Installing Premiers

I have a new set of Premiers that I am hoping to install this next week, and am wondering about any issues fitting/fettling them from recent installs?

I did a quick search and noted some issues from a couple of years ago re poor idling due to grease used on the air screw o-ring during assembly blocking the pilot jet. Is this still an issue?

Are the float levels generally set correctly, since I have seen other threads where these have had to be adjusted?

Or are they generally plug-and=play now?

Be careful not to overtighten them, and, of course, sync them. I have none of the problem you have described.

before installing my new Premiers I checked that the needles were in the center clips, make sure the O rings are there for between the carb to manifolds, mine bolted right on and needed only the air screws checked to be 1 and 1/2 turns out from seated, all else was perfect

tickle until just the beginning of gas leaks out and she starts first or second kick

and be prepared for the normal very fiddlly business of putting the nuts on the between the carbs fasteners, etc

I have had mine on for one year now and they are really great carbs, idle great, settings have not changed and no real tweaking needed since

1up3down said:

before installing my new Premiers I checked that the needles were in the center clips, make sure the O rings are there for between the carb to manifolds, mine bolted right on and needed only the air screws checked to be 1 and 1/2 turns out from seated, all else was perfect

tickle until just the beginning of gas leaks out and she starts first or second kick

and be prepared for the normal very fiddlly business of putting the nuts on the between the carbs fasteners, etc

I have had mine on for one year now and they are really great carbs, idle great, settings have not changed and no real tweaking needed since

Click to expand...

very similar experience - love my Amal Premiers!

I'm not sure about the premiers and I'm not sure this applies to the all Commandos but on the 850's when installing replacement Amals a section of the little boss on the side of each carb must be filled down or the carbs will hit each other and not pull up properly. If you still have your old Amals take a look at them and you will see what I mean. I am sure someone will post sometime and either confirm and let you know that this is no longer an issue. Regardless you may want to check them as you are putting them on and make sure that this is not an issue. When I bought the Commando I have now the previous owner bought new 932's and did not file the sides so one of the first things I did was to remove the carbs and file off the bosses.

Dave

drp said:

I'm not sure about the premiers and I'm not sure this applies to the all Commandos but on the 850's when installing replacement Amals a section of the little boss on the side of each carb must be filled down or the carbs will hit each other and not pull up properly. If you still have your old Amals take a look at them and you will see what I mean. I am sure someone will post sometime and either confirm and let you know that this is no longer an issue. Regardless you may want to check them as you are putting them on and make sure that this is not an issue. When I bought the Commando I have now the previous owner bought new 932's and did not file the sides so one of the first things I did was to remove the carbs and file off the bosses.

Dave

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, will check that for sure. Hopefully this wont be an issue, since they are sold as matched pairs.

As an aside, does anyone run K&N RC-1090, RC-1820 or other pod filters with these? Do they fit, or is the base too wide?





I had looked for the XS pods that Comnoz had tested as high-flowing (195cfm), but they dont seem to be available in 48mm/1 7/8 ID anywhere that I can see.



I have been using a K&N R-0990 (since I dont have the original ham can setup and the battery box is slightly non standard from PO), but they are a bitch to get on and I like the look of the pods better.

gortnipper said:

drp said:

I'm not sure about the premiers and I'm not sure this applies to the all Commandos but on the 850's when installing replacement Amals a section of the little boss on the side of each carb must be filled down or the carbs will hit each other and not pull up properly. If you still have your old Amals take a look at them and you will see what I mean. I am sure someone will post sometime and either confirm and let you know that this is no longer an issue. Regardless you may want to check them as you are putting them on and make sure that this is not an issue. When I bought the Commando I have now the previous owner bought new 932's and did not file the sides so one of the first things I did was to remove the carbs and file off the bosses.

Dave

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, will check that for sure. Hopefully this wont be an issue, since they are sold as matched pairs.

Click to expand...

I had this issue and use told by Amal that as i had ordered 74 spec carbs for my 74 850 (like you do) they don't have the flats on as Norton did that at the factory. By the time mk3 came out in 75 Amal supplied the carbs with flats on to Norton and with the revised spray tube (so say it's better others say not as with many things) Amal even advised me i should have ordered later mk3 carbs.
The floats were set to high even though they were Commando spec (as in sloping) the floats were both set level with the top of the bowl not bellow as they should be.
i had an air leak which turned out to be the removable pilot jet was sheared when assembled by Amal. The bear carb body was sent back to the supplier (RGM ) who then as returned it to Amal and a few days later the carb body was returned direct to me (with note to say if I'd ordered later carb i wouldn't have had to file bodies of mine an about spray tube). So i wound gently try the pilot jet with a screwdriver to make sure it doesn't spin freely as mine did even though the Oring stopped it falling out.

Don't be put off they are good carbs an have been no trouble once the air leak was fixed both Amal and RGM were very helpful an understanding and responded very quickly to the problem once i found what it was. I never thought to check the pilot jets before fitting carbs as they were new and otherwise well assembled. I was worried that filing the flat's may have been classed as voiding any warranty or Amal may accuse me of damaging the jet which is why I returned the body without trying to remove it so they could see no marks of any kind which may have looked suspect. But they were happy to fix it and said it does happen very very rarely (hence check unless you want to have the ability an practice to take carbs on and off alot learn few new swear words an pull out some hair until the ureeka moment :idea: ) . But as i say they are great an at the price a far better option than repairing the totally shot carbs on my bike (started second kick after 30 years even with air leak an when that was fixed first time every time).
Also the flats on bodies are put on after they are anodised (as that is main feature of mk3 body separating it from many other bikes using that carb) so if yours need filing you are not ruining the surface protection as it wouldn't be there anyway (an you can't see it when its all fitted on the bike)

I have 32mm Premiers on the current race bike motor on a RH10 head and am very happy with them.
They dont have the notched spray tube, although as was stated these spray tubes were fitted to Amals for the Mk 3's
I have new notched spray tubes to fit if need be, but havent found it necessary to fit them.
I am not looking for a good low idle on mine and have the idle screws wound up a bit , very happy with their performance , running 290 to 310 main jets depending where I race the bike. Dyno'd the bike to make sure the air/fuel ratio was correct and took very little adjustment to get it right.
The motor is making just on 70HP at the back wheel, the one tap /one hose to one carb flows enough fuel WOT.
Had to file the 'nub' on the carb body to get them to fit without touching as I run standard Commando manifolds.

Float levels were close to perfect from new, I did adjust them, but ended going back to close where the tangs were set, as they started to leak.
very good service and plenty of spares available
Regards Mike

gortnipper said:

As an aside, does anyone run K&N RC-1090, RC-1820 or other pod filters with these? Do they fit, or is the base too wide?

I had looked for the XS pods that Comnoz had tested as high-flowing (195cfm), but they dont seem to be available in 48mm/1 7/8 ID anywhere that I can see.

I have been using a K&N R-0990 (since I dont have the original ham can setup and the battery box is slightly non standard from PO), but they are a bitch to get on and I like the look of the pods better.

Click to expand...

I've fitted a set of individual pods (second pic) and had to grind some flats on the outside circumferences where the two come together, similar to filing flats on the carb flanges to ease fitting and ensure proper seating.

toppy said:

I had this issue and use told by Amal that as i had ordered 74 spec carbs for my 74 850 (like you do) they don't have the flats on as Norton did that at the factory. By the time mk3 came out in 75 Amal supplied the carbs with flats on to Norton and with the revised spray tube

Click to expand...

This approach by Amal seems to be complete madness, as they obviously know all Commando carbs need the flats? :roll: :x

They must also be aware that all 850 carbs had the 928/107 stepped spray tubes and 928/104 needles as standard, as those parts appear on their own Norton factory Commando carb spec. sheet they sent me a copy of? :|

toppy said:

The floats were set to high even though they were Commando spec (as in sloping) the floats were both set level with the top of the bowl not bellow as they should be.

Click to expand...

Amal now recommend checking the fuel level rather than setting the float height, and with the StayUp floats and alloy float needles I think it is a good idea to check the fuel level of any new carbs first, before making adjustments to the float height.

http://amalcarb.co.uk/new-amal-concentric-stayup-float

gortnipper said:

I did a quick search and noted some issues from a couple of years ago re poor idling due to grease used on the air screw o-ring during assembly blocking the pilot jet. Is this still an issue?

Click to expand...

I might think it wise to remove the air screw and the actual jet from the other side and give it a squirt of carb cleaner and back it with an air blast just because.

All Commando carbs, standard and Premier, from Amal have shaved bodies. All 850 carbs have the stepped spray tube and the 928/104 needle. The generic 32mm carbs which will be labelled /300 and /301 will not have the special parts or shaved bodies.

I just had my old amals sleeved by Lund for my MK3 and they work like new again. There is also a slim version of the R-0990 K&N. I don't have a part number but the number stamped in the rubber on it says F018AC if that means anything? The filter is about 1/3 thinner than the R-0990.

ebsbury said:

All Commando carbs, standard and Premier, from Amal have shaved bodies. All 850 carbs have the stepped spray tube and the 928/104 needle. The generic 32mm carbs which will be labelled /300 and /301 will not have the special parts or shaved bodies.

Click to expand...

I just took mine out of the box again, and they do have the shaved bodies and stepped spray tube.

gortnipper said:

As an aside, does anyone run K&N RC-1090, RC-1820 or other pod filters with these? Do they fit, or is the base too wide?

I had looked for the XS pods that Comnoz had tested as high-flowing (195cfm), but they dont seem to be available in 48mm/1 7/8 ID anywhere that I can see.

I have been using a K&N R-0990 (since I dont have the original ham can setup and the battery box is slightly non standard from PO), but they are a bitch to get on and I like the look of the pods better.

Click to expand...

I have been running the twin filters on my Norton (fourth pic) for on 30 years without any problems with taking them off and putting them back on, but then my 850 is in a Featherbed frame and has a bit more room, they are a good filter and work good for me.
But now I run the single pods to fit my PWK carbies.

Ashley

Does anyone have a source for the plastic float bowl drain plugs that are used for making fuel level gauges? Mine are plated brass.

Air Valve/Choke

My current setup (as well as my prior mk3) does not have a choke - even though I have the old lever in a box somewhere, it has never been on the bike in the 25+ years I have owned it. Here in NZ, and even when I lived in Seattle, I didnt really feel the need for one as tickling it always seems to work fine for me.

However, I see the Premiers have the cable adjusters and the air valve is down when I manually lift the slides. Now, it is no problem to put in a bolt to blank out the adjuster hole, but how do you disable the air valve?

Re: Air Valve/Choke

gortnipper said:

However, I see the Premiers have the cable adjusters and the air valve is down when I manually lift the slides. Now, it is no problem to put in a bolt to blank out the adjuster hole, but how do you disable the air valve?

Click to expand...

If you don't want the chokes then just remove the choke slide, guide and spring from each carb same as any other Mk1 Concentric.

Sweet, LAB, that is what I thought. Just making sure there werent any other not so obvious tasks.