I Need To Go On A Low-Carb Diet

With the heavy rain we have been having as of late (today, the Snoqualmie River has flooded several towns near me), I haven't been able to ride much. I've been starting the Elite and the other mopeds every couple of days, just to keep them warmed up. I was thinking about sending one of the mopeds (a 1982 Yamahopper QT50) to the shop to clean and repair the carburetor - in the forums this appears to be the major reason why these older mopeds won't start/won't run. I even saw one post declare that these carbs are the easiest to take apart and clean. I didn't really want to spend $50-$100 for someone else to do this, so I said to myself, "I can do this!" I shouldn't have listened.

It was fairly easy to take the carb apart - a few screws needed to be loosened, a couple of clamps removed, and the carburetor came off. I should have had a small bucket ready, as gas started dripping from the carb and the petcock (so, that's why there's an "off" position) onto the floor. Well, at least it smelled like a real man's garage now!

The hard part was putting it back together again. I should have taken more pictures, as in my excitement over successfully removing the carb, I went immediately to removing the jet, the float bowl, the float itself, and a few odd screws that seemed to have no known purpose to me. I bought some carb cleaner, gave everything a thorough cleaning, and I was ready to reassemble. While some parts obviously went back in certain places, I had forgotten where others went. So, back to the forums, where I got a diagram of the carburetor and was able to locate all but one odd piece that doesn't seem to be mentioned in the diagram.

I have an order in with the local Honda/Yamaha dealer for some replacement parts, which will take a week or so. Hopefully I can get the new parts installed and get the Yamahopper running real soon - if so, it was a great learning experience; if not, I'm thinking my next bike will be fuel injected!