer, with years of knowledge and understanding of manufacturers thoughts of design and production, INVALUABLE, whatever you charge,i doubt its enough, You know you will die doing this work! But its what you love doing, ITS YOUR ADRENALIN RUSH.
I'm glad there are good and honest mechanics/technicians like you out there. I also am glad I don't work on anything except vintage and veteran bikes, these Japanese, Italian and so on modern machines are way too technical for me.
I hear ya , I'm the same but with classic old /sports cars , modern EFI stuff just does my head in sometimes , stuffing arround with scanners and misleading fault codes and crap . Give me old school any day , these things have character , are repairable - Not disposable . 👍
Being a heavy diesel mechanic working on my first project bike, honda magna 1983 v45 750 x2 American bikes in Australia I definitely picked up to not shortcut a thing on the carbs and be very patient and spot on. The carbs are truly the heart of the bike.
Inspired ty.
Your Carb cleaning Rack is incredible. Bit nicer than my T shirt pile I use
Another good one Jim. With all these dubious mechanics out there, you really need to take on an apprentice to pass on all your invaluable knowledge. Young ones need to learn from someone like you. Great tubes keep em coming.👍
100% The gravitas of your comment is otherworldly and this message cannot be stated enough.
Nice to see someone that actually knows what they are doing...unlike many a main dealer with their factory trained chimps.
Knowing who did the work could save countless bikers a real pain trying to get there bike fixed.
Nice job. Lots of good information for this occasional rider. It's one thing to have access to the tools and equipment, but a whole different thing to know how to use them. It's also nice that you don't censor yourself but speak from the heart. Subscribed.
I could watch you 'fixing' carbs for hours on end, no idea why I find it soooooo interesting. Keem 'em coming Jim 😎
Youre a legend , love your vids. Got my 2001 r6 2 years ago running on 2 cyls , worried the worst. Watched your carb clean vid , sorted my carbs ! Only still had to replace the burnt reg / rec plug , replace ignition coils.. and plugs. Was still getting a tapping sound if i listened inside oil filler , was to scared to poke the acct tension reset .. saw someone say roll bike backwards in 6th gear , and wow it worked ! Tapping gone , engine timing fixed and bike is night and day from when i got it
This channel is worth its weight in gold !
I’m not a biker or a motor mechanic but I am an engineer who loves fixing shit & all like minded folk knows that “Every day’s a school day”
I like your dilligaf attitude with a good measure of professionalism thrown in 😂
You get my sub fella 😃👍🏻
Bike sound like its a new bike. .well done jim.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing! when I worked in the workshop I dreaded hearing things like, my mates, dads brother once fixed a pushbike puncture so we took it to him to fix it, that was usually the top of a very slippery slope!
You deserve way more than 30k subs …
Now has 42.2, your magic worked 👍.
Hallelujah! Another one fixed. I think you talked it in to submission this time. 😉
Thanks for the air-jet explanation and elaboration--I have been searching for a time now without finding ANYTHING and this cleared it for me.
GENIUS!!!!
I’ve learned so much in just 1 video!
I can’t imagine the joy that you have brought to the owner.
Bravo Jim! (I have subscribed!)
“Worked on by a chimp” 🤣🤣
You could tell he really meant it too 😂😂😂
Unfair to the chimp IMHO 😂
@@warwickscram1656 Deffo!
@@TringmotionCoUk Chimps generally I’d say🤣
Coco the wonder chimp 🤣😂😎
I love it when the UA-cam algorithm gets it right. Smashing channel, I've binge-watched quite a few vids and feel like I've learnt loads. I'm pretty useless mechanically, although this is just down to lack of practise. Cheers, Dan.
Good to see someone who knows what they're doing with carbs. I used to have three identical bike, good memories
Just subscribed, it's nice watching someone that knows what they are doing
I've been working on bikes since the early eighties, I know carburetors inside and out. Back in the day we didn't have ultrasonic cleaners, we just use wires and carb cleaner. You got to look at the new mechanic who just came out of school who's never worked on a 4 carburetor bike before maybe he learned a little bit in school but he's not going to be well versed in it like an old school mechanic would. Just like when I got my first fuel injected bike it was a bit of a learning curve.
I don't mind the waffling, Jim, it gives an insight into your thinking process. When my bikes are laid up for the winter, I always drain the tanks, then run them till they stall out, on the plus side, My royal Star |Venture carbs, can be removed in 10 minutes ( I timed myself once ) and every other year I give the carbs a strip and clean
Jim, when you take on these tasks which the customer claims have been with a dealer or independent, you should make contact with that place a requirement. Get the story from both the customer and the mechanic that way. It will likely help cut down on your time and will reveal any lies told and billed for, when you get to work.
I had a similar problem with my Yammy Fazer, and was told it’s likely to be the fuel had emulsified. I removed and completely cleaned out the carbs, and drained the fuel tank. Built it all back up again, filled the tank, and it ran superbly for the two years I kept it, without problems. Wish I still had it ! 😁👍🏼
No nonsense, no bullshit, systematic approach, keep it simple, excellent work. You're a credit to yourself.
You’ve no idea how wonderfully refreshing it is to watch a video without irritating background music, irrelevant & annoying subtitles, and a real human voice. Add to that, all this from a true professional! And as a former biker - hopefully again in future! - I know I would trust you with a bike of mine.
Nice one!
Subbed . I am helping a friend with Dragstar 125 , a V twin piglet from yamaha , which suffered from a couple braking up as it sat for 18 years covered up outside in the UK . A new battery and tyres , only 1370 miles on the clock , and more ultrasonic cleaning than our nerves could stand ( still needed one new jet replacing ) has it pretty well sorted it seems . Oh , the petrol was like a beef and onion soup made with weed killer . The tank needs derusting and maybe sealing and the tap overhauled , If the hours of tender , experienced labour was counted this project would have never have started , but it is for another friend who needs a hand at the moment and that makes it worthwhile .
My local workshop is good with carbs and thats meant that they have lots of business from owners of older bikes including me.
You did it! 36.2k Subs today (11 July 2024) that bike sounded so nice after you'd ... well, cleaned it really. It needed a carb clean and an oil change.
It would be nice to have a little section at the end of the video showing the people getting their bikes back if they are ok with it, love the vids and info.
I have only Met one Engineer who has your determination and knowhow to make it happen in all my years so its refreshing to see a Top man at work.
first time viewer to your channel and Had to sign up immediately .
Keep up the good work
An excellent video Jim...love it when it all comes together....Bet the owner was over the moon....fantastic.
Great vid thanks. I had an FZR1000 b back in the 2000's which was a rocket ship but did develope a weird lurching off power at about 3000rpm , it appeared to have oval warn holes in those brass tubes with the holes on the sides you showed that the needles go into. it wish i knew more about cleaning the jets etc as you have shown at the time. was still a great bike though. cheers from New Zealand. subscribed !
Hey mate, Kiwi here too, I'm restoring my 87 FZR1000 at the moment, just done my carbs and the emulsion tubes (the brass tubes with the holes) was also worn on them, luckily all the parts are still available to rebuild a set of these carbs.
i agree with the comment about the self proclaimed "pros" unfortunately the world is full of them - i bet the owner is happy as can be after your save, what a great result !
I think that the owner of that bike should give a shout-out loud and publicly announce the name of the shop where the bike was previously to prevent others from falling in the hands of those crooks. And they probably charged him for the excellent expertise work.
Too many people buy jets and modern ones can be sized incorrectly, when jets do not wear out. Most get damaged when things are poked into them. JIS screw drivers and suddenly all the screws are easy to undo. Who knew?? Anyhow. Great video with valuable lessons to learn.
Loved my Thunderace, it's just a great all round sports bike that I could actually fit on and use as a daily, unlike its successor that was just too small.
I'm a 😢 boy who restores old brit bikes,have a 57 Cub,65 ss80 and an Arrow. I'm finding you videos so interesting and informative!
How refreshing to find a professional who tells it like it is!!! I subscribed as soon as I heard you say "...it suggests they were worked on by a chimp that has no clue what they're doing"!!😂. Most excellent sir👍🏻🥃... You are the bollocks.
Well done that man, an honest bloke.
Another random suggestion from UA-cam that turned out to be fascinating, really enjoyed this
Brian
As long term dealer (now almost retired) amazed at bikes that had main dealer service history and when looked at nthing much had been done filthy air filters valve clearences not checked covers never been off plugs not changed I only charged for what I did in a service my sdvise find independent sevice shop and stick with them 😂
100% 👍
I have seen cars serviced from a certain manufacturers dealership , that In The Customer Service Book had the external barrel fuel filter changed 3 times throughout the service history and customer charged for it , but the physical fuel filter on the car still covered in the wax spray protection coat , from shipping from Germany ? This is fraud . Be careful People (coming from an honest mechanic ) they are out there , and they are ruining the reputation of All of us . Not on .
I’m new to your content and have to say it’s brilliant I love that you take us along for the first ride after fixing the problem, it’s very satisfying 👌
First time watcher here.
You sound like ME talking to myself on doing shit like this....lol
Love it!!! Good work, M8!!!
The one important thing I learned from doing maintenance on a moped being 16 years old; keep the carb(s) clean! 98 fuel was still pretty common back then. Modern 'organic' fuel is becoming garbage.
Hi mate, my yzf did a similar thing.
I could see fuel leaking down the inside of the # 1 carb from out of the side of the needle. A carby pull down and clean would fix it for a little while, then it would return.
You could smell it running rich when the leak would return.
Rough idle as well. If you let the bike sit for more than a few days it would even make that horrible hydraulic lock sound when you would go to start it.
A cylinder full of fuel and fuel in the oil!
Apparently the brass hole that the needle passes through, can go out of round, allowing fuel to bypass the needle when it's seated.
I just bought a honda cbr929 from 00 with a blown engine.Got an engine with 500 miles on it,stored for 23 years.Started right up🤯
They are injected thats why, its when carbed bikes are left sitting with modern fuel in the carbs that issues begin.
@@uhtred7860Injectors can still get stuck after that many years,runs like a rocket though😊
29:33 a do want to watch bro this was epic I would love to know and find someone to help like you brother your a legend
Ok. I subscribed. I do like to hear someone swearing at the sort of things that get me. Ive got a 1986 Moto Guzzi Le Mans IV, Triumph Tiger 955i and XLH 1200 Harley. I do all my own repairs and maintainence and have since 1984 when i got my first socket set that i still have.
I love 90s superbikes, I fancied a thunderace once but it was just a bit cramped for my old knees. I still have my 1999 zx9r c2 though and been all over Europe on it in the past so there's no way I'll ever part with that. I've had it since it was just over a year old and I still love it. It's not a mint garage queen but I'm thinking of stripping it all down and refreshing it (and getting rid of all the spare nuts and bolts as I always seem to have left over when I've worked on it 😂) as soon as I've finished building the new garage.
Love watching your videos m8, all the best for Christmas and the new year 😊👍👍
Understanding how the circuits of your carbs work is a plus
Good stuff. Keep up the good work Mate. I work on motorcycles on the side. Just another nightmare that you turned into a pleasant dream. Great Job.
It’s worrying how many people take the time to comment saying they don’t like swearing and think that it’ll change a thing. Keep it up Jim, anyone who’s actually been in a bike workshop will know this is tame in comparison.
top job jim, engine sound reminds me of my old fzr600r
question have a 99 fireblade now, and it is missing the rubber flappy mat on top of the carbs.
should i get one?
Nice fix. 👍
I wonder if the issue the other place had was because carbs are old school these days, the ‘chimp’ trying to fix it had little or no experience with carbs of any sort?
I am old enough to know what cabs are, and the theory.
When I had carb issues on my 1998 GSF600, when it was 25 years old (in 2023) the first thing I did was buy a second hand set from eBay, strip them fully, and reassemble.
No knowledge of those exact ones, so a set to practice on and familiarise myself on.
What goes where? What way up is it fitted? Once I was familiar with the layout, how to take them apart, and which springs duck off and hide if you are not careful, tackled the problem ones, the ones on the bike.
I found a fair amount of rust in the float bowels. The fuel tank has now been lined, and a small fuel filter fitted.
One float bowl was a microbial experiment. Full of, for lack of a better word, snot. Lots and lots of snot.
I sort of did what you did, so it’s nice to see that I, an experienced amateur, had basically the right approach.
I also replaced the rounded off made of toffee factory screws. Not sure if I did the right thing, but I went stainless for all screws/bolts, with Allen key heads.
One thing I wonder though. The green staining, that you attribute to ‘stale fuel/varnish’ to me looks like copper oxides from water traces in the fuel reacting with the brass components.
No disagreement that it needs to be cleaned off and removed - dirt it dirt, and needs to be gone.
But is it copper oxides or varnish? Or varnish impregnated with copper oxides? Who really cares, remove it and the problem is removed.
Yes, always clean out the spark plug wells as you said. I prefer to use soapy water and a hose if possible to flush the area before using the air as that quickly confirms if the drain holes are clear and the soap tends to loosen more debris than air alone. Then use air to dry. It is good to see you being thorough and checking things like the drain holes. So many techs just do the minimum to get by and leave things like clogged drain holes to cause future grief.
Great end to a week watching a master at his craft👍
Just wish I had some of that carb cleaning potion 😂
It really is mind-blowing how many shops are out there that will just waste your time and string you along. I think less than there used to be, but there's still some out there.
Good job Sir. I had a Thunderace for 6 years from new and loved it. The wife still says it was the most comfortable bike too. Very fond memories of that grunty low revs engine
Been riding since September 1995.
Taken my brand new bikes to main dealers 2 times ever.
Both times was a free first service, both times the result was shocking.
Highly professional approach , liked your comments and approbate profanities, 👍👏👏👏👏
I'm subscribed. This is a great channel. Before I got into aircraft repair, I was a motorcycle mechanic at a Yamaha dealer in the 1980s. I am really thinking hard about going back into the field.
I have an FZR600... the carbs are always worse on the left hand side, where the fuel sits due to the side stand. I always ley mine up after emptying the bowls (run the bike with the gas tap off until it stalls on its own).
WOW enjoying your work at the end. Not boring at all❤
Good work! I have been hearing that here in the USA that many bike shops will not even touch carbureted bikes and that is such a shame!
Its the thing with good sealed air filtration, without it, the pilot circuit on the carb's is the first thing that gets blocked resulting in delayed starting, rough idle and transitioning off idle. A good way to clean is to airline with cleaning fluid into the very tiny holes, just past the butterfly where it seats in the venturi on the engine side. I generally do this in conjunction with an ultrasound cleaner, which is a full strip down and immersion in white spirits.
As a car mechanic here in Australia. I have seen this stuff from shops over and over. I have had my own managers lie through their teeth to people and it was disgusting. I don't know a lot about carbs as we didn't get taught much about them in training. But i know enough that ive fixed a few. Usually it is carb clean and compressed air, and do it to every single hole you see. It is really simple.
Loved my Thunderace if you couldn’t guess!
Best all round bike I’ve ever owned, did everything so well.
Just found the channel, keep up the good work!
Great work, just found you and subscribed. Nice to see that beautiful bike up and running.
I had a FZR1000 Exup in '91, the same engine, which I foolishly laid up for six months over Winter with around a 1/4 tank of fuel and trying to start it was a problem. It took a lot of cranking and ran dog rough with quite a bit of smoke when it eventually fired. I drained the tank and refilled it with fresh fuel and within 5 minutes it was back to normal. Carbs are prone to this problem far more than modern sealed FI system.
The chewed up carb screws come from using a Philips head driver and not a JIS head no doubt.
I had a T ACE in '96 but only had it a year and went back to a Fireblade. Another "issue" I found with the Yam engine was the need to keep the EXUP valve cables adjusted. If/when they get slack the valve can rattle and sounds like a major engine problem.
Best video I’ve watched on UA-cam, love it
Worth saving !
I had a Thunderace..... incredible bike when running correctly, really quick bike, even by today's standards !
Loads of automotive engines have rubber boots to fit over the spark plug hole that would help to keep the crude out of the spark plug tubes. Alternatively, basic Doughty washers from a roofing supplier work, they are high silicone content so should withstand the heat
I never took none of my motorcycles to any dealer used to do them myself self-taught from the early 2 strokes 4strokes up to rrw fireblades I loved it rebuilding them.
It would be interesting to see your customers reactions when you say , Sorted mate after all the heartache they endure , Cheers fella 👍
i also got the same problems whit a dealer i decide to do it myself never touch one before only brakes and oil change but never repairs it works fine now.good job
I came across this video and I’m going to subscribe now you get to the point there no bull s..t I wish you could do my bike iv not road it for 12-years any way are watch more of your videos can’t believe a shop had that bike for that amount of time.💪
just stumbled upon this and it tweaked my interest as I used to own a thunderace many years ago, I got to say, really informative stuff and i love your straight talking - good job! subscription added 👍
Awesome video dude , best part is your explanation of what your doing , great job
Nice video, great job on the fix! Been a while since I've been on a bike didn't realise i miss it so much, to hear it start up and just to be able to go for a ride! Now I find myself looking at bike sales!
KEYSTER is tested....good for me .Thanks for the suggestion....runs fine on my zrx1200..and yes! my carbs were tampered with 2....
I've owned three of these Thunderace's over the years. Fantastic bikes, very underated. I always have to strip and clean the carbs because they're full of gunk. Never had a compression issue, but I know I'm a tiny subset of a gazillion bikes. Easy to work on, very powerful. I traded my last one in for a ZZR 1400. It too is fantastic but somehow not as 'nippy' as the Ace.
Very good work bike sounded really smooth
Most of my bikes are fuel injection but Ive gotca v old Suzi DR650 where I hope to be able to apply some of Jims teachings.
Thank you for your super clear explanations Jim!