Motorcycle Repair: carb and filters, carbies, seasonal storage

Question
Hey bro. I know shit all about bike maintenace but i'm sick of getting fucked over by mechanics! I need to change the fuel and oil filters on my ZX2 and give the carbies a good clean. Is this something i can do at home with the right tools or will i need to have it done proffesionaly? Every one tells me it is simple enough but no one will give me a hand! Cheers mate
    Neil


Answer
Hi Neil.
 Yes, you can do all of this at home.  What you want to do is quite simple enough, but cleaning the carbs will require the repair manual and a tub to soak the carbs in.  Since you have qualified yourself as a maitainence newbie, I will list the things that you will need beyond hand tools.

1)  Carb cleaner.  Get the good stuff as well as the spray type.  You will need to soak the carbs in the good stuff if the carbs have had fuel in them while in any seasonal storage.

2)  Clean large bowl or deep and wide (12"w x 6"d) drain pan.  The carbs will be soaking in this.

3)  Nylon detailing brush (toothbrush size).  An old toothbrush with hard bristles will work as well (don't plan on using it on your teeth again afterwards).

4)  Small, nylon bore-type brush and pipe cleaners.  These are fore the ports that the bigger brushes cannot get to.  Spray cleaner can be used for this as well, in a pinch, but it will use a lot of spray to do.

Since you have never done this before, do not remove the mixture screws.  Soak the carbs and use the spray cleaner to clean these ports.  For reference to anything that the manual doesn't cover on carbs, get a book on motorcycle carbeurators.  It will give you a lot of info that most folks don't even think of, covering all of the carb types for bikes.

As far as the fuel filter, it is a simple matter of pulling the old one off and slipping a new one in place.  I always use a filter that has a removable element that will also have a tight enough filter weave that will catch any water.

Good luck.
FALCON