Gasoline additives

I've heard that it's a poor idea to use a carb cleaner that you add to
your tank of gas when you fill up. But it seems to be the most simple
solution to a little gunk in the carbs. Is it truly bad to put those
gasoline additives through a bike, and if so, why, what does it do that
is so undesirable.
I need to clean my carbs but the bike is running, and i'd rather not
completely disassemble the carbs unless it's completely necessary. If
gasoline additives aren't going to work for me, are there any other
simple solutions i should be trying, or should i just reside myself to
a bit of work?

Thanks in advance
Mike

 

There is an alternative that is midway between the 'add to tank' and
'remove & clean carbs' choices. Yamaha makes a high strength carb cleaner
that is mixed 50:50 with water. You remove the gas line from the tank
to the carbs, drain the carbs, then fill the bowls with the mixture and
let it sit for a while. It is supposed to be pretty effective.

Google for ACC-CARBC-LE-NR

 

check out:
http://www.yft.org/tex_vfr/tech/additive.htm

The following is a quote from another article that he wrote and allowed
posted to the same site:

"The author is a Chemist, retired from a major Oil and Chemical Company,
after a career in the Quality Assurance of Fuels, Lubricants, and
Chemical products. He and his wife both ride."

This guy knows his stuff, and the upshot of his brief article is that if
you follow directions you are unlikely to cause any problems, even if
you don't see substantial improvements in one treatment.

The basic issues with motorcycle carburetor cleaning, as I understand
them, are:
1. The cleaners can attack plastic and rubber as well as the junk in the
carb, especially if used in a way other than indicated by the
namufacturer.
2. Some products simply don't seem to work. This can lead to frustration
and not following directions, see above.
3. No matter what product you choose, if your carbs are badly clogged
they might not make a noticable difference. Kaybear jr has posted often
to this group on this very subject, and I can't do any better than him;
look him up in the archives, well worth knowing how MC carbs work.

So, is it a 'poor idea' to use in-tank carb cleaners? Well, it won't do
much for a badly clogged carburetor, and done improperly it might damage
any carburetor. On the other hand, if you follow directions (possibly
repeating the process a couple of times) on a MC that is not badly
plugged up, you can see results.

I did see results after running some Techron through my VFR. Fuel
consumption improved from 30ish mpg to 45ish mpg after two tanks of gas
so treated. My belief is that I had mildly varnished carbs and this
stuff cleaned them out. Mind, the vehicle didn't run rough or give any
other sign of having carb troubles, so it couldn't have been badly
affected. Could it have been unrelated? I suppose so, but it's
impossible to know for sure now.

 

Thanks, that should answer my question, i'll look into that yamaha
additive, and probably end up putting a simple carb cleaner through.
It's not varnished badly, just acting up a little, thought this would
be a simple measure to take. Again, thanks for your help.

 

Remember- the Yamaha carb cleaner I mentioned is *not* a fuel additive,
it is a special cleaning solution that is to be used strictly per the
instructions, and is not to be mixed with gasoline in the tank.

It sounds harder to do than it really is, the hardest part of the cleaning
procedure for most folks is going to be figuring out how to access the
carb bowl drain screws.

 

Thanks, finding the carb screws shouldn't be a problem since i have to
drain the carbs every fall anyway. Good reason to move to a warmer
climate. Thanks for the help, it'll get me up and runnin for the
spring.

Peace
Mike