i just did mine this past weekend also, and yeah, removing the pump was the hardest part. what i finally did was:
- used a pair of vise grips and rubber hose to clamp the line coming out from the fuel filter.
- wedged a whole bunch of rags under the fuel pump to soak up gas.
- removed the vacuum line on the side of the pump that faces the front of the bike (little clip-type retaining clamp) and the hose leading to the carbs (screw-type hose clamp). soaked up as much fuel as possible.
- removed the top allen bolts holding the pump to the frame. couldn't get a socket or wrench to the nut attached to the bottom allen bolt, so i simply used a screwdriver and some leverage to 'retain' the nut while i eased the bolt off.
- removed the vertical cylinder belt cover. this cleared up enough space to get the pump out. also replaced the rags with fresh ones to make sure no fuel got on the belts.
i couldn't figure out the odd clip-type clamp holding the incoming fuel line on (wasn't sure if i would be able to reuse it after removing it), so i simply left that hose on while rebuilding the pump. seemed to work okay. the gaskets were STUCK on bad. had to use some 0000 steel wool to get the last little stubborn bits off. cleaned everytning off with some fresh fuel and compressed air, and replaced everything just like dj did. was equally confused by the missing 'little clear circles' in the rebuild kit.
everything's great now. i notice things are smoother, with less bucking and lurching, just like mark pointed out. i had some occasional odd high speed power loss that i'm hoping this fix will address also.
but i'm still confused by the whole matter...
how does replacing the little membranes (they are membranes right?) help the fuel pump perform. i could understand if there were a crack or vacuum leak or something, but how does an new piece of plastic work better than an old piece of plastic? and why was the original rubber on the split-chamber side replaced with a plastic doohickey like that used on the other side?