In last month's issue of American Iron Magazine www.aimag.com (on sale at www.greaserag.com if you need a copy) I shared how to change an old fashioned float for a new high-tech one. Here is the article without the photos.
NEW FLOATS FOR OLD BIKES
Surviving today’s gas blends
by Buzz Kanter
After less than one tank of today’s blended gas, my 1931 Indian Scout 101 refused to run properly. The 10-percent Ethanol blend served here in Connecticut had eaten away at the carburetor float. It reacted to the new fuel by swelling until it got stuck in the old Schebler carb bowl. I guess I should feel fortunate that this happened while on the road, and the float got stuck toward the high side of its travel, allowing enough fuel to flow into the carb to get me home -- albeit slowly.
This problem isn’t unique to vintage Indians, but is shared by many carbureted machines. Floats made out of the old materials lasted decades with traditional gas, but they are simply not holding up to the new fuel blends. Fortunately, we have people like Tom Cotton on the case. A retired chemist and avid vintage motorcycle enthusiast, Tom now offers us his high-tech durable float.
Tom also runs a small, vintage-oriented, specialty motorcycle shop, and has developed floats made with a solvent-proof, closed-cell material, which “even resists methylene chloride paint stripper” and “drilling holes in it cannot make it leak or log.” He currently offers individually hand-cut durable floats at $40 for Linkert and $50 for Schebler carburetors. He’ll sell you a new attaching pivot nut and screw, which are often discarded or lost if you are running a brass float, for an extra $5.
PROCESS
It’s a good idea to start by placing a catch can under the carb to hold any fuel that may leak out during the process.
Turn off the fuel tap in the tank and, using an open-end wrench, disconnect the fuel line from the carb.
Unscrew the nut under the float bowl that attaches the bowl to the carb body. Be careful, as the bowl will drop along with a washer and small spring.
Carefully unscrew the small bolt attaching the float to the tang inside the float bowl, and remove the old float.
Install the new float (I used a new bolt and nut purchased with the new float from Liberty). Do not bend the tang or damage the fragile new float. Make sure the float is level to the bowl and moves up and down easily.
Turn the float bowl upside down and measure the distance between the top of the float and the lip of the bowl. Ideally the distance on mine is 7/16”, but it was larger than that, so I took off the float and gently bent the tang slightly upward; then I remounted the float and remeasured until it was right.
Finally, I reinstalled the float bowl and fuel line. I turned on the fuel and took the bike out for a successful test ride. Now I don’t have to worry about the new gasoline blends putting me on the side of the road. At least not when riding this bike.
TECH - Replacing Old Floats 
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