FZ1 Holeshot Stage 1 Kit, part III: Carb Reinstall

January 1, 2015

I had hoped to finish up on the 3rd day but it was more difficult getting the carburetors back in than I thought it would be.

Lube Cables

Before attempting to reinstall the carbs I took the opportunity to lube the throttle and choke cables at the disconnected engine side which hardly ever happens.  I have one of those clamp-on cable lubers which sometimes works and sometimes just backfires Tri-Flow all over everything.

Reattach Throttle Cables

Hooking up the throttle cables with the carburetor on end is the first step.  That was tricky but not as bad as I thought.  There is more cable slack than it seems, which is helpful.  The routing of the rear cable is key.

Reattach Lower Vent Hoses

With the carburetors slid partway back into the bike, the 2 underside vent hoses can be reconnected. The hoses don't have any extra length, the hose clamps are small and hard to get to, and it's tedious and frustrating.

Carbs slid partway back into the bike

Force Carbs into Intake Boots

Loosen the clamps around the intake boots.  Loosen them some more.  Squirt Tri-Flow all over the round carburetor ports, put some on the inside of the intake boots, and push them in as hard as possible, and push more.  Repeat again and again...

I finally ended up pulling the carbs into the boots as hard as I could from the front of the bike.  They are supposed to make a "thunk" sound and have a definite "seated" feel when they're seated, and they never did.  I got them in as far as they would go after many repeated attempts.  Then snugged the clamps with the special Holeshot driver.

Carbs seated

Reconnect Everything

As long as all the hoses are well labeled this really isn't too bad.  Refer to Pat's procedure, go slowly in reverse order, and don't skip any steps.  Make sure there are no hoses left over...

Reconnected right side coolant hose

Almost forgot, reconnected choke cable

The air box should be reseated on the carb air intakes before reconnecting upper vent and AIS hoses. It was a bit frustrating but nowhere near as bad as the underside vent hoses.

Reconnecting air box

Reconnected AIS and upper vent hoses, cable label detail

Final Steps: Reinstall Battery, Reattach Air Box Covers, Side Panels, Tank and Seat

All pretty self-explanatory.  No surprises here besides a stripped negative-side battery screw which prevented connecting the battery.  Very frustrating to be stopped just outside the gate.  Fortunately I carry a spare battery screw in my tank bag for occasions like that.  Lucked out again!

The Moment of Truth:  Will it Start?

At first, no.  The carbs had no gas in them whatsoever and even after the fuel pump was done clicking the bike didn't start.  After the 3rd attempt it fired right up into a smooth, even idle.  Success, although preliminary.

Post-Install Tuning

I did a quick carb sync (see Pat's procedure, I will document it someday).  The Holeshot instructions, as well as Pat's site, also recommend adjusting the ExUP and calibrating the throttle position sensor (TPS), neither of which I did.

I didn't get the chance to do a road test before the day was over, and I wanted to get the timing advancer installed before going through the full RPM range anyway. But it got late and I ran out of time.  End of day 3.