Twin SU's back together...

With most of the parts ready for assemble I didn't want to put the carbs/inlet onto the engine just yet - so I built a wooden stand to mount the inlet manifold which I could then assemble the carbs, linkage and pipes on.

I setup the needles and jets as per the manual, this is a starting point for tuning and will be fine tuned when the engine is running.

With both carbs I positioned the centre linkage and pushed them on, connected the fuel and breather pipes. Fitted blanking plate and the heater pipe temporarily.

Finally had another go at polishing the suction chamber (the tops), using wet & dry and wire wool to clean the surface and some good old elbow action. Going to see if I can buy a polish disk to get that chrome look.

5hrs

Other carb bits cleaned...

With both carbs assembled but not setup, I've decided to get a service kit and replace the Waxstat jet with the new type after reading about the pros of not having a lump of wax which determines the fuel mix when hot.

All linkage, pipes and fixing are now cleaned and painted as required. New fuel lines and filter to buy.

4hrs

Black and white...

You can easily see the difference with first carb reassembled - second carb now stripped and in the cleaner doing its stuff...

2hrs

Numbers: FZX 1242F, FZX 1242R for service kit

Ten pounds well spent!...

Turns out that the suspect ultrasonic cleaner wasn't Fairy Liquid after all – couple of hours in the cleaner at 45-50° heat did the job.

The body of the carb took the longest, after about hour I removed it and using a nylon brush I loosen some of the stubborn bits.

The heat makes a vast difference, previously I've allowed the fluid to heat itself i.e. the ultrasonic action would heat it but not to a high temperature.

Looking good - now for the other one.

3 hrs

Carburettor strip and clean...

With the inlet manifold nice and clean, time to tackle the carbs - twin SUs covered in thirty-six years of crap and grime.

Decided to get some "special" ultrasonic cleaner, 1ltr concentrated engine component formula - wasn't sure if I had just paid £10 for a litre of water and washing up liquid!

I started by taking these photos to remind me how they should look when putting back together – I have a pdf version of the workshop manual (on my useful links page), so print off the carb section pages and put them in a clear page file which I had already done for the engine rebuild.

I split the carbs and thought doing one at a time was a good idea, putting them into two containers marked left and right.

With the first one stripped off to the cleaner and the Fairy Liquid!

2hrs

Fuel Pump and Carburettors...

Removed fuel pipes, fitter and fuel pump to give me access to the four nuts on each carb. Carefully lifted off the pair of SU HS6 carburetors with linkage into a box for storing – I will be cleaning/painting as I overhaul and service them later. New fuel pipes and fitter will be required. Flexible mounting rubbers removed and checked. 

Also removed dipstick and tube.

2hrs