Back to the store: https://redeye.ecrater.com/
Fits all North American 1500cc Honda Valkyrie, 1997-2003 GL1500C, CD, CT, CF
This tool is made of a stainless steel tube, with a stainless steel rivet attaching it to a brass handle. The handle is 13mm square, making it possible to use a 13mm open end wrench to get extra torque. The tool comes with a plastic sheath on it for safety.
Why would I need this?
Corroded pilot screws. This happens when salty water touches the brass pilot screw, producing a thick layer of copper oxide and lead oxide. This can happen from fog within a few miles of the coastlines of an ocean. Warm fog in the morning will condense on your slightly colder bike. This is why you should not camp out on Pismo Beach, where all the cool kids go. The East Coast and Gulf Coast of the USA are prime places for getting corrosion on the pilot screws. The West Coast isn't as bad, but on-the-beach is bad anywhere.
When the pilot screws are corroded, they can exceed the strength of the original Stubby Tool, due to its brass bit. The brass bit will round out at 5 in.lb. torque, when used on Honda Valkyrie, because the pilot screw's D shaped head is only 60 mils tall (0.060"). Thank you, Keihin, for making the pilot screws yet another point of planned obsolescence.
The new and improved Hella Stubby Tool has a stainless steel bit, which rounds out at 24 in.lb. when used on the Honda Valkyrie pilot screw. This is a marked improvement in torque. A typical adult male will hit the pain threshold in his fingers at around 6-8 in.lb. torque, when using the 13mm square handle of the Hella Stubby tool. This means you're not going to round out this tool by hand. For that, you need to use a 13mm open end wrench. The copper rivet is marginal for tolerating 24 in.lb. of torque, so Red Eye went to the stainless steel rivet.
On-Bike Adjusting
You need to lift up as you turn the tool, to keep the business end engaged with the pilot screw. The tool handle is 4 sided, so you can count faces with your fingers as you turn it: 9 faces equals 2.25 turns. This feature comes in handy if you're an old geezer like me: I can't see squat up close, but I can still count up to nine. :)
If you are trying to adjust on the bike, and you start getting up into the pain threshold for your fingers, it is time to pull the carb assembly off the bike and work on them on the bench.
On-Bench Adjusting (Loosening a Stuck Pilot Screw)
Step 1. Remove carb assembly and flip it upside down on the bench. Fuel runs out, so this is an outside job.
Step 2. Get a 13mm open end wrench to use on the 13mm handle.
Step 3. Get some paper towel and get a liquid brass cleaner. Lime Away is awesome. Cleaning Vinegar is OK, but slower. White Vinegar, Apple Vinegar, and other edible versions are even slower. Any of these cleaners is better than nothing.
Step 4. Dribble liquid cleaner onto Pilot Screw, letting it pool in the hole. First wrench CCW @ 12 in.lb., and then wrench CW @ 12 in.lb., and then mop the liquid out of the hole with edge of paper towel. CW means clockwise.
Step 5. Repeat Step 4 until the screw comes all the way out CCW.
Health Warning: Because the tool is made of brass and stainless steel, nobody can prove that it doesn't have lead in it. Lead is bad, so don't let anybody eat it or suck on it. Also, the tool is sharp. Keep the plastic sheath on the bit until ready to use.
