Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods Why Are the Allen Bolt Carb Kits Needed?

I may be doing some carb jetting and I have bought the stainless allen head carb bolt kit per some recommendations.. Why does it makes the job easier? Is there a problem with the stock phillips head bolts snapping or something? I'm new at this so thanks for any guidance.

Hi loosend,

When I rejetted after the Freak, I stripped the heads on 5 of the eight bolts. Only a pair of needlenosed vise grips broke them free. They are extremely difficult to remove.

Luckily, I had Brent's kit onhand.

If I plan on playing with the jets, the cap bolts will make it a lot easier.

loosend,
It is much easier to tighten and loosen allen heads than phillips, especially in tight places. The only drawback is that you can crank a lot harder on allen heads, and since the carbs are made of cast aluminum or pot metal or whatever, it is easy to over do it and strip the threads out or crack something. Snug is the key word here.... don't go gorilla..

It can be done with the carbs on, just takes some finesse and the right tools.
As long as the phillips heads don't strip out....

I put on the allen head bolts with the FREAK. Now if I want to rejet I do not have to remove the carbs. For that reason alone I think they are worth getting, but as the rest have said, the stock screws strip out pretty easy.

Yes, it can be done. Putting the new allen heads in while the carbs are still on the bike.

I would suggest going to Harbor Freight or your local Ace Hardware and getting a "Thumb" driver. It looks like a replacement bit molded into a knurled piece of plastic about 3/4" in diameter and about the same length.

Go to the HW store and ask for the SHORTEST screw driver they have.

Yeah, you can do it, but it isn't easy. Also, you will want those screws for sure if you will be messing around with jets. I stripped several of the screws when removing the float bowls, so be sure to have the new ones on hand before you do the deed.

Thanks all. I know I need the cap screws, just didn't want to R&R the carbs if I didn't need to. I'll look for the thumbdrivers and 24 oz of patience.

Hey Rick. The carb work is really pretty easy and straight forward. It's just a little time consuming the first time.

I also see that you're really not too far from a bunch of us NorEasters either. We should get a ride together this season with some of you W.PA riders. Looks like about 2 hours away at most.

Yep, if you can get the bowls off, rejetting is pretty easy with a short screwdriver. I made the mistake of rejetting the first time w/o the allen-head set to replace. When I went to rejet last month, one of the phillips screws was missing. I'm set now, if I want to rejet again it will be a 10 minute task. Brent also sends allen-head replacements for to the carb tops as well. (shorter screws in the set)

loosend,
You can rejet with the allen screws in/carbs on, just be vewy vewy carefull of the floats and the float needle and the mounting pins. The floats fall down when the bowls are removed and sometimes the pins and the needle go places you don't want them to...
Make sure everything is in it's place before you put the bowls back on. This is especially true if you do this while the bike is on the kickstand, at an angle....

Rick,
These are helpful.... bear with me as I attempt to add a photo....
Nevermind... go to PhotoPost and look at my picture of ratcheting screwdrivers from Sears... the metric bits came from Snap-On, Sears doesn't have them....

Grump:
I saved the link you posted when you bought the set and my daughter gave me a set for Christmas - Very handy and priced right!

Al, if you get a set of 1/4" drive metric allen bits then they become very handy indeed...

Sorry about the long delay with this. I did not have to take the tank off, or anything else, the last few times I rejeted. You do have to take some extra care doing it this way. Make sure you get everything back like it should be and all should be ok.

My buddy lent me the best tool in the world for this job...an itty bitty ratchet, 1/4 in. drive I think, with a #2 phillips head and an allen head for putting the new screws in. Man, don't do this mod without it! The whole operation was soooo much easier than the first time I took the bowls off to re-jet.

BellaCorse has a new [to me at least] $50. take on the bolts: Extended Screws

Guys, Sears makes a 7 piece screwdriver bit wrench set. It's a small 1/4 inch drive socket wrench. It comes in a 3 wrench set. left angle, right angle, and straight. Any small screwdriver bit fits into it. Perfect for the jetting work and whatever. Sears sells the kit for $19.95. Craftsman item number is 47477. You won't regret it. Happy wrenching......Jerry