Amal carb

[hoppyre]

Good morning all, I'm thinking about installing an Amal 30mm MK1 carb on my 06 Bullet Sixty-5, but I don't know anything about Amal carbs. I have the classic RE exhaust and a S&B pancake air filter on mine now. Are they good carbs?? Would it make any difference performance-wise? I have been a mechanic for 32 yrs, but only on jap bikes. English bikes are new to me. Please let me know your honest opinions!!!!  Thanks, Mark

[t120rbullet]

As an old design it has some design weaknesses. As I mentioned, removing the main jet is not as simple as screwing it out. You have to heat the metal to extract it and press-fit a new one in.

Unless they changed something since I got my last one a couple of yrs back the main jet can be removed without even removing the float bowl. Just remove the plastic drain off the bottom of the float bowl and stick a 5/16 nut driver in and just unscrew it. The main jet screws into the bottom of the jet block and the needle jet screws into the top of it.
The only thing that needs to be heated up to remove is the float needle seat and that is just to adjust the float needle if needed.
My experience with Amals has been while they do not last a long time the work very well for the task at hand and are very easy to get tuned correctly.
All that said I still have the micarb on my bullet and after trying a 28mm Mikuni and a Amal on
in went back to the micarb.
After a few mods it does everything I want it to.
CJ
 

[Bullet500Dude]

  Hi Hoppyre.  Well, maybe its just me.  But I have a 32mm MK2 on my 01 and I hate it.  It never stays in adjustment, and requires constant attention.  I'm going to the flatslide carb from CMW, and back to stock if its a nose bleed also.  lol

                             Take CARE, be BAD ;-) and ride SAFE.......   D.B.

[gapl53]

  Hi Hoppyre.  Well, maybe its just me.  But I have a 32mm MK2 on my 01 and I hate it.  It never stays in adjustment, and requires constant attention.  I'm going to the flatslide carb from CMW, and back to stock if its a nose bleed also.  lol

                             Take CARE, be BAD ;-) and ride SAFE.......   D.B.

Nostalgia is not always what it seems to be!

[Thumper]

Unless they changed something since I got my last one a couple of yrs back the main jet can be removed without even removing the float bowl. Just remove the plastic drain off the bottom of the float bowl and stick a 5/16 nut driver in and just unscrew it. The main jet screws into the bottom of the jet block and the needle jet screws into the top of it.
The only thing that needs to be heated up to remove is the float needle seat and that is just to adjust the float needle if needed.

CJ

Yep, CJ's correct. It's the float adjustment that is the pain (as compared to simply bending the tang on Keihins...).

mm

[t120rbullet]

Yep, CJ's correct. It's the float adjustment that is the pain (as compared to simply bending the tang on Keihins...).

Yea, this year my Triumph started leaking gas out of the carb. I took another Amal off an engine that I ran with no problems all the way until I pulled it and put it on and it leaked too.
I pulled 3 more float bowls and floats out of a box and tried them too. Everything I had was leaking so I took the newest one that was on the bike in the first place and heated it up with a heat gun and lowered the float a 1/8 of an inch lower than it's supposed to be and end of problem. After that my lawn mower had the same problem.
It makes me wonder if all the corn-squeeze and MTBE they are putting in the gas around here has a different density than good old gas has.
Oh Well,
CJ
 

[echo15]

I've gone with the flat slide carb and my Bullet is HAPPY.
I have the original Amals on my '77 Bonneville and have never had any trouble from them, but I don't know how that translates with the newer Amals.