Mikuni HSR-42 - leaking gas...
Gary Rodgers
*lot* of gas. Like a stuck float. Started as an intermittent problem, and
then grew worse, to the point of where my gas mileage dropped from 42 mpg to
~25 mpg. Today I had had enough.
Armed myself with a can of gumout carb cleaner and expected to find a bowl
full of sludge.
Nope, bowl clean as a whistle....but I *did* find a problem, which I would
characterize as a design problem.
I originally assumed some gunk was making the float stick. I was 1/2
correct. It was definitely a float problem.
In the Mik HSR-42, the float is supported by a small rod about 1 or 1 1/2"
long, which sits down in a groove on the carb body. The float assembly is
held in place by a single screw which holds down one side of the rod.
On my carb, the edge of the rod, on the side not held down by the screw, was
worn a bit, and was basically slipping out of position, causing the float to
go out of kilter.
No matter how tight I torqued the set screw, the other end of the rod would
not stay in place, since only the very very edge of the screw was holding
it. (yes, you'll have to be familiar with Mikuni internals to know what
parts I'm talking about parts 71 and 72 in the exploded diagram). Bottom
line is that there should be more support for the support rod other than the
head of a screw.
I dug through my drawer, and found a teeny-tiny washer (no, don't know what
size), and put it between the set screw and the support rod. This added
quite a bit more real estate for to hold the rod in place, yet didn't
interfere the the movement of the float.
I checked the exploded diagram of the Mikuni, and nope, nothing but the
screw holds it in place.
Put the carb back on the bike, and went for a short cruise - 200 miles
later, I can say that I'm back at 40+ mpg. By the design, I can't *imagine*
that I'm the only person with this problem.
Thought I'd throw it up to you tech's and fill ya in, cuz it sure solved my
problem. It's been irritating me for a while and getting worse.
Gary
--
Gary
'00 95" fxdl -Bleu & ice
http://www.erols.com/gary.rodgers/harley.htm
SDicato
>From: "Gary Rodgers" gary.r...@rcn.com
>Date: 8/26/01 9:25 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <9mc77f$l5t$1...@bob.news.rcn.net>
king writes there was a problem last year with the overflow they know about it