Buy a good carb rebuild kit next time.

[Qaxe]

I know that the carbs are critical, and we need good replacement parts. I just figured that it would be okay if I bought a cheap carburetor rebuild kit if I only used the parts that really needed to be replaced: Idle adjustment screw spring, rubber gaskets, o-rings, and maybe float needles. I mean, who could mess up rubber gaskets? "MtuoSale" on Amazon, apparently. These replacement parts are worse than the old parts I had in my carburetor already. I've already mucked around with the stuff, opened the packages, etc. so I'm going to eat the $30 and complain about it, like a proper GenZ man.

1. All 4 float needles are different sizes. BAHAHAHAHA!!! One of them has a burr at the end of the needle.
2. The float bowl gaskets are more than 1/2 as thin as OEM. I'll give em' a whirl, but they are thin.
3. Zero o-rings for the 2 fuel connector tubes. Should be 8 o-rings here. (Guess I'm paying another $8 at my local hardware store)
4. Slow jet holes are smaller than OEM parts. Rubbbiiiiish.
5. Idle adjustment screws are quite a bit shorter than OEM, without the knurled head. Of course, the reason for the knurled head is so you can start twisting with your fingers, and not go rushing in with a screwdriver. Picky thing, but "screw" them.
6. Float needle seat doesn't have the screen or even a place to put my old one. I read that this was normal, but "pffft!"
7. Main jet shaft isn't included, just the head. I'm not sure if this is normal actually, but the heads of my main jets aren't budging, and I already know which side wins in a battle between a brass screw and a steel screwdriver.
8. No float bowl plug, or plug for the side of the carb body. Maybe normal? Meh, I'm already here complaining, so why not kick the proverbial dead horse?

So yeah. Guess I'll have to uh... not be foolish anymore? Going forward, do any of you have a go-to carb rebuild kit?

 

[SenseAmidMadness]

$30 for a four-carb rebuild kit is definitely too cheap.

1. All 4 float needles are different sizes. BAHAHAHAHA!!! One of them has a burr at the end of the needle.
2. The float bowl gaskets are more than 1/2 as thin as OEM. I'll give em' a whirl, but they are thin.
3. Zero o-rings for the 2 fuel connector tubes. Should be 8 o-rings here. (Guess I'm paying another $8 at my local hardware store)
4. Slow jet holes are smaller than OEM parts. Rubbbiiiiish.
5. Idle adjustment screws are quite a bit shorter than OEM, without the knurled head. Of course, the reason for the knurled head is so you can start twisting with your fingers, and not go rushing in with a screwdriver. Picky thing, but "screw" them.
6. Float needle seat doesn't have the screen or even a place to put my old one. I read that this was normal, but "pffft!"
7. Main jet shaft isn't included, just the head. I'm not sure if this is normal actually, but the heads of my main jets aren't budging, and I already know which side wins in a battle between a brass screw and a steel screwdriver.
8. No float bowl plug, or plug for the side of the carb body. Maybe normal? Meh, I'm already here complaining, so why not kick the proverbial dead horse?

1. Wow, those float needles are atrocious.
2. Don't trust those float bowl gaskets for one second. Before you put the carbs back in the bike I'd go buy something else. Otherwise you may have gas leak onto a hot transmission.
3. Usually I haven't found that rebuild kits include fuel connector O-rings because you don't have to remove the carbs from the rack or each other to rebuild them most of the time. Generally you only replace those if you have a fuel leak or if you're particularly serious about preventative maintenance. Which is a valid approach.
4. If your jets are OEM and aren't physically damaged you don't have to replace them. Just clean them out. They're made out of brass because brass basically won't rust or corrode away.
5. Granted I haven't rebuilt the carbs on a SOHC, but on DOHC bikes and every other carb I've seen that was an OEM carb on a Japanese machine there was no knurled head on the idle mixture screw. It's not a screw you're going to be adjusting on the fly on a multicarb bike anyways. You set all four to the same number of turns before installing and leave them that way unless you're really fiddling with carb tuning.
6. Many carbs don't have screens in the needle seat. I've only rebuilt a couple that did. It's why running an inline fuel filter is totally worth the five bucks it costs.
7. I've never bought or used a carb rebuild kit that came with a main jet shaft or needle jet. It's a part that doesn't go bad unless it's physically damaged. Your main jet is probably stuck due to some serious fuel gunk. If your main jets are stuck, try some applied heat and gentle removal with a wrench if it's the hex-type. You don't want to damage those threads and brass can take a ton of temperature. No fuel residue will hold up to 500 degrees but aluminum and brass sure can.
8. Those plugs are definitely in the higher-quality rebuild kits.

If you want proper, unimpeachable quality rebuild kits and aren't afraid of the cost, Randakk's Cycle Shakk sells the most complete ones I've seen. K&L Supply also makes very quality ones but theirs generally aren't as complete. Still a decent cost but they're well-made in Japan.
The cheapest I'll usually go with a rebuild kit is the All Balls brand, but I've been disappointed in them the last couple times I've used them. Rebuilt a client's 2008 Yamaha V-Star carbs and the gaskets didn't fit very well, the screws had burrs and some didn't fit.

Below that is the Chinesium stuff from those no-name brands that clearly got invented by people who don't speak English. I've never touched those personally. I'd rather buy Viton cord stock and buy all the parts myself than go that cheap.

 

[Qaxe]

Thanks. My expectations needed a rebuild kit too looks like.
Randakk's price is pretty affordable at $20 per set.

 

[brettp]

Allballz is my go to. Vintagecb750 has some reputable ones. Don't skimp

 

[SenseAmidMadness]

I'll second that. Don't skimp. Carbs are important and a pain to get in and out on a 4-cylinder bike. The better a job you do and the better quality parts you buy, the less you'll have to work on them in the future (with the caveat that you have to take proper and continuous care of your fuel system afterwards).

 

[dirtdigger]

Jets are us https://jetsrus.com/carb_rebuild_kit/carb_rebuild_repair_kit_honda_street.html

 

[Qaxe]

Thank you for all the kit names. I have a K7 set to rebuild as well (which I received in a bucket...all apart) so I'll be needing one of these sets for sure. The crappy set I bought off Amazon is going back tomorrow (unused natch).