Carb cleaning?

[Teejayexc]

Gonna strip the carbs off my trusty ol' D9 this winter. What are the collective thoughts on specialist cleaning whilst they're dismantled or is it easy enough to be thorough without?

Tia, Tj.

[squirrel_hunter]

Ultrasonic cleaning is something that I am looking into for my TZR. I would like to buy one myself but haven't decided on the unit I need. As I understand it the fluid needed to do the cleaning is where the work is really done. There are some companies that offer this as a service, though don't know the prices really.

As to if you should or not, cant really say. I suppose you can blast a load of carb cleaner through it, but is this just maintenance or have you a problem with it? The other thing I have heard anecdotally that some bikes actually don't respond well to specialist cleaning though I have no idea why or if your bike is one of those that some owners have an issue with.

[johnnyrod]

Ultrasonic cleaning is really only needed if you've got a bike that looks like you've exhumed it. Some prices I've seen quoted in theh past were ridiculous. Certainly if the carbs are off a running bike then carb cleaner/WD40 to blast our the tubes and usual TLC are fine.

[_Stretchie_]

I had the carbs for Grunty's old CBR400 cleaned for about £80, they had been sat for ages and didn't run very well so I sent them off and they came back much better and the CBR400 had no more running issues

[squirrel_hunter]

Where did you send them?

[dirtydog]

I've had quite a few problems with the sv carbs for a little while after it had been standing for a while. I looked at sending them away for cleaning and most places I looked at were charging about £15-20 per carb, in the end though I bought a cheapish ultrasonic cleaner from eBay (they sell similar ones in Maplins for about £100) and put all the small parts in it and then gave the main bodies a good blasting with spray carb cleaner. Everything is working nicely now

[_Stretchie_]

I think I sent mine to Greaeme France, it was 3 years ago but £80 seemed to be the going price for it then