Month: June 2016

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It seems that everyone today has discovered a way to earn good money online or even a full-time living that would make the big business men of the outside world jealous. So, you've decided that it's to time to catch up in the race and take your big slice of the pie too. (Why not? Even eighteen year old teenagers are doing it.) Determined to find your path of online success you scoured the net and bumped into a rather attractive term called "Drop Shipping"; an easy way to start selling products on eBay or an online store without worrying about stocking or shipping, and now you're itching to try it out. But let me stop you here. Before you make the leap and start drop shipping with the first company you found on Google, you should take a minutes time to learn who this drop shipper really is. Of course you know by now what a drop shipper is, but the question you need answered is who the drop shipper is. Is he a manufacturer? Is he a wholesaler? Or is he a middle man? To understand who your drop shipper is, you need to know how the Supply Chain works.

The Supply Chain starts with a Manufacturer – the person who produces the merchandise from raw materials. Let's imagine there is a demand for hiking boots in a city called Hikers Top. A Manufacturer will notice that demand and begin manufacturing a large bulk of hiking boots from raw materials like leather, cloth, rubber etc. Now, since the Manufacturer is so caught up in finding raw material supplies for production and busy running his factory, he does not have enough time or money to put up a store in Hikers Top and sell his boots directly to the public himself. So he looks for a Wholesaler who will purchase his hiking boots in large volume bulk for, let's assume, $ 50 a case (one case = 12 pairs of boots). This price is the Manufacturer's Wholesale Price.

However, this Wholesaler will not sell the hiking boots directly to Hiker Top's public either. He is a Distributor who will distribute the hiking boots to numerous Retailers. He is the person who links the Retailer with Manufacture. This Distributor does business with one or many Retailers who have shoe stores in Hikers Top city. A shoe store Retailer will buy truck loads of hiking boot cases from the Distributor (Wholesaler) for, let's assume again, $ 100 a case. The Distributor makes a profit of $ 50 per case.

Now the shoe store staff will unpack each pair of hiking boots from the cases and display each pair to sell for the price of $ 20 a pair. The Retailer sells thousands of hiking boots to Hiker Top's public because it was just what they were looking for and they love the boots. The Retailer makes a nice profit of $ 140 per case bought from the Distributor ($ 20 x 12 boots in a case = $ 240, minus $ 100 which he paid for every case). The hiking boots reach the end-customer and everyone in the supply chain gets what they were looking for.

These are the basic components of a typical supply chain. (There may be more people in the real world that come in between, but you get the picture). Anyone of these "links" in the chain can be your drop shipper, but how do you know which is which? Typically, there are two types of drop shippers:

1.Aggregators
2.Manufacturers and distributors

As someone wanting to sell on eBay or an online store, YOU are the Retailer – the third link in the supply chain who sells products to the end-customer. Obviously, you will supply your products from either the wholesaler or directly from the manufacturer. You may realize from the above example that manufactures and wholesalers by nature sell merchandise in bulk, but, since the development of e-commerce many manufacturers and wholesalers have begun to offer drop shipping services to small businesses.

Alas, these kind of REAL drop shippers are tough to find. That is why a new "link" found its way in the supply chain, that is, the aggregators. Aggregators put up sites and show hundreds of thousands of products you can pick from through their virtual inventory. I say "virtual" because they do not actually have those products stocked in their physical warehouse. They merely find a bunch of real wholesalers offering drop shipping and make an arrangement with them. They are in effect the middle man. As a retailer looking for products to get drop shipped you can come to the aggregator's site, choose any number of products you want to display in your e-store, and sell them to your customers. You then buy the product from the aggregator and it takes care of the shipping and handling. These aggregators are not scammers; they just make the tough job of getting hold of real drop ship wholesalers easy for you and charge you for the service, while also offering some added value.

Now that you know that a drop shipper may either be an aggregator (middle man) or a real manufacturer or wholesaler, the question is which type of drop shipper to choose? Up till now it may seem clear that if you source your products from an aggregator you know that he is NOT the real wholesaler, but rather a middle man, so he will naturally mark up the price for the merchandise. But if you are lucky enough to find a real wholesaler who is willing to drop ship for you, or moreover, a drop shipping manufacturer, you will get a more competitive price for your particular merchandise. You will acquire a price that is closer to the wholesale price (of course, there are other constraints in drop shipping that makes it nearly impossible to get a true wholesale price even from a real wholesaler.)

I think now you will be asking yourself: Why would anyone drop ship his products from an aggregator (middle man) when you can find a better price from real wholesalers? The answer, as I said before, is that it is significantly hard to find a manufacturer or real wholesaler who will drop ship for a small home business. That does not mean there are only a small amount of true drop shipping companies. There are plenty manufacturers and wholesalers that do drop shipping, but they are hard to find in simple free Google searches because they normally do not advertise their drop shipping service like aggregators do. That is why you need the help of "product sourcing sites" like World Wide Brands or SaleHoo that help you connect with real drop shipping companies. If you wish to pass over the aggregator and get a more competitive drop shipping price by directly connecting with the real wholesaler, then taking assistance from sites like SaleHoo and World Wide Brands is a smart way to do it.

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Source by Huzefa Saifuddin

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Shoes or not shoes … it's totally up to you. I would suggest that you start wearing shoes if you plan to do performances in the future. Would be kind of funny if you got a performance in a stadium and performed bare feet =) It is a bit different to juggle bare feet and with shoes.

What kind of shoes are best then? The easiest guideline I would give is that the shoe should be sort of flat and at the front (where your toes are) it should not be hard at all, no sole attaching there etc … totally soft. You want to feel the ball! Also if it's hard and edgy in the front the bounce can be kind of odd sometimes.

The next thing to think about it the sole … if you move on to more advanced tricks you want to have a sole that allows you to juggle with your soles (soccer boots sucks when it comes to sole tricks). Personally I prefer turf shoes because one you freestyle on concrete you will wear the sole out, and a turf sole lasts longer. You might find it a bit harder to do sole juggles with turf shoes … but it's all about practice. Also after a couple of weeks of practicing there is almost nothing left of the studs.

A lot of people prefer indoor shoes though. They are great but as I mentioned above, they does not last for as long and they are as expensive as turf shoes. So I would go with turf. Futsal shoes is starting to get very popular but since a lot of them have a rather thin sole they last even shorter. But they are really great, they are very light and you can really feel the football when you're juggling. I would like to recommend "Nike First Touch" if you would like to go for a turf shoe. They do the job for me and I really like them. At one point I bought 4 pairs so I knew I had new ones when it was time to change.

You might also wonder how long a shoe lasts for … well, if you only freestyle indoors they last for a long time. If you freestyle on concrete you will wear them out. How long they will last depends how much you freestyle. But to give you some guidelines, if you freestyle for around 2h a day they will last for around 3 month.

I hope you know a bit more about shoes for football freestyle now!

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Source by Rickard Sjolander

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Every time we go to a sports shop for a football boots purchase we think of the materials, the features, the price, and the brand. Over the years there has been a significant increase in the number of football equipments specifically the football foot gears. Needless to say, there are brands that still stand high among the rest. These brands have already established their name in the sports industry that marketing only plays a small role in their ever growing profit. Here are some trivia about the major players in the sports equipment manufacturing industry.

Adidas, a German-based sports apparel manufacturer that specialises in sports footwear like football boots, bags, shirts, watches, eyewear, and other sports and clothing related goods is the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world. Adidas' revenue for 2009 was listed at € 10.38 billion and 2008 € 10.80 billion. Many thought that Adidas is an acronym for "All Day I Dream About Soccer" but is actually formed from "Adi" a nickname for Adolf, and "Das" from "Dassler". Adolf Dassler is the founder of Adidas and registered the company on August 18, 1949.

Puma, another global brand known for their football boots originated in Germany. There are more things in common between Adidas and Puma aside from the range of products they manufacture. Their founders are actually brothers who used to work together in producing sports footwear. They established a company together producing and selling the same. In 1948, the brothers split their business because of a growing rift between the brothers. The original name of Puma is Ruda – from "Ru" in Rudolf and "Da" in Dassler.

Nike is the world's top manufacturer and supplier of athletic shoes like football boots, sports apparel, and sports equipment. The original name of the brand was Blue Ribbon Sports and was founded on January 25, 1964. It officially became Nike in 1978 and was named after the Greek goddess of Victory. The brand is famous for its slogan "Just do it" and its Swoosh logo. The founders of Nike were a track athlete and his coach – Philip Knight and Bill Bowerman respectively.

Another strong competitor among the sports apparel global brand is Asics. Their footwear is ranked among the best in the world. Asics is actually the acronym of the Latin phrase "anima sana in corpore sano" which translates to "a healthy soul in a healthy body" or "a sound mind in a sound body". The company was established on September 1, 1949 under the name panmure Co., Ltd by the founder Kihachiro Onitsuka.

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Source by Michael J. Parker

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but to remain safe. You would not play football without a helmet and proper padding or box without gloves and mouth guards. Barrel racing is no different. Having the proper equipment keeps you and your horse safe and performing to the best of your abilities.

Your barrel saddle is the most important piece of equipment. Without a proper fitting saddle, you and your horse can become sore. Make sure you use a saddle that fits your horse's back and your seat correctly.

The next piece of equipment that can make or break a barrel run is the bit. Having the correct bit means your horse responds to your slightest move of the reins, the bit fits good and does not pinch his mouth and allows him to make a great run. Most barrel racers keep an assortment of different types of bits in their barn. One bit is not going to be the best for every horse and some horses need different bits for different situations. Some barrel racers use one bit for training, one for exercising, one for competition and another for pleasure riding. This all depends on the horse and what kind of bit he responds to. Most barrel racers will go through many bits before finding the perfect bit for their horse.

Boots are a must-have accessory when running barrels. Your horse's legs take a lot of stress running and turning hard. The right kind of boots can absorb some of that stress, reducing the wear on his legs. Front boots can also keep your horse from cutting himself with his rear legs when turning. Many barrel horses receive injuries to tendons and ligaments on their front legs from clipping themselves with the back hooves. Some do this while running, but most do it in the turns around the barrels. Rear boots protect the fetlocks from hitting the ground while setting and turning the barrel. Bell boots are not necessary for every horse, but are a good precaution. They protect the bulb of the front hooves from being stepped on or torn by the rear hooves.

Barrel racing reins are offered by many manufacturers and are available in many colors, but are all basically the same. They are short, round reins. Most have knots along each side for you to reach down and grab. These are the most popular barrel racing reins. Leather round reins can be used, but are more slippery than the knotted reins. Split reins are not used in barrel racing because one could get loose during a run and become very dangerous to a running horse.

Tie downs are used in barrel racing although some say it hinders the horse's performance by not allowing him to use his natural balance. Others say their horses turn better with a loose tie down because they can use it to balance. This is strictly up to you and your horse. Some horses can not be ridden without a tie down because they throw their heads around and do not watch where they are going. Try running the pattern with and without a tie down to see how it affects your horse.

Whips are another piece of equipment used by many barrel racers. From bats and crops to an over and under, almost every barrel racer has used a whip at some point. An over and under, a rope that is attached to the saddle horn, is the most popular type of whip for barrel racers. It can be laid over the thigh when making a run, always within reach between barrels and on the run home. The best way to determine if your horse reacts positively to a whip is to video you making a run with and without using the whip. You may not notice while riding, but from a video you can see many horses actually slow down when they are whipped.

Equipment for barrel racers is available in many different styles, colors and material. Make your choice based on what works for you and your horse before buying the latest fad.

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Source by Ron Petracek

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A clothing style worn by the members of the Goth subculture has become tantamount with Gothic fashion clothing, which stands for a definite style of clothing that prefers stark dark to extravagant colors.

Goth clothing features dark cloths such as dark velvets, dark fishnet, dark lace, dark gloves and dark leather shaded with scarlet. In order to put extra weight to Goth clothing, Goths dye their hair black and darken their lips, eye-lines and finger-nails.

Gothic fashion re-emerged in England during the early 1980s in the Gothic rock scene, which is a derivative of the Post-punk genre. But the original Goth subculture is believed to have flourished between 1200 AD and 1450 AD, when the outfits were more graceful, but simpler in cut than in the Romanesque period. More importance was given to forearms of the sleeves that were tight. Necklines were usually deep, while dresses were typically longer. Minimal trimmings were an important feature of Goth clothing of this period. But, with the passage of time styles kept changing quickly. By the 15th century, fabrics became stiffer. Padded doublets, leg-o-mutton sleeves, crisp pleat, tight belts were also distinguishing characteristics of Goth clothing in 15th century.

Gothic corset fashion has not lost its prominence even in the modern times. Gothic corset is piece of women clothing that shapes the body of a women like an hourglass, which is widely considered as flattering as well as aesthetic. This piece of clothing is an indispensable part of the Victorian and medieval costumes. Currently, the garment is more soft and convenient to wear than what it was in the Victorian and medieval period.

Gothic outfits include light natural fiber shirts with ruffles, short black trousers, dark wide-brimmed hats, accessories with dark umbrellas and silver ornaments. Pirate shirts and pirate boots gives an extra weight to Goth clothing. In the medieval era, pirate boots were used by sea bandits called pirates. These boots were usually strong enough to assist pirates in the adventurous acts during long sea voyages. Pirate shirts are generally loose fit, frilly and have drooping shoulders.

In winter Gothic coats keeps the wearer warm. The best Gothic coat is the one that covers the wearer from the head to the knees. Gothic boots are also very important to the Goth fashion. Gothic boots protect the user's feet from several dangerous places such as forests, rocks and the like by making the user stable in unstable places. Goth women generally wear boots with heel as high as possible, while men prefer flatted boots. Gothic boots are usually dark in color, but sometimes Goths can be seen wearing bloody-red boots.

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Source by Neeraj Kumar Chaudhary

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With so many shoe companies to choose from, it is sometimes hard trying to find one that makes high quality footwear. This should not be a problem if you get your shoes from Franco Sarto. This fashion label has developed a reputation for creating high quality shoes over the years. This article will highlight the footwear from this designer. It will look at why they are so popular, as well as touch on what people ought to expect.

When it comes to shoe options, Franco Sarto shoes are able to satisfy the cravings of women. You can find all different styles from heels, flats and boots. No matter the style you are looking for, there is an option available for you. The most popular style is heels and it is the company's best selling style of shoe. Many women go for this style, simply because of the way in which it is designed and how it looks on the feet. These shoes look really good and depending on the color, it is the perfect complement to whatever outfit you are wearing.

What sets Franco Sarto shoes apart from so many others is the fact that it is quality footwear. You will be able to get a variety of shoes that is crafted from the best materials out there. Leather is primarily used in the creation of the shoes and this is of the highest quality. With this leather, you end up with a shoe that not only looks good, but also has this expensive feel to it. This is definitely the way to go if you are looking for high quality shoes that are able to deliver outstanding style.

One thing that I sure you will appreciate about Franco Sarto shoes is the price. This brand is not expensive at all, especially for the quality footwear that you will be getting. None of the shoes, including boots are over $ 100. This is great, as you will be able to stock your closet with high quality footwear, at really low prices. This makes these shoes are an amazing deal and this is part of the reason why you need to own a pair.

There are so many different types of designer shoes on the market to choose from. This footwear is highly fashionable and one of the best out of the lot would have to be Franco Sarto shoes. This designer brand is able to deliver a variety of high quality footwear styles, some that are extremely popular. These shoes will fit any occasion and it is a must have product in any fashion lovers wardrobe. If style is your thing, then take it from us, if you buy a pair of these shoes, you will not be disappointed.

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Source by Janene Dalton

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Shoes have become an important part of our everyday lives. Shoes were originally designed to protect our feet from cold weather, sharp objects, and uncomfortable surfaces. The early version of the shoe is thought to be a sandal of some form. As man's knowledge of tools and the working of leather grew, so did the sophistication and quality of the average shoe. Shoes are shaped by the physical and economic environment of their surroundings. For example, the ancient Egyptians wore flip-flops woven from straw while the Dutch wore shoes carved from wood to protect their feet from damp marshy land they worked in.

With the passing of time shoes have become an integral part of daily lives. Shoes have passed on from being an item of luxury to an item of necessity. Fashion also played a role in the evolution of the shoe. The human psyche craves for an individual and unique identity. The nobility and upper classes saw shoes as an opportunity to fulfill this desire. The shoes got more and more extravagant. Cloth, velvet and tapestries began to be used. This was the birth of the shoe industry as we know it today. Today shoes are classified according to their use. They are casual and dress, work, sport and corrective.

All shoes fall in the casual category due to their characteristics. The differentiating factor is the purpose of the shoe. Casual shoes are designed and intended to convey an attitude of relaxation and informality. Casual shoe design has evolved with the passing time. Today's casual shoes resemble formal dress shoes in many aspects. The distinguishing factor is the color of the shoe. Casual shoes range from flip-flops to sneakers and boots. The materials used in the manufacture range from leather, canvas and rubber to the modern petrochemical derivatives like plastics and xylenes.

Formal dress shoes are of two varieties – laced and lace less. Traditionally they are made from leather and tended to be expensive. The use of plastics and modern manufacture methods has brought down prices. The upper classes still prefer leather over what they consider cheap plastic. Women's dress shoes may be a variant of pumps or sandals. The style of clothing decides the category of the shoe in case of women. Unisex shoes are a new product in the shoe market.

Sport shoes are specialized shoes designed and created to enable better performance in a particular sporting activity. Sport or athletic footwear is used in a number of sports like football, basketball, cricket, and track and field events. Climbing shoes are also a specialized type to footwear unsuitable to any other sport and even to walking due to its design. It is usually donned at the base of a climb. Basketball and tennis shoes have rubber soles to enable better grip on their respective courts. Sports like football, soccer, baseball and hockey use shoes with metal spikes on the under sole to give better grip for quick starts and stops. Hiking boots or trail boots are designed to support the ankle to prevent injury and to give good grip on rocky surfaces.

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Source by Bernard Huff

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If you have ever thought about climbing Mount Everest then it is very likely that you will know all about the term Summit Fever. Many people have described it as an anticipation to reach the top of the mounting disregarding safety, and ethics, among other things. However, is Summit Fever a real thing? Or is it just a myth that was created to explain the actions of some climbers over the past couple of decades? Well, there are several theories that explain the so called Summit Fever.

There have been many examples of where Summit Fever has been mentioned in the media over the past couple of years that definitely do not paint the climbers in a positive light. For example, if you have read up about Mount Everest then you will probably have heard about Green Boots Cave. The reason this area of ​​the Death Zone on Mount Everest is called this is because there is a body of a climber in this area who has been nicknamed Green Boots, because of his luminous green climbing boots.

Several years ago there was a story running about come climbers who had come across Green Boots, which of course, they were already expecting to do. However, when they reached Green Boots they discovered what they thought was another corpse. However, it was actually a climber who was still alive, called Sharp. The climbers and the Sherpa decided that there was nothing that they could do for Sharp as he was past saving, and they continued on their way up to the top of Mount Everest. Several more climbers also came across Sharp, but still continued up the mountain in the aim of getting to the top. However, this raises several questions.

Why did not they put a halt to their expedition and try to get help for the stricken climber? He had no sleeping bag, and no radio to call for help himself. This is one of the cases in which Summit Fever has been mentioned. Another is the case of a young woman who although she knew that she was in trouble, carried on up the mountain anyway. Other climbers have said that Summit Fever was the cause of her death. There are several things that have been mentioned as to why these climbers did what they did, even though it cost them their life, or someone else's life.

Some people have suggested that it is in part due to the fact that the cost of climbing Mount Everest is thousands of pounds, which makes the climber want to achieve what they came there to achieve. Others have said that climbers do not want to return as a failure. Whatever the reason, Summit Fever certainly raises questions about the ethics of mankind, and also the common sense. Surely if these climbers knew that they were in danger, or that someone else was in danger then they would have done something about it to prevent anything bad from happening? Apparently not.

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Source by Colin Wallace

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I get asked about Carburetor Cleaning regularly both from readers and from friends offline. So I've decided to write a definitive guide for cleaning carbs the RIGHT way. So put your tools down for a minute, grab a beer, and give this a read. You might just save yourself a lot of headache and sweat.

Carbs come in many shapes and sizes. Single carbs, dual carbs, racks of 3, 4 or 6, V racks, carbs with ticklers, carbs with accelerators, carbs with asynchronous designs, and carbs that operate vertically. While working on some carburetors is more difficult (due to design) than others, they all share the same basic components, and the process of cleaning those components is generally identical.

BEFORE YOU START

Make sure that dirty carbs are actually your problem. Lots of things can make a bike run poorly or not start. Weak battery, corroded electrics, old spark plugs, bad timing, low compression, mis-adjusted valves, dirty air filter, and plugged exhausts can all cause poor running. I'll write an article eventually on how to diagnose poor running conditions shortly, but for now – lets just deal with the carbs.

OK, SO YOUR CARBS ARE DIRTY

Once it has been determined that the carbs are the problem it's time to get to it. Some racks of carbs are easier to remove than others. If you're working on a newer model bike the rubber boots from the airbox to the carbs and the manifold boots from the carbs to the motor should be relatively soft and pliable. On older bikes however this is rarely the case.

First remove the fuel tank, seat, and side covers. Depending on your model of bike other parts may need to be removed too. For many single cylinder bikes the carb can often be removed without removing any body work at all.

The bike below is a 1983 Yamaha XJ750 Seca with 4 inline Hitachi carburetors

You'll want to loosen the circle clamps on all of the rubber boots. Sometimes I'll even take them all right off (carefully, without bending them too badly) so that they are not in the way.

Inspect the airbox. On many bikes it is bolted in place to tabs on the frame. Remove those bolts and try to create as much space as possible for the airbox to pull backwards.

Next, put the bike on it's centerstand and straddle it facing forward. Put your right hand on the right-most carburetor and your left hand on the left-most carburetor and get ready to sweat. Sometimes you'll be able to pull the carbs straight backwards nice and easy, but that is pretty rare. I usually end up rotating them up then rotating them down as best I can while pulling backwards furiously. This can really take some work and time, especially if you've never done it before. In real extreme cases where you simple can not get the carbs to pull backwards out of the manifold boots I have a couple tips. These tips should only be used in extremely difficult cases when you have been struggling for an hour and simple can not get the carbs to pull backwards out of the manifold boots.

Tip 1: Ratchet Straps – This is sort of a last resort, but it has worked without fail for me when I'm pooling sweat on the garage floor and the carbs are not budging. Wrap a ratchet strap around one of the outer carbs and put the hooks somewhere on the rear of the frame. Then slowly ratchet the carbs right out of the boots. Be careful not to pull them too cockeye'd or you could damage the boots. Attach a second ratchet strap to the other side if necessary. (Note: you can do this in the opposite direction to force carbs back into the boots once they are clean.)

Tip 2: Full Pull! – You should do this before you do the ratchet strap method above. Sit down on your butt along one side of the bike. Wedge one of your feet up between the forks and the front fender, then put both hands on the same outermost carb and PULL PULL PULL! This might not work so well if you're short! Ha.

Ok, So The Carbs are pulled back

Chances are the airbox boots are all crammed up now. Do your best to rotate the carbs up and out from the boots and pull them out one side of the bike. Sometimes it's easier to pull the carbs out one side than the other, so have a look to see if there are frame elements, motor elements, or hoses that may block the carbs from coming out on one side.

Also keep note of the throttle cable (s) and choke cable (if there is one). Now may be a good time to loosen the nuts that hold them in place and disconnect them.

Struggle just a couple more minutes wriggling the carbs out the side.

Ok, You have the carbs off the bike

Make sure you brush off any loose dirt or grime, then flip the carbs over and remove the screws from the corners of the carburetor. Some carbs will not have bolts in the corner and instead have a wire latch over top which can just be forced over.

Remove the bowls.

If the carbs are real gummed up the insides might look like this:

It's obvious that these carbs are all clogged up. Some carbs might not look so bad, some might be a lot worse. It's always a mystery what will be inside the bowls.

Now it's time to remove the floats. It's generally a good idea to drench everything in carb cleaner (available at any autoparts store). Sometimes the pins will practically fall right out, sometimes they'll be so stubborn you will not think they'll ever come free. But they will! Carefully push on the pin from either side. Sometimes a nail and a gentle tap from a hammer is helpful. ** BE CAREFUL **, using force to remove a stuck float pin can break off the pin tower. If they are really stuck and you can not seem to work them free here are a couple tips.

Tip 1: Heat – Adding a little flame to the float pin towers can help. ** Do not Burn Down Your Garage !! **

Tip 2: Pliers – Using pliers to gently clamp the end of the pin and push it through has worked well for me in the past. ** Do not break the towers !! **

Once the float pin is out you can remove the floats, the float needle, and unscrew the float jet screen.

Set everything aside. Next remove the main jet, pilot jet, and idle jet (if there is one). They should come out easily with a flathead screw driver.

Set them aside.

Next flip the carburetors back over and remove the caps. Underneath the caps is a rubber diaphram with a spring. Sometimes the caps have a tendency to shoot off the top, so be very methodical when removing the screws. Other times the cap tends to stick down until you start to pry at it, then it shoots off, again, just be cautious and do not loose any parts.

Next you'll want to gently pull the slides up out of the carburetor body. You can gently pull on the rubber diaphrams, but be very careful not to tear them. If they do not come up easily stick your finger into the carb intake and push the slide up with your finger. You can also gently pry it with a screw driver (gently). If it does not want to budge do not force it. Instead finish reading this article and pay attention to the boiling tips further down.

Now your carbs should be pretty well emptied out. If the throttle on the bike moved fluidly and smooth there is little reason to do much to the carb bodies themselves. However, if the trottle was real sticky or frozen there are a few things you can do to free it up. Sometimes just drenching all the throttle components on the carbs and letting it soak is enough, other times it is not. I generally try to break racks of carbs apart. It is not often necessary and can be confusing to put everything back together in the right places. Also, the little rubber connector hoses and o-rings have a tendency to crack or leak if you mess with them. If you can not work the throttle back and forth until its smooth have a look at the boiling tips further down.

Keep it Neat

Organization pays off.

Clean the Main, Idle and Pilot Jets

Hold each jet up to the light and see if you can look through it. The idle and / or pilot jets have extremely small holes so make sure you are looking through them straight. If you can see through the jet it is not clogged. There could be a little gunk built up around the edges so spray them down with carb cleaner and let them sit a bit.

If you can not see through the jet it is clogged and needs to be cleaned. Always try the easiest things first. Here's an ordered list of a few things you can do to clean the jet.
Blow through it. – Rarely works, but hey, who knows.
Compressed air. – Force 100 pounds into it. Works occasionally. Make sure to hold the jet tightly so it does not go flying across the garage. You might put the jet back into the carb body to hold it in place for this.
Soak it in cleaner. – When I first started cleaning carbs I thought carb cleaner would be the magic answer. It is not. In fact, I hardly ever use carb cleaner any more, because it simply does not do a very good job of anything but removing varnish from the bowl and slide. But try this.
Poking it through. – Collect a few different diameters of needle like objects. A wire from a steel bristle brush works well, a bristle from a broom works well, a baby pin, small sewing needle, etc. Very gently try to poke it through the jet. If you are using a metal needle use caution, brass jets can scratch and deform easily.
Boiling! – This works better than anything. Toss the jets into a pot of boiling water and let them bounce around for a couple minutes. When you pull them out blow some compressed air through them and you'll most likely be good to go.

Some idle jets can be real tricky and never seem like they'll be cleaned out. . . Just keep working at it, I've never met a jet that could not be cleaned.

Cleaning the Choke and Air Mixture Screw

Air mixture screws have a tendency to strip or break. If the carbs were real gummed up you might find that the air screws are stuck. Do not force them, if they do not want to come out, just leave them for now. It is fairly rare that these screws will need to be cleaned because they are above the float level. If you can get them out just wipe them down with carb cleaner and spray some through the jet.

Cleaning the Slide and Needle

These are easy to clean. Squirt them with a bit of carb cleaner, wd-40, or anything similar, then wipe them down with a rag. Once the varnish is gone they're good to go. Sometimes they get heavy varnish on them which I will scratch off carefully with a piece of plastic. Scratching the slide and needle is a BAD thing, use caution.

Cleaning the Carb Bodies

Use the same squirt and wipe method noted above. Most of the time the other pressed jets and passages in the carburetors will not be clogged. But if the bike has been sitting a real long time with squirrels in the airbox it is certainly possible. Us a compressor to blow some air into every passage you can see. Listen for the air coming out the other side. If no air compressor is available use a can of WD-40 with a straw attachment.

If some of the pressed jets are clogged it can be difficult to open them up. There are a few things you can do.
Carb Dip – Most autoparts stores sell carb dip. It comes in a can similar to a paint can and is a VERY harsh cleaning agent. Soak the entire carbs in this dip. This dip can eat at rubber and plastics if they are submerged for too long, so try and remove everything you can from the carb bodies before soaking them. Once you pull them out swish the carbs around in a bucket of water to clean off the excess dip, then hose them down with WD-40 to get rid of the water.
Boiling in Water – Not many people do this but it is by far the best way of cleaning carburetors. Dropping the carbs into a pot of boiling water will instantly free up stuck slides, throttle plates, and other frozen parts. It will also loosen the dirt and grime clogging up pressed jets and other passages. Just make sure to dry the carbs thoroughly with compressed air or the sun afterwards.
Boiling in Lemon Juice – There is NOTHING BETTER at cleaning carbs than a giant pot of boiling lemon juice. The acidity from the lemons eats through everything; gas varnish, oil build up, dirt, grime, etc. Sometimes I will not even bother doing anything but this – I'll just remove the bowls, remove the caps, then drop everything into the pot and let it sit for 20 minutes (rotate them a few times). The one caveat to doing this is that you'll want to wash the lemon juice off the carbs as soon as you pull them out. So have a bucket of water ready, or a can of WD-40 to hose them down. Also note that the acidity has a tendency to put a dull finish on the aluminum bodies of the carbs. This is not a problem in most cases, but if you must have everything shiny be prepared to do a little scrubbing and polishing afterwards. It may sound weird, but trust me, I just saved you LOTS of time. (Most dollar stores sell 1/2 gallon jugs of lemon juice, so buying a few gallons will only cost you $ 6. Plus you can put it back into the bottles afterwards and save it for next time.)

Cleaning the Bowls

This is pretty straight forward. Use any of the methods above to transform your varnished bowls.

Most carb bowls are simple, just clean them up and they are good to go. But I picked this Hitachi's for photos because they have a jet built into the bowl. You can see the 'fifth' hole along the edge of the bowl, that is actually a thin passage that extends to the bottom of the bowl. This is for the idle jet and is extremely important. If these passages are clogged, the bike will not stay running, period. Use the same poke, soak, and boiling methods outlined elsewhere in this article. Not all bowls have these passages, only some, if your's do not – good for you!

Once Everything is Clean

Now that everything is clean it's time to put it all back together. Take your time and make sure you put everything back where it came from. WD-40 is your friend. When screwing in the jets do not over do it, they only need to be seated and snug, do NOT use any force putting the carbs back together.

If the bowl gaskets got goobered up you can put a little RVT on them. So long as the float needles are still in good condition leaky gaskets should not be an issue. However, prudent carb tinkerers may want to order replacements if necessary.

Once the carbs are back together stuff them back into the bike!

Extra Notes
Rebuild Kits – This guide did not mention rebuild kits until now. Rebuild kits (consisting of new gaskets, jets, needles, etc) can be purchased for nearly any bike, both old and new. 95% of the time these are NOT needed. I have rebuilt enough carbs to block off main street, and only once have I used new parts. The ONCE!
Carburetor Adjustment – Carburetor adjustment, setup, jetting, and synchronizing is a whole encyclopedia waiting to happen. Those topics are not covered in this article, but I will address them in future articles.
Carburetor Polishing – External carb asthetics will be important to some, and not to others. Cleaning is all I am covering here, this will be addressed in the future.
Work Space – Make sure you have lots of space to keep organized. I also like to work on a wooden surface because it absorbs the spilled gas and cleaners rather than pooling.

That's it! You're Done!

I'll continue to write a couple more related articles about diagnosing carburetion issues as well as the proper way to adjust, jet, and tune your carbs.

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Source by Evan Fell

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There are as many different styles of clothing worn for line dancing as there are people who line dance.

When you're watching a movie on TV and they show some people line dancing, usually in some little cafe in the back of beyond, the women are usually wearing tight jeans, a belt, and a very fitted shirt with the buttons open half way down the front! The men will be dressed about the same, with their shirts buttoned all the way to their neck, and sometimes one of those little string ties, and almost always they will be wearing a hat, even indoors. Of course, they will all be wearing those nice, big heavy boots that they put on that morning to do their chores.

In Hawaii, the women who came to the classes where I took line dance instructions wore very short, twirly skirts, crop tops or fitted fancy t-shirts, tights or panty hose, and line dance boots, which are much lighter than regular boots and have a smooth sole so you do not stick to the dance floor. They almost always decorated their boots with a "boot bracelet", on one boot only, which sparkled when they danced.

The men, as a rule, dressed much the same as the men in the movies. The "George Strait" look was very popular. Actually, so was the "Collin Raye" look, and one of our dancers actually won a Collin Raye look-alike contest.

Of course, being in Hawaii, you would have people show up for class in shorts, tank tops, and "rubber slippers." They would soon discover that this just did not work for line dancing. Sometimes, they would just abandon their rubber slippers and try to dance barefooted, which was a little bit better, but they had to be careful for splinters in the wood floor. It made doing the line dance steps a bit awkward. Most of them, if they returned for another class, would at least bring the proper boots!

Sometimes I would wear a long, flowing skirt because I liked to dance "Waltz Across Texas" to Collin Raye's "Dreamin 'My Dreams of You" and I loved the way the skirt swirled when I twirled!

When the dance team performed in public, in the shopping malls, the parks at events or even PowWows, or at the resorts for the tourists, they had costumes they wore. The blouses of the women and the shirts of the men would all be the same. The women would add short skirts, tights, and boots to their "look" and the men would all wear jeans and big belts, boots, and hats. They all looked just great and very professional. A lot of times when they performed, they would have to pack a foldable wooden floor with them because it was impossible to dance on grass or asphalt parking lots. They even took a large flatbed truck to a shopping mall and danced above the crowd and then invited people up for line dance instructions. It was always a lot of good, clean fun!

No matter what they wore, everyone always had a good time and, if the event was in the parking lot of a shopping center, we all would go to Baskin Robbins afterward for some ice cream!

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Source by Renee Benzaim