1998 Tiger Needs to be Resurected

[NOVA-98Tiger]

So I managed to get the carbs and airbox off.  Swearing was involved, but that's par for the course.  The airbox has some cracks which may be repairable with epoxy, but I may end up just buying a new one.  K&N replacement filter is $55 on Amazon, but I can buy a new box for $70 online.  Will decide later.

More importantly, I need to clean the carbs and cylinder intakes, which are a mess.  Notice that on #2, #3 cylinder intake there is a yellowish-white residue.  Question -- What is this?  Evaporated gasoline?  Curiously, cylinder intake #1 is relatively clean.  Any ideas why that may be?  Fortunately, the residue seems to mostly come off with a Dremel tool w/ nylon brush attachment, but it will still need a good cleaning w/ solvent.  Same story on carbs #1, 2, and 3.

Final questions, can anyone recommend a carb rebuild kit?  I am told that the Keihin CVK carbs on the 98 Steamers were also used on some Kawasaki and HD engines, and may be easier to find searching that way.  Also, if anyone is aware of a thread that walks you through the cleaning, feel free to include a link.

There is a curious zen to spending Christmas holiday in a cold garage smelling of oil and solvent.

[Sin_Tiger]

I'd guess that's due to the bike sitting on the side stand and high  (really high) humidity, perhaps leaking float valves have allowed fuel to sit in the inlets. The volatile portion of the fuel has evaporated leaving whatever moisture that the ethanol has absorbed to do it's worst, it may be that you'll find similar inside the heads. You might get away with that but I'd definitely do an oil change before you do anything else.

There are a couple of UK carb specialists and in sure there will be some in the US.

I'd be looking at the tank insides, fuel tap with filters and the in line filter as well.

[Nick Calne]

Custard in the carbs?

[Mustang]

There is nothing to rebuild in a keihin

If the rubber diaphragms are good (not stretched out)
Scrub scrub scrub . Clean them
Take em apart and soak em in carb cleaner for a day or 4
Throw a couple new orings at em
Job done

While your in there......102 or 105 main jets
Replace the pilot jets with #40'S
And set the pilots at 2 turns out
Personally if you have a cracked box for 16 bucks diff. Go with oem

[Sin_Tiger]

Warm Keihins with a drizzle of custard sauce, not even Nigella could make that sound appetising 

[NOVA-98Tiger]

While your in there......102 or 105 main jets
Replace the pilot jets with #40'S
And set the pilots at 2 turns out
Personally if you have a cracked box for 16 bucks diff. Go with oem

Thanks for the info Mustang.  What is the rationale behind replacing the stock main and pilot jets on the Steamer?  What performance differences will one notice over the stock jets/settings?

Regarding my existing airbox (with minor cracks), I am probably going to tinker with it, based upon the below mod, and see if its worth the effort.

http://www.tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,14638.0.html


...

[Mustang]

they are way too lean from the factory to satisfy EPA

the bigger mains take out the dead spot when you whack it full throttle .......

and the #40 pilots help normal cruising big time ....it may have #40's in it already

also if you shim the needles with some 1/32 thick (.0312 ) washers you can say goodbye to that terrible bog that happens on your way past 4500 rpm ............... 

[fishnbiker]

While you've got the carbs off, flex the carb / head and carb / airbox rubbers a serious flex, any signs of cracking = replace them, save yourself a world of pain later.

Brake pads, personally I'd replace them. I've taken pads out before where the friction material just fell away without any contact, revealing rust behind even though the outside looked OK.

I'd be tempted to sacrifice a few litres of 10w oil after draining and refitting the drain plug, take the spark plugs out, stick a big jump battery on it,  warm the 10W up to about 50°C, put it in and spin the engine over until you feel a rise in temp on the cam cover before draining again.

On the plus side, having sat for so many years, it probably didn't have much of anything in the way of ethanol in it before layup.

Not just these ...  brake hoses if not already steel, any other rubber parts might also be suspect. Rebuilding the calipers  & master cylinders is easy enough, parts still available. Find someone with an ultrasonic cleaner, or soak overnight in 50/50 Pinesol & water.

Don't worry, we can guide you through.

[NOVA-98Tiger]

I literally cannot work in the garage its so cold.  10F.  Have retreated to basement workroom...

Carbs cleaning was much lest PITA than anticipated.  Liberal application of carb cleaner, and between soaking the bowls and using Dremmel with nylon bristles inside and out, carbs look very nice (see before and afters). Float needles were corroded (spring buttons stuck) so new float needles along with new gaskets on the bowls.

Needle jet and main jets cleaned. Now I know why you shouldn't use a paperclip to clean jets (yes, I used a proper kit).   I'd like to upgrade the mains and pilots before putting everything back together, but am having a hard time finding replacement/upgrade jets for CVK36's.  Any recommendations where to look?

[Mustang]

Needle jet and main jets cleaned. Now I know why you shouldn't use a paperclip to clean jets (yes, I used a proper kit).   I'd like to upgrade the mains and pilots before putting everything back together, but am having a hard time finding replacement/upgrade jets for CVK36's.  Any recommendations where to look?

cheap and easy way .........................get a #60 drill bit (.040 inch)
start with a #61 if your chicken which will pretty much equal a #100 main jet which would be a very slight improvement from stock (if you even notice it )which was .98 mains


******************************************
spin it thru BY HAND...........no drill motor
you just made yourself a set of 104 possibly 105 main jets
**********************************************


and they work oh so good in a 98 steamer with keihin carbs ! especially on the east coast , like say northern virginia ....LOL
and you'll still knock down 45 mpg as long as your right wrist can behave 


trust me it works very very well and , you don't need to change the pilots ............just try running the screws at 2 turns out , maybe 2 1/4
and try shimming the needles up 1/32 of an inch ..................sometimes it helps the midrange ............sometimes it don't
example I have two 98 steamers that are exactly 100 digits apart on the VIN's and one loves the shims the other not so much .
and that setup works with oem filters or k&n's
also behaves well at all altitudes including beartooth pass in montana ............

[ssevy]

When I rebuilt the Keihins on my Legend, I replaced the needles with Thruxton needles, which have a faster taper. Another way to achieve what Mustang is doing with the shims.
I got my replacement parts from various sources on eBay as well as some stuff from Hermys. If he doesn't have it on the shelf, I'll bet he can get it.

[bemusedinsojo]

I got my parts from jetsrus.com. Don't order the needle valves by make and model but the ones with the actual triumph part number (you will get small ones by make and model). They have keihins or knock offs. Also, both Harley and Klrs used the same carbs.

[ssevy]

Yeah, but the Harley ones are probably chrome plated😉

[NOVA-98Tiger]

Caught a particularly viscous case of the flu a few weeks ago, followed by pneumonia, and haven't been able to do much until this week.  My antibiotics and steroids have too many vowels and X's and V's....

I am in the process of ordering new jets, but in the meantime I have a question about coils.  i've read some threads here on Nologies, and note that some bikes came with OEM coils manufactured by the same company that makes Nologies.  This would seem to negate any benefit to replacing those particular coils.  Looking at what is on my bike, the stock coils have no markings on them that i can see.  Any suggestions how to determine what version of coils I actually have?

Now that I think about it I do have one other jetting question.  I am definitely replacing my 98 mains with 104s, and shimming the needles with #4 brass washers.  However, I note Mustang you make one comment about replacing the stock 38 pilots with 40's, but then in another post talk about just leaving the stock pilots in and adjusting the turns.  So at the end of the day, is it six one way, half dozen the other?

Come to think of it, how to I tell what size the stock pilots are - is it stamped on the side? I have yet to pull them...

As always, thanks for the help everyone.

[Mustang]

The pilots will be marked.....
The difference can be made up by the # of turns on the needle screw.
40s will work very well at 1 1/2 turns out
38s want e n ought turns out that you really should swith to 40s

Make sense ?
In the old days bonnevilles ran just fine with the pilots removed. The passages in the carb body were equal to like 42 pilots......l ol