After dis-assembling my 2004 1200C down to the carb, and getting the carb out of the manifold, I tried to get the float bowl off to get to the slow jet (my goal was to replace the 42 slow jet with the 45 slow jet - I have SE II slip ons, and the bike stumbles at low speed, and frequently pops and farts, especially when engine braking. Well, I could not get the freaking screws off to get the bottom of the carb off. I may have stripped one. I tried several different philips heads from my tool set. None worked. Anyone have any suggestions for getting the screws off? They just would not budge!

 

There's a tool that I've had since the 60's when I started working on bikes and cars and will never be without, it's a hand impact driver, with this tool you put different tips on it and hold in the direction you want to turn and hit it with a hammer. This has kept me from stripping alot of screws, all you need it do do is break the screw loose enough to get it to move then use a normal screwdriver. They are very inexpensive but worth their value.

 

I have found those four bowl screws, and most all of the other bolts on my 06 883, to be of pretty crappy quality. They seem to be very soft. You might have to try cutting a slot in the head of the screw, with a dremel tool so you can try a flat bladed screwdriver. Or maybe you can get hold of the head with a small pair of vise grips. When you do get them out, replace them with hardened cap head screws. And yes, the bowl screws are metric........... "WAKE UP HARLEY"[:'(]

 

Try tapping the phillips screwdriver with a small hammer before you turn them out. They are metric. Get allen head cap screws M4 x 14 and a ball head metric allen wrench set and you will have it made.

 

Try a small set of needle nose vise grip pliers. Thats what I used after a regular screwdriver didn't work.

 

hand impact....they work great!!!
http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/lis29200.html

 

I'd be afraid of bangin' on the carb (floats and such being relatively delicate) with a hand impact - I vote for cutting a slot with a dremel and using a flat blade screwdriver to get it off. Then replace the sucky phillips head screws with allen head ones for next time...

 

man I was a wrench for over 12years ...it never hurt a thing

 

maybe - i've used a hand impact since i was 14 (32 years now ?!) and they do work great, but... i might just be a little too cautious knowing where those screws are and how hard they were to get off when I did my rejet. And with the carb bein' aluminum and how the floats are layin' in the bowl, I'm just a little leery of bangin' on it more than I have to and bending and maybe even cracking something (certainly more "impact" than if I hit a pothole in the road)...guess i don't like a hammer near my sporty! :-)

 

the trick is to tap the bit into the screw with a hammer before useing the impact....but I bet you already do that
o ya the floats on mikunies and most jap carbs are spring loaded so it realy wont bend anything