[zoo16]

Hi all. New 86 GL1200 owner. Bike sat in an open air barn for past 8ish years and the throttle was seized. Cables worked fine once removed from the carb. I've rebuilt the carb inards using tips and tricks from this and other forums (thanks!) Now my problem is that all the exterior throttle linkage parts seem to be gummed up, and the throttle has to be forced to open even partway & doesn't move at all to return to closed position.
Aside from dousing all the parts in carb cleaner and WD-40, is there anything else to do to help the process along? I really don't want to disassemble the linkages if I don't have to.

 

[DaveO430]

You may not want to but you are going to have to disassemble the carbs and do a thorough cleaning. The stickiness is in the throttle shafts, not the linkage.

 

[Bike...and Dennis]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Where are you from?
Is that pic before, or after the cleaning?

 

[zoo16]

Central Ohio. That pic is before any cleaning. I've since doused all the linkages parts with carb cleaner. I'll get a closer pic in a bit.

 

[zoo16]

You may not want to but you are going to have to disassemble the carbs and do a thorough cleaning. The stickiness is in the throttle shafts, not the linkage.

Ok looking up instructions now. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[C-130 Jumper]

Try a can of this, best penetrating lubricant for corrosion. You can find it on Amazon

 

[claydbal_1590]

Central Ohio. That pic is before any cleaning. I've since doused all the linkages parts with carb cleaner. I'll get a closer pic in a bit.

that will eat the seals. more problems. best thing is put hot ATF in a spray can. soake em. gently rotate teh linkage a little at a time, back and forth, spraying and waiting. eventually it will (okay,should) get easy enough to spring back on its on.
if you sit the oil can in the sun, it will stay hot enough and ford spec ATF is best. if this fails, or more likely, you run out of patience, mix fingernail polish remover about 50/50 with the ATF. but a penetrant is more likely to soften the seals. do not get it on the diapram for sure!

all that said. do as dave said. its best. i gave you the easier to hear it run to find all the other problems method. roflamo.

 

[DaveO430]

Nail polish remover = acetone. And again, it's not the linkage anyway, it's the throttle shafts.

 

[claydbal_1590]

Nail polish remover = acetone. And again, it's not the linkage anyway, it's the throttle shafts.

yep. but i was telling him how to free the throttle shafts. in a not so narrow way.

 

[zoo16]

I've ordered new felt seals from Aaron at Dude's Garage and will be disassembling the carbs for a thorough repair. I'll report back with the results.
Thanks for all the help!

 

[Bike...and Dennis]

You really should use only OEM parts.

 

[DenverWinger]

Dennis, it's just felts. Bike might argue with me, though. 🤣

 

[Bryanlj]

Didnt think you could buy the felts from Honda, you cant for the sohc fours

 

[zoo16]

Got new felts & rebuild kits. Definitely found lots of buildup from old gas. All 4 throttle valve diaphrams we're in good shape& the jet needles moved freely. Cleared both main & slow jets, replaced the filters for each float valve (all 4 were completely clogged and falling apart.)
Replaced o-rigs for the air and fuel joint tubes that connect the carbs and cleared the passages at ends of the fuel tube so that the float valve filter was visible.
After all that the throttle linkage snaps back nice and quick.
I need to dig into the choke assemblies, as they don't close all they way when connected to the cable, so they probably need rebuilt.
I reinstalled the carb/manifold assembly & attempted to start. It will run on straight starting fluid but stalls as soon as I stop spraying. I drained the float bowls and only get gas from #1 carb. There has to be more clogs that I'm not finding.

 

[C-130 Jumper]

To clear out a stubborn idle passage that carb soaking couldn't clear I carefully put in muratic acid in a 5cc syringe with a 20 gauge needle from Tractor Supply and followed that with water in another syringe. The volcano of green crud was pretty bad. Then a wash down, air gun, drying in the sun, silicone spray and it finally idled correctly. ymmv this is not advice

 

[zoo16]

Ok thank you for the advice!

 

[C-130 Jumper]

I used goggles and a face shield.

 

[DaveO430]

I don't see where you removed the mixture screws and cleaned the passages from there to the slow jets. Cleaning the jets is not enough. Are you getting fuel flow from the pump?

 

[zoo16]

Correct I didn't pop the covers and clean it the mixture screws. That's definitely in the list for the next round of cleaning.
I am getting fuel flow from the pump. I have not measured it to confirm it's within spec though.

 

[claydbal_1590]

i wouldnt use starting fluid. it hasnt the octane. it will and has cracked pistons. setup a feeder tank hanging from handlebar or ceiling or whatever. gravity is enough to feed fuel to carbs. same method with carbs on work bench will allow you to open bleeders and see how much fuel is getting to which carbs. float height is critical on these carbs!