Carb Cleaning - Mikuni

Hi People,

Greetings from the Norton Motherland. I am in London (UK) and I just bought a 72 Roadster on ebay out of Tampa FL. Looks great but doesnt run as the carb is "gummed up" as a result of a fibreglass tank and being left sitting for months. My good buddy John has picked it up and got it in storage for me and will be trying to get it running. He used to have a Bonnie back in 68 but is not Norton savvy.

Can you guys help with:

1) How to clean the Mikuni thoroughly?

2) How to prevent a repeat of the problem?

3) What do you guys use to seal a FB tank?

It turns out you guys have double the amount of ethanol in your unleaded compared to us and I thought we had it bad!
Cheers Nick

what's the guy's name you bought the Roadster from? I met a guy last year at a show that had a warehouse full of British stuff in Tampa. about 30 BSAs, 20 or so Triumphs and about 5 or 6 Nortons. he said he had boxes of spare parts for Nortons, so i went to see what he had,for my project bike. Turns out he didn't have much and wasn't able to locate the stuff i was looking for. He was asking top dollar for everything, a lot of it junk

1) How to clean the Mikuni thoroughly?

2) How to prevent a repeat of the problem?

3) What do you guys use to seal a FB tank?

Click to expand...

1. Must organic solvent for the little gasoline varnish and sediment and physically dislodge the zine oxide out jets and bowl bottoms. A mild acid boil like vinegar a very short time can usually do the job but can eat clearances if done too long.

2-3. If tank resin already dissolving likely its a lost cause as no coating known so far will adhere long to inside. There are like 3 coatings floating to top of list Caswell's being the longest with some success I know of applied VERY thick or in double/triple layers, but also it failing by expert applications. Search tank sealing and sit back with your favorite mind mellowing substance and swoon on the controversy.

4. If you see carbs gummed up, guess what engine insides might be like. Norton's can make or break a man's spirit. Filters apparently have nil protection to this dissolved danger.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the info we shall be putting this into action today to see how it goes. The guy I bought it from was called Sean in Tampa. He didnt have any spares but a few other Brit bikes. I will keep you all updated!

Cheers

Nick

3) What do you guys use to seal a FB tank?


A steel or aluminum tank. Sealing is only putting a bandaid on the problem. Avgas or race gas will eliminate the ethanol problem.