Motorcyclecarburetorrebuild.com

[DaveBarbier]

Anyone use him?

He goes by either:
Motorcyclecarburetorrebuild.com
or
Carbjoy.com

I found this website and all seemed good. Spoke to the guy on the phone and he seemed knowledgeable on carbs. My rack wasn't rebuildable. Cracks and a lot of pitting. So I asked if he has a rack he could rebuild for me. Apparently he found one on eBay. Long story short it cost me about $650 and two months. (I payed him beginning of July and just got my carbs back this past Friday.)

But that's not all. The first time he sent me my carbs it was awful. They were dirty and a float was stuck with some sort of gummy adhesive. And that gummy-ness was all over the inside of the carb bowls and threads of screws. The picture doesn't do it justice.

In addition to the gummy-ness, one of the bowls had a small amount of steel wool still in it. From when he was cleaning them I assume.

Also, and this caused me to send the carbs back for him to fix it, was that he accidentally spilled Loctite down on one of the carb slides while Loctiting the choke butterfly.

I was upset and disgruntled but we spoke on the phone and he was very apologetic and said he'd fix them right away and ship them back, which he did. But when he had them he emailed me and he said he found a gouge on that loctited slide. And blamed me saying I could have used a screw driver to try and pry it free (which I never did.) I got them back in about a week and the slides were indeed free and bowls were cleaner. But going through them again and opening and removing the slides (because now I don't trust him) I find that he used a bent needle, and two chipped needle jets. He later said he's aware of the bent needle and chipped air jets but that they "will have no bearing on operation." I don't know enough to contest that, though. But it seems that it would alter the air flow dynamics. But I could be wrong. Even so...if you're rebuilding a set of carbs...you change out the broken parts. Kind of common sense, in my opinion.
All slides have this scrape on them.

This is the worst one, though:

You can also see the mouth of the inlet is dented. I knew of this because he sent me pictures before hand. He said it wouldn't be an issue. I'm not the professional so I trusted him, even though it looks like it'll slightly block the air jets. Or at the least make the pods I'm going to use not seal well. But he says they'll be fine.

All in all, he will rebuild your carbs and they probably will "work" but it's not what you pay for. You pay for a clean set with replaced compromised parts and maybe for some stainless allen head bolts. You don't spend all that money and then have to go and replace 7 parts and clean out an idle air jet...oh, I forgot to mention an idle air jet was clogged. 20 minutes, carb cleaner and compressed air took care of that.

Am I wrong here? Also, if you guys want to chime in if I should replace the slides with a good set off my old rack of carbs, that would be great. Not sure if it's ok to swap slides around from carb to carb. Or if the slides that look like the above picture is even a problem.

I'm not here to talk sh!t but I just want to be sure you guys think twice about using him.


---
1978 Honda CB550K

 

[SONICJK]

I would certainly replace the needle.
The slides should be fine, give those gouges a once over with some really fine sandpaper and call it good.
The chipped jets probably aren't an issue but you're right he should absolutely replace them especially for what he charged. I would also be quite unhappy about that bent carb body.

Who the hell "rebuilds" carbs for a living and doesn't have an ultrasonic cleaner or a soda blaster is my question?

 

[DaveBarbier]

Thanks Sonic. I posted this over in SOHC4 and some guys say the same as you and some say to just replace them with the good ones. Considering that these might not even be the matches slides for this rack anyway, I'm going to change them out for piece of mind. But I'll hold on to them and have them marked where they came from just in case.

I replaced the chipped air jets too anyway and the bent needle of course. I agree on the ultrasonic cleaner/soda blaster thing. If you had these in your hand the first time I got them you'd be blown away. But they did come back much cleaner the second time. No doubt. But not as spotless as he states. I still cleaned them up a bunch.


---
1978 Honda CB550K

 

[fury413rb]

$650.... WHAT?!?!?!

 

[xb33bsa]

650 is insane, that carb guy is a thief, and considering the work he should have his hands chopped off

 

[DaveBarbier]

$650.... WHAT?!?!?!

Yeah, there's a guy over on sohc4 that does beautiful work, so I'm told. Harisuluv is his handle, and he charges a little less depending on what has to be done. I assumed this guy did the same quality work and the price then matched up since he had to use a rack that he had. But all in all, dude, I wouldn't recommend this guy. I could have rebuilt them myself but I wanted them to be thoroughly cleaned and gone through by a professional so they'd definitely be good to go. Because I was having a hell of a time with my old set. It was horrible. But I just got screwed.

They seem good now, though. After I replaced a bunch of parts that he ruined from my old set.


---
1978 Honda CB550K

 

[xb33bsa]

650 is still way to hi i don't care if jeezus does the work

 

[DaveBarbier]

Hold on, I don't want anything misinterpreted. I didn't use Harisuluv over on SOHC4. He ACTUALLY does good work. This Carbjoy guy is the one who's hands should be chopped off, as xb33bsa so eloquently put it, haha.


---
1978 Honda CB550K

 

[MotoMadness]

Ouch. Should be $250 max with a ultrasonic cleaning, all new needles, jets and gaskets.

 

[crazypj]

Ouch. Should be $250 max with a ultrasonic cleaning, all new needles, jets and gaskets.

To do it properly will take a MINIMUM of four hours, probably more for an unknown set that probably haven't been used in years.
We charged 4 hrs labor for a four cylinder bike that was ridden in to workshop, closer to 6 hrs if it was brought in on truck/trailer
Realistically, it takes 1 hr per carb to check everything (except Mikuni VM style carbs - so simple it's about 30 mins)

They guy obviously doesn't have a clue, anyone can 'learn the script' to sound knowledgeable
That needle jet will affect fuel discharge, bent needle, he isn't paying much attention to what he's doing and should never have sent them back like that. Have you got your original set back off him? Even with cracks or corrosion they are still full of useable parts

 

[DaveBarbier]

I never sent him my old set of carbs. One had a cracked body and a lot of pitting all around, plus they were giving me problems, so just decided to start fresh. I have my old set and cannibalized them for the good parts to replace the broken/questionable ones in the rack he sent me.

They seem good now but time will tell.


---
1978 Honda CB550K

 

[crazypj]

Ah, that's good.
Seems like it was a pretty expensive learning experience, particularly as you more or less ended up re-building them yourself?
Posting about your experience may prevent someone else getting shoddy work done

 

[DaveBarbier]

That's exactly what I want out of this post. My goal isn't to never have anyone go to this guy. As far as I know he sells parts such as jets and floats etc. but just want to tell my story and have you guys think twice about using him. Expensive lesson, yes. But it also taught me a lot about carbs because after I saw his garbage work I ripped them apart and did a proper rebuild. But I was/am upset that I got taken advantage of and arguably robbed.


---
1978 Honda CB550K

 

[xb33bsa]

well usually when a person gets ripped off it is not so easy to remedy......
.but you know where the cocksucker lives

 

[DaveBarbier]

Ha, I'm thinking of a big DTT road trip. Then politely requesting him to give me a partial refund with dozens of people and their bikes behind me.


---
1978 Honda CB550K

 

[xb33bsa]

8)

 

[TheAccused]

As is usually the case with guys like this, they present half the story, told in the light of *just* their side. I just happened to come across this and did a bit of reading through our ticket system and stored emails. In the interest of fairness... something I haven't been given by Dave Barbier, I am adding a few things.

#1. Carbs were sent to me for rebuilding. The ones that Dave identified as "My rack wasn't rebuildable." It wasn't until I disassembled them, cleaned them and evaluated them...then advised him that there was no way that he became such an expert. Dave makes it sound like he got juked for "...about $650 and two months." What Dave conveniently didn't tell you was that my average turn-around time runs about 6 weeks due to the number of carbs I work on year-round, which Dave was appraised of in advance. He also seemed to innocently overlook the fact that it wasn't until after receipt of his carbs, waiting in the queue, disassembly, inspection, discussion with Dave that I had to order a replacement set from eBay, wait for those, disassemble them & clean them (extra work not charged) creating a rebuilt set from two sets. This was all done within about 2 months which is just slightly over the ESTIMATED turn-around Dave was given in advance and agreed to. I'd say the representation of all this is quite slanted and misrepresents the real picture that Dave knew and agreed to in advance. My website, my order form, my emails and my ticket system ALL emphasize that turn-around is not guaranteed for many reasons. This is a term of the contract and there are no secrets. If a customer doesn't like that concept, they have the option to shop elsewhere BEFORE they send their carbs. Again, Dave intentionally misrepresents the facts here. *shame on you*

#2. Dave wasn't happy with cosmetic imperfections inside the float bowl (which by the way, he didn't pay for). He paid for a FUNCTIONAL rebuild, not a premium one. Also known and agreed to by Dave in advance. Not to mention that what I had to work with was two sets of 35+ year old carbs, both of which had significant issues to begin with. I only remember now that the Loctite issue was true, (I do make mistakes on occasion in life which is why I have a warranty I stand behind, no questions asked). I asked him to return the carbs and they were fixed same day received and return-shipped at my cost. (Which Dave admits) The total was 459 rebuild + 160 replacement carbs + new jets + return shipping.

#3. Bent needle and chipped air jets. More exaggeration. Dave saw the pictures and approved the purchase in advance. As he rightly stated: "these carbs are hard to find" There was nothing returned to Dave that was non-serviceable. Dave was already squawking about costs (which were greatly exaggerated the way he represented the project). He was quoted 459 for a total rebuild which was honored. That included tearing down TWO complete sets of carbs and cleaning both sets, then cannabalizing what was available to make a good set. It also included the cost (no profit on my end) of purchasing a replacement set for him off eBay. I wasn't even paid for my time to find them and make it happen.

I had FORTY emails from Dave while his carbs were in my shop. Normally I *may* get 1 or 2 from a customer. This is in addition to the ticket system which is designed to keep track of any communication between myself and customer. Here are two of Dave's emails:

From: dave.barbier@me.com
Subject: Re: [#934129] Carbs - 78 Hon CB550K
Date: August 17, 2014 9:55:37 PM CDT
To: motorcyclecarburetorrebuild.com


Hi Elijah, wow those look beautiful! What size do you recommend for pilot jets? Yes, I am using pods and a 4-1 to replace the stock 4-4 exhaust. I can see the warpage on the number 3 and 4 carb inlets. Doesn’t seem to be an issue for me, and I’m sure you wouldn’t send anything out if you think it'll cause any problems.

My carb holders seem in really good shape. Soft and pliable but strong with no cracks.

I wouldn’t mind putting in the new pilot jets myself as long as I can find them online. If I can find the size you recommend then you can go ahead and ship them out.

Thanks,
Dave



On Aug 28, 2014, at 12:46 PM, MCR <motorcyclecarburetorrebuild.com> wrote:

Dave,

Please view the following and send me a confirmation that you have seen it and it meets your approval...

http://motorcyclecarburetorrebuild.com/Customers/Barbier/Report.htm

The carbs are boxed up (directly after making the Pre-Ship video) and the float bowl o-rings are laid on the front spigot of carbs.
You will need to remove the float bowls, verify the conditions, and install o-rings supplied.

They will go out UPS today if I receive your confirmation.

Sincerely,




From: dave.barbier@me.com
Subject: Re: [#934129] Carbs - 78 Hon CB550K
Date: August 28, 2014 5:47:51 PM CDT
To: motorcyclecarburetorrebuild.com

Ah, yes. That works. The videos look really good. Go ahead a ship! It might be too late for today but you can ship them tomorrow. That's fine.

Thanks . I can't wait to see these carbs. I'm really glad you fixed the issues. I'm very pleased.


And, as for all you "supporters" who simply hear a story impuning someone's integrity and gobble it like a rat swallows cheese... All I can say is the book I read daily says that a man who judges a matter before he has heard (both, all sides) it is a fool and is shameful.

Thankfully, I can at least put down some of the "other side" and left out facts. It's true, what they say. With some people, it doesn't matter how much you work or try to satisfy them. Some people simply can't be satisfied. I have attached before and after pictures of what was sent me by Dave and what was returned to Dave. The link above also provides video of the verified condition of critical components (such as floats, choke assemblies, throttle plates) that Dave approved before the carbs were returned to him.

 

[crazypj]

Did you mean slides or choke plate and not throttle plates?
You swapped carb body?
I make sure anyone who sends me carbs knows I only do them as a hobby, the time it takes to do carbs properly just isn't worth what you can realistically charge (eg, 'reasonable' set of CB750 SOHC carbs can easily take 8~9 hrs including on bike sync) I've spent over 12 hrs getting CB360 twin carbs re-worked and re-built (I deal with some particularly nasty carbs ;D )

 

[TheAccused]

Yes, it was meant to say choke plates. The original set of carbs had a couple un-serviceable bodies due to corrosion of the casting at the ends where the emulsion tubes screw into. (The tubes that house the jet needles and where the main jets screw into at other end)

And you are right. There is a considerable amount of time expended on doing these for a living as opposed to removing the bowl and jets, spraying some cleaner into holes and hoping everything will work out.

I offer premium and functional rebuilds and it always amazes me when (rarely) a customer such as this expects premium perfection while they only want to pay for functional service. I believe the pictures I posted as well as the videos bear out that a lot of time went into the restoration of these carbs and the "nit-picking" that was done after the fact (which had no bearing on operation) and after approving the work based on pictures and communication....says a lot about the real story. I can line up hundreds of satisfied customers who will gladly tell you what kind of work and service I provide. It seems inevitable that there are going to be people you simply can't satisfy regardless how reasonable you are or how much you try.

 

[crazypj]

I've also had 360 carbs that couldn't be repaired without it costing way more than a 'new' cleanish set.
Sometimes you just stay in touch and tell people the carbs are totally F'd up. I have used some nasty looking parts to get carbs working but all the necessary parts, pieces, threads, etc are correct sizes and internal drillings are 'clean'. I've only seen a few sets where the threads wouldn't hold emulsion tubes in place, they usually had the float pin posts rotted off so it wasn't possible to fix them (broken you can have lazer welded, rotted away - nothing can be done with out making a new carb)
The pics showed damaged internal parts, was that done by OP or did you fit the needle jets like that?