Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Performance Mods new carb, old carb??

what gives??? last sat. i took Milli for a new rear skin (marathon 880) at the local Triumph/BMW shop and this guy Dan pulls in on an 03 B.A. So of course i introduce myself and we had the usuall conversation about our bikes. his being new to him and with only 1300mi logged on her i had to ask if the A/I crap was removed?? he knew nothing. so we went to see and of course it was still there, i told him the minute you get home get online and order the removal kit and git that crap offa there. BUT, to the point of this post...i noticed that he had NO CAPS to get to the air screw in the carb but, had a screw on the side of the carb that looked to be in the right place to be the adjustment screw, it had a torx head. IS IT??? and if it is when did they do that?? he said it was an 03 and i thought the 03's were set up the same as the 02's. there i was looking for the caps and there were none!! come on, how did i miss that?? we talked about the (sceptres) and the chrome goodies i got from Brent, (his was bone stock), and just general B/S about the bike. but i couldnt get over that change to the carb (if thats it) and all the hassle some of us went through getting those caps out. it was nice of someone to think of that, i just wish they had thought of it one yr. earlier.hahahahaaha

I have an 04 and when i rejeted after putting on my bubs i came to find out i didn't need the D-tool. There were flat head screws in there and I didn't need to remove caps or anything. Only thing I could think of is the dealer set it up like this. Maybe the same for the dude you met. I don't however have a torx on the side so my post is some what pointless.

-Josh

those were buggers to get off. if you have big hands, it's a kind of torture, which is partially revisted when re-jetting...

where does one buy the thumbs screws? no torture device intended.

cat

Cat,
Dweeb has the thumbscrews here

If those work they are a must have after rejeting. When i was trying to get the air/fuel right after my bubs install it was a giant PITA trying to get a screw driver in there to turn them when the carbs are on the bike and the engine is hot. Can anyone attest to the reliability/ease of use of these. I'm putting the freak on in a couple months and these would make life a lot easier if they truely work/fit properly.

-Josh

I just installed the air mix thumb screws. I took a pic comparing the screw I took out and the thumb screw I put back in. The old screw is out of my 03 Speedmaster. The head of the old screw is slotted for a flat screwdriver. It's not the newer D-type. The slot doesn't really show on the picture. The spring, washer, and o-ring came out with the old screw. They have to be reused. On one side the washer and ring stayed up in the hole. On the other side they fell out unexpectedly and landed down on the engine case. Luckily I found them and hopefully I got them back in correctly. I hope to fire up the bike this weekend in the garage to make sure nothing leaks. It's still too cold to ride up here in the Frozen North. I got the thumb screws from Direct Parts. Part # CP005. I had to order two. I noticed some other places sell them as pairs. I thought you guys might be interested to see this.

John

cat,
I've had the thumb screws in for about a year. They work well. I bought mine from Direct Parts also, but I believe Dweeb's are a few bucks less.
Sarge, from the old boards is the one who came up with these and they are definitely the way to go.
3 things to remember:
1. That little o-ring may or may not come out with the stock screws.... if it doesn't, it will as soon as you take your eyes off the job, so have the new screws ready at hand. Do them one at a time.

2. When you turn the new screws all the way in and lightly seat them, use a Sharpie or something similar to mark one of the splines in the thumbwheel as a reference point. It makes adjusting them a whole lot easier.

3. Someone mentioned being afraid that kids or jealous bikers might see them and give them a twist. So write down your settings, or have them etched into your gas tank or tattooed on your forehead so you don't forget them..

But they do make adjustments soooo much easier...