Draining tank, carb floats
 

Following on from the mess that I've described here.

I'd like to drain the tank and as per some people's advice, drain the carb floats (?)

I've got all the tools. Is this something I can do in a couple of hours? If so, how easy?

That would completely depend on

a, how much you already know what you are doing.

b, if you have a manual to describe the process if the answer to a, is no.

If you have a manual are are competent then a couple of hours is fine.

If you have never even seen the inside of a set of of carbs and do not have a manual to guide you through the process, then I would say it could be a while longer.

Also, have the carbs been off the bike before? If yes, it';ll be easier to do it again. If no, they'll be quite firnly attached ;)

I think it's one of those jobs that if you're careful, and sensible, and thorough, it's not going to be too hard. But actually dealing with the tnak off the bike without damaging it can be a bit of a b****r, they don't tell you these things till you're balancing 15 kilos of tank on a paint tin ;)

Sounds a bit too much for me. I'm not really very technically minded, though I can play with nuts and bolts. Took the sparks out instead; even that was tough. The front one is a real pain.
See here.

All the inividual bits are reasonably straightforward... In fact, now I think about it you can very nearly drain the tank without removing it at all- you can lift it up as you did to access the rear plug, disconnect the fuel hose from the fuel pump (other end of the hose that connects to the tank) and the vacuum hose (the smaller hose that leads to the tank). Stick the hose off to one side in a bucket or something, then apply suction to the vacuum hose (use a vacuum tool, or suck it... Or, you can use one of those plungery attachments off a sap dispenser!) and that'll open the fuel tap and allow the fuel to drain.

You can't get a total drain this way, there'll always be a bit left... Probably under half a litre if memory serves, though it's hard to judge volume as it pours iout the bottom ;) If you add good fuel, that'd probably be the next best thing to a total drain.

However, it might not neccesarily be fuel... Your filter might have clogged from rust or sediment in the tank, which means getting the fuel tap off, which means draining it properly.

Is it a case of removing the whole carb assembly, or can it be done in-situ?

If you've got really tiny hands with extra joints, you could do it in situ ;) Some peopel can, I'm told, I can't myself.