good ideas for sealing an air leak

Hello all, i have an 82 550 maxim that after a while the rpms start rising at idle. ofter 20 minutes or so of riding my idle goes from 1500 to 2500 up to 3000. i am tryinig to determine the problem by taking things out of the equation. i figure its a timing issue or an air leak. i though i would make sure its not an air leak then move on from there. so,... could i run a thin bead of silicone around my intake boots and pod filters to ensure a good seal or is this a terrible idea? Thanks

 

Just drown them in brake cleaner, WD-40, something like that while it idles, off choke...if there's vacuum leaks, it'll suck it in and the idle speed will respond to it instantly...do one at a time, and you'll find your leak, if you have one.

 

-it's not a timing issue unless you have the wrong TCI unit or yours is having a problem.

-may or may not be an "air leak" it may also be a result of having the pod filters. What tuning adjustments have you made for the pods?

 

Carb choke works well, I know some people show use propane for the safety aspect (hot manifolds, etc.) however make certain that your linkage is returning to the idle stop.

 

when i put the pod filters on and pulled my mufflers off i had the carbs upjetted. i did not do that myself so i cant be specific. However to respond to the timing issue i did just replace the TCI unit. If it is an adjustment issue how does the fact that it takes 20 minutes for the rpm's to go up play into this. also when i come to a stop, i swear the rpm goes down when i push the rear break lever ( call me crazy) ill be sitting at a light with the RPMs racing and ill press firmly on the rear brake and it will calm a little. Someone explain that.

 

Sure you induced a slight load on the charging system.

 

Ding!

 

the only time experience the idle problem is when the carbs are out of sync. although nowhere as bad as your problem.

 

Think about this. I fought and fought the same issue. Bike starts and runs fine, but after warming up, creeping idle, up and up. Annoying. I pulled and cleaned the carbs,,,twice. Bench synch, then synch. This went on for a year until I finally got the chance to do the step I was skipping. Idle mixture adjustment. I bought a colortune, and within 10 minutes of making adjustments, the engine was purring, and the idle was sweet.

Two of my mix screws were WAY off, they ended up needing to be 5 1/2 turns out. To compensate for the low mix on those two (for example), I (you/anybody), would have to turn up the idle adjustment screw,,, and allow MAIN JET fuel and air in to keep the bike at idle. (Thanks Rick for pointing that out in some thread a while back). But in my case, only on two cylinders. This didn't show up on normal synch for me. That's why it boggled me.

Before I did this, the plugs looked OK, a little lean maybe and the synch was good, so I was banging my head against the wall. I still have a ways to go with my bike, but it makes for such a pleasurable ride when you don't have to worry about the high idle, and people looking at you funny waiting at intersections.

 

Yanni:

"IDLE" is within 900 -to- 1100 RPM's

Above 1200 isn't IDLE any more. That's "Throttle"-added.

Bench Sync the Carbs using a Strip of 3X5 Card.
Get the Throttle Plates to be able to Close.

Make the Bike IDLE on the Air-Fuel Supplied by Pilot Mixture Screws > alone.
Don't give the Carbs any way to Cheat more fuel into the mix causing a situation that runs-up the Engine Speed that's difficult to control.

 

carb shaft seal leak(s)
Sometimes will not show up untill they have warmed and a bad
one doesn't expand any more to the desired seal point.

 

Because that's how long it takes for the bike to completely warm up and start reacting to still being slightly out of tune.

Besides create a bit of a tuning headache, pod filters tend to accentuate any imbalance. If you want a pod-equipped bike to run even halfway right, everything else has to be PERFECT. You're still out of balance; either vacuum-wise or mixture wise.

How did the carbs get sync'ed?

 

Mine too creeps up at the start, but my problem is in the choke shaft. It doesn't come back to shut it off. I tried to adjust it, but only works when I push it down by hand from both sides.
Need carb cleaning, but just want to get by this fall till the cold weather starts up. Then I will have more time for it.

Fitz, if you remember the problem I had with the starter clutch ? Now with this cooler weather she starts good. First try or second. Still hoping don't have to split the case.

 

Yanni did you try lubing the throttle cable yet it could be as simple as that

 

I defintely want to follow this thread. My Maxim-X has the same symptom. Maybe not the same problem but the same symptom. I've looked and looked for a leak but so far nothing. I'm just nursing it along until this winter when I can hopefully get to it in greater detail.

 

SCIENCE 101

it's a given that ANY engine will run differently after 20 minutes of warmup. cold engines require a richer air/fuel mixture then warmed up engines require.

if you don't use the choke, per say. the engine may idle but it will be a rough idle. u ntill it's warmed up.

 

Let's see how close you are to being anywhere near Tuned.

Pull the Plugs.
Line them up 1, 2, 3, & 4
Business-ends close together. Good light.
In FOCUS.
We need to see the the Plugs --> Center Electrode Ceramic's.

Post the pic sized so that I don't have to roll down the window and reach-over and get the Speaker to hang on the window.

 

ROFL RICK.