How to take apart/clean carb on Laser R5?

[victory]

Hi Everyone,

I am having a big problem with my 2009 TGB Laser R5.

Ever since I brought the bike out after being winterized it has been nothing but trouble.

I have one big issue now.  The bike starts then stalls either idling or while riding. 

So far I have drained all the gas, oil, replaced spark plug, ensured the battery is totally charged and cleaned air filter.  From all of my reading that I have done my stalling problems seem to indicate a problem with the carb.

So I was hoping someone could offer some tips for cleaning the carb?  Including the best way to remove?  I have attached a photo to this posting for my bike.  I am fairly certain I have identified the carb.

My gameplan would then be to:

Taking apart:
===========
1.  Detach screws from the hoses on both sides of the carb to remove.
2.  Gently remove the attached cables - gas line, oil line, etc..
3.  Pull out carb
4.  Then remove the big screw to open, and remove the cap.

cleaning
========
1.  At this point I can check for any dirt/debris and clean
2.  Then do I also remove the the main jet?  If the hole is clogged spray in some carb cleaner, so that I can see light through the jet.
3.  Reassemble everything in reverse order
4.  complete.

Thank you in advance for any feedback.  I am so grateful for any comments.

[Talvesh]

My gameplan would then be to:

Taking apart:
===========
1.  Detach screws from the hoses on both sides of the carb to remove.
2.  Gently remove the attached cables - gas line, oil line, etc..
3.  Pull out carb
4.  Then remove the big screw to open, and remove the cap.

cleaning
========
1.  At this point I can check for any dirt/debris and clean
2.  Then do I also remove the the main jet?  If the hole is clogged spray in some carb cleaner, so that I can see light through the jet.
3.  Reassemble everything in reverse order
4.  complete.

You most definitely have found the carb. 

If it's the same carb as in my '06 you'll have two small screws that hold the auto choke in place.
---This is the large-ish black cylinder near the top of your photo

And you'll have one that holds the throttle cable in.
---At the center of the carb in your photo

With all the lines removed, you should be able to pull the carb out and disassemble it.  This is how I did mine a few weeks ago.

1. Remove the idle adjust screw, and mix screw.
---They should be near each other on the side of the carb.  Be careful as they will have small springs and washers which may be easy to lose..
---Count the number of turns it takes to remove each so you can easily get them back in to where they are. 

2. Remove the float bowl.
---Mine is held on with four screws on the bottom of the carb, yours is probably very similar.

3. Remove the main Jet
---I tried to remove the idle jet in my carb before cleaning, but was unable to do so.  I can't see a reason why you wouldn't want to do this if you can, but be sure you don't ruin it trying to unscrew it.
---Once you have the bowl off, you should see the main jet in the center of the carb. 

4. Remove any gaskets and soak in carb cleaner overnight.

5. Blow out all the various jets and passageways inside the carb to make sure they are clear.  Use fine wire like a pipe cleaner if you have to.

6. Reinstall the jet(s), idle screw and mix screw, and reattach the float bowl.  Replace the gasket around the bowl if it is worn.

Reinstall the carb back into the scooter that's that.

[victory]

Hello Talvesh,

I cannot thank you enough for your feedback... you have been of great help.

For the most part, this has been a pretty smooth process.  I think the last hurdle to overcome is now starting the scooter.

After putting the carb back together, the scooter wouldn't even turn over - when I also noticed I couldn't turn the throttle very far, I realized I probably didn't hook the throttle cable back in properly.

After doing this a few times, the scooter gives a much better sound when trying to start but it does not turn over all the way.

I also think that the throttle still doesn't turn as far over as it should - so this leads me to believe that I still may need to tweak that connection.

What do you think?  Any secrets for making this connection as close to default as possible?

Many, many thanks to all!

[victory]

Problem has been solved with the throttle.

Great tip here:  When you are trying to insert the throttle cable back into place, have someone turn your right handle bar throttle grip all the way back - this coils the spring back so that it is not in the way, and you can just drop this into place.

Sadly, by bike still didn't start (even using kick) even after doing this and checking all the connections several times.

I pulled the battery out for the night and it is on a charger.  I will give it another go in the morning.

Thanks again for reading and any suggestions...

[victory]

Well I put the fully charged battery back in this morning.

Unfortunately, the bike still won't turn over, so now I am stuck

I don't understand - it would always start before.

Has anyone else ever had this problem, where the bike wouldn't turn over after cleaning the carb?

Thanks again for any feedback

[Talvesh]

I had a similar experience after cleaning the carb on my bike as well.  The solution for me was to re-tune the carb.  

Here's how I do it.  If someone knows a better way, please share.

I get the bike up on the center stand, making sure the rear wheel is off the ground.  I stick a piece of plywood under the stand to get the rear wheel up a little more.  

I fully close the idle and mix screws (clockwise turn), and start the bike.  You may need a shot of starter fluid, but you should just be able to spray that around the air intake.  It wont take much, so don't blow your self up or start a fire with it.

Once the bike has idled for long enough that it has warmed up, I start slowly adding gas.  Do this by turning the mix screw counter clockwise.  Start with half a turn or so.  You should notice the idle kick up, if it doesn't, turn the screw a little more.  

Once the idle kicks up, use the idle adjust screw to bring it back down to where it should be. Turn the idle adjust screw counter clockwise until it sounds normal at idle.

Do this a couple of times, until you notice that adding more gas no longer raises the idle.  

Once you have reached this point, you are going to want to check your open throttle performance.

Slowly twist the throttle to fully open, and listen to the bike.  (I use a second person to help me here)
While the bike it at full throttle, adjust the mix screw up and down in small amounts.  You want to listen for the bike to hit the highest rpm, and then you should be set.

Be very careful if you do this as the carb is close to the rear wheel which will be spinning quickly, and could cause injury.  

You'll want to make sure your not running too lean, so ride for a little while, and check your spark plug.  

If it is black and sooty, take out some of the gas by turning the mix screw clockwise a little.
If it is white and ashy, add some gas so your not running lean.

It is better to have a little bit too much gas than to run lean.  Running lean means your not getting enough gas/oil into the engine, which means it's not going to be lubed right and could seize, so watch carefully for that.

Hope this helps.

You may also want to read this article http://scooter.wikia.com/wiki/Tuning_a_carburetor. 
 
 

[victory]

Problem has been solved...

After lots of tinkering I still could not get bike to start, so I took it back to the dealer.  It seems the carb slide was stuck.  So they aligned this and adjusted the throttle cable.

The bike is riding great, and actually seems to be riding better than last year even!

Thanks so much for all of the help and feedback