Jet Kit Installation on 1999 Intruder VS1400

Editor's note: most of the photos originally included with this article have, unfortunately, become corrupt. If anyone has copies of the originals, or a similarly detailed article on jet kit installation and would like to publish them, please contact the Webmaster via the link at the bottom of the menu. Thanks!

Cobra Jet kit, manufactured by Dynojet for Cobra, it's probably the same kit.
 

Additional Parts:
5mm x 10mm allen head bolts, Qty: 4
4mm x 10mm allen head bolts, Qty: 4
3mm x 6mm allen head bolts, Qty: 4 (I couldn't find these in anything but slotted head, so I hope I never have to get to the needles again!)

Total installation time: Don't ask.. All afternoon..

Remove both pieces of the seat.

 There are two bolts holding the tank down. Remove these, and pull the tank back to remove it. There is a valve on the bottom of the tank, turn it all the way to either side to shut off the fuel. Once you have that shut off, you can disconnect the two hoses to the tank. Note: be sure to mark which hose went to which outlet, if you don't you could get the normal and reserve settings of you fuel switch reversed, and that could really suck!
Once you have it disconnected, you have the tank off.

This is the bike with the tank off. You can see the tops of the carbs, the one gold circle to the right is the rear carb, and the other one at an angle hidden by hoses is the front carb.

Starting with the rear carb, remove the four screws on the top of the carb. being very careful as these screws are torqued down very tight and susceptible to stripping out. I replaced them on the rear carb with 4mm x 10mm allen head screws, on the front with 5mm x 10mm.  There is a long spring under the top of the carb, be careful not to have things flying out. The black rubber gasket and the tube the spring goes  into is the vacuum slide. Pull it straight out, making a note of how the gasket is aligned, being careful not to tear it.

 Once you have the slide out, you can see into the throat of the carb. T he slide is a tube of aluminum with a rubber gasket on top, and the jet needle on the bottom. The jet needle is held in by two screws inside the tube. Caution: These are just as soft and tight as the screws holding the top on. If they get stripped, as the last one I was doing did, you'll have to try a very sharp punch to get them to break loose. Once you get the needle out, be sure to note how the washers and spring are on the needle, as you'll use two washers and the spring again. The jet kit instructions have a good diagram how to put  the new needles together. Use the included drill bit to drill out the hole at the bottom of the slide, the off center hole. The other hole is already  larger than the drill bit. Now, put the new needle and assembly back  into the slide. Use one of those small claw-like tools that come in a cheap computer tool kit to get the screws started in the bottom of the slide, otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy. (Thanks Sam, for the idea!) If you don't have one of those kits, shell out the 5 bucks and get one. It's worth it just to save your sanity. Put the slide back in the top of the carb, making sure the rubber gasket is back in the groove, and put the long spring back in the slide. Bolt the top of the carb back on with the new allen  bolts, be sure to get all the tube and wire holders back in the same place.

 Do the same thing to the front carb as you did to the rear one. Be careful to note al the hose and wire loom and other various things attached around the screws on the front one, there are a bunch.

The kit also includes a drill bit and large sheet metal screw to remove the plugs over the idle mixture screws.  I never found the plug or the idle mixture screw. It hasn't seemed to matter yet, but I imagine the bike is still lean at idle. If I find it, I'll update this page.

Now, reconnect the tank making sure you have the right hose on the right nozzle, turn the shutoff valve a quarter turn so that it is halfway between the endpoints (This is what caused me a load of grief!), and reinstall the tank. Put the seats back on, and fire it up. Your're done!

The look on my face after I figured out what I had done that made the bike die a few blocks from my house! Make sure you get the fuel shutoff valve on the bottom of the tank turned back on!