I'm looking for personal experiences with aftermarket carb kits (seals, needle & seat, etc) for bikes. The specific bike is my son's 2002 Bandit 1200s (carbs are Mikuni BSR36SS). I see K&L, All Balls, and Parts Unlimited kits available for this bike. Does anyone have first-hand experience with the quality and durability of these kits, or maybe other brands that I'm not aware of? Thanks in advance.
aftermarket motorcycle carb parts
- Thread starter zrxkawboy
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I bought a no name kit for my quad on eBay. I only needed and used the needle and seat. It's ok so far.
I’ve used lots of them over the last 15 years. Seems most of them all come from the same place regardless of the brand. While not OEM quality they seem fine.
It could just be me but if found the K&L stuff to be consistently good so I pick that when I have the option.
It could just be me but if found the K&L stuff to be consistently good so I pick that when I have the option.
I've also had good luck with K&L.
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When it comes to carbs, try to only replace the rubber, and clean all the rest if possible.
Ebay kits can be wrong on jets, needles, needle seats, etc.
Otherwise K&L is good, also Jets R us.
Pull the rack, split the carbs off, replace all the fuel tube O rings, check all CV diphrams, any accelerator pumps and air valves.
Watch all YouTube on carb. cleaning especially for that particular model.
Ebay kits can be wrong on jets, needles, needle seats, etc.
Otherwise K&L is good, also Jets R us.
Pull the rack, split the carbs off, replace all the fuel tube O rings, check all CV diphrams, any accelerator pumps and air valves.
Watch all YouTube on carb. cleaning especially for that particular model.
As others have stated K+L can be decent, hit or miss.
I try to replace only what's needed.
I have learned that Chinese rubber products don't last long.
I try to stick with OEM.
I was surprised to see how many OEM carb parts are available for your bike
https://www.motosport.com/oem-parts/suzuki/2002/bandit-_-gsf1200/carburetor
I try to replace only what's needed.
I have learned that Chinese rubber products don't last long.
I try to stick with OEM.
I was surprised to see how many OEM carb parts are available for your bike
https://www.motosport.com/oem-parts/suzuki/2002/bandit-_-gsf1200/carburetor
Yeah, I'd love to be able to use OEM parts. We would probably be fine buying OEM seals, but the needle & seat are $85/ea! So buying 4 of those, plus all the seals, would get pretty spendy.
I'm a motorcycle carb guy. I wrote this rebuild tutorial, and now it's being hosted on a wide range of different motorcycle sites around the world.
https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac/~cliff/storage/gs/Mikuni_BS-CV_Carburetor_Rebuild_Tutorial.pdf
Sorry to bang my own bell, just wanted to share that I'm not just some hack with an opinion.
Typically, when cleaning a set of carbs, you only need the soft parts, like gaskets and O-rings. The jets typically last the life of the vehicle, cleaning as required.
Float valves are the one part that, sometimes, is valuable to replace. Look at the needle, and if there is an indent where it hits the seat, consider replacement. Otherwise, clean the parts, don't replace.
In terms of commercial "carb kits", I generally avoid them. The exception being, sometimes buying said kits are cheaper than buying individual parts. If this time comes, buy Keyster, not K&L. K&L float valve needles use weak springs; they won't even hold up the weight of the float. This is BAD.
https://www.siriusconinc.com/
This site has tons of Keyster parts for good prices. Again, don't buy a "kit" unless absolutely necessary. Focus on replacing O-rings and gaskets. Partzilla is a good source for OEM parts. That may be the cheapest route.
suzuki VM26's by nessism, on Flickr
https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac/~cliff/storage/gs/Mikuni_BS-CV_Carburetor_Rebuild_Tutorial.pdf
Sorry to bang my own bell, just wanted to share that I'm not just some hack with an opinion.
Typically, when cleaning a set of carbs, you only need the soft parts, like gaskets and O-rings. The jets typically last the life of the vehicle, cleaning as required.
Float valves are the one part that, sometimes, is valuable to replace. Look at the needle, and if there is an indent where it hits the seat, consider replacement. Otherwise, clean the parts, don't replace.
In terms of commercial "carb kits", I generally avoid them. The exception being, sometimes buying said kits are cheaper than buying individual parts. If this time comes, buy Keyster, not K&L. K&L float valve needles use weak springs; they won't even hold up the weight of the float. This is BAD.
https://www.siriusconinc.com/
This site has tons of Keyster parts for good prices. Again, don't buy a "kit" unless absolutely necessary. Focus on replacing O-rings and gaskets. Partzilla is a good source for OEM parts. That may be the cheapest route.
suzuki VM26's by nessism, on FlickrThanks, that is a nice, detailed guide. The Bandit carbs are listed as BSR36SS. Are BS and BSR pretty similar?
Just the kind of info I was looking for!
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I'm sorry SCI screams scam to me. Be careful. Website looks too unprofessional.
I've bought from them half a dozen times with good results. They have a warehouse in the US, so no tariff charges. They sell on eBay also; 107.5k feedback @ 99% positive
I agree for the most part but needles and needle jets can wear over time and may need replacement depending on the make of carb. In some cases the needles are biased against the side of the needle jet orifice which causes wear eventually or the needle can vibrate inside the needle jet and cause wear. It doesn't take much wear to have an impact. As an example on Bing CV's there is only 0.02 mm (0.8 thou) difference between one size of needle jet and the next so you can easily find a worn jet means you are effectively running on the next size up.
Wear like you describe, typically increases richness, which with most carbs, is not an immediate crisis.
Replace parts as deemed appropriate, but don't buy aftermarket stuff thinking it's as good as OEM. Typically the worn parts are better than new aftermarket.
What I did was find out what size O-rings that i needed for my GSX-R and I ordered them from ,I believe, Was from The O-ring Store. They have different grades for the same size. I went up about 2 grades on them and they were only about .15 each. Better quality, way cheaper prices.
All Balls went in my Valkyrie a year ago, so far so good. But I've only ran non-ethanol so far. I believe I used another brand of float needles tho. Either oem or maybe K+L, I don't remember. TO ANYONE doing a Valk-get the airbox mod kit from Valkyrie Carbs and Customs. This is one of those things that Honda should have done. 2 piece adapter for the Octopus that is the intake manifold. Does not affect the jetting, easier install, and you get a proper secure fit to the carbs that won't come loose as you wrestle the one piece stiff old rubber contraption into place.
Holy carbs! That is a gnarly setup.
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