First bike modification -- it runs now but runs high on idle and dies with throttle

At each step when I think something is achieved, something else is wrong. This is a 1982 XJ650 that sat for about 2 years and before that was run pretty rarely by the previous owner. It just wasn't right style wise, had suspension problems and needed a major servicing. We live in an isolated area and finding bikes, mechanics and parts is challenging. My husband suggested fixing it ourselves and modifying it to my style.

So, manual purchased, back end cut off, brat seat put on, changed the handle bars, pod air filters, changed brake cables, clutch cable, throttle cable, springs, new fork seals, rewired and cut out most of the relays, still waiting to get a blade fuse box but am making due with the old one for now. Cleaned the spark plugs and checked the gap but it will take a few months for new ones to ship over.

Finally, tried starting it. It did run before ... now the idle, with full choke, seems high and when you touch the throttle it dies. I've been reading and the below is what I am thinking of doing. Am I missing something?

1. check throttle cable and make sure it is not too tight
2. adjust idle speed
3. check air leaks
4. do the jets need to be redone with the pod air filters? Can the jets just be adjusted?
5. If it ran before, is there any reason to balance the carb?

thanks -- all help appreciated!

 

These CV carbs don't run on pods. Period. Some people say they can get them right, but I've never had that experience. It doesn't have to do with lean or rich, it has to do with evenness of airflow. With CV carbs the two outer carbs help the inner carbs with a more even airflow and vice versa. You're either looking at riser carbs if you want to run pods, or, put the airbox back on for these carbs.

 

Did you save the factory airbox, or at least keep the rubber parts (boots) that connect the airbox to the carbs?
If you have the airboox boots then you can use them between the carbs and the pods to smooth the airflow. You will still need to rejet, but you'll get pretty close to the performance that the engine would have in the stock configuration.

Some reading material for you:

http://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/success-stories-of-pods-and-4-into-1-exhaust.29381/

This link covers a lot of important items; carb info begins 1 about 1/4 of the way down, and jetting for pode is covered: http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/

If the carbs were off for cleaning then they should have at least been bench synched and the idle mixture screws set to 2 1/2 turns out as a baseline for tuning.

Typicaly when pods are used without rejecting, the bike will idle well and run OK (ish) but have a bog in hte midrange. Your symptoms are telling me that there is something else wrong.

 

Spent much of New Years reading -- thanks for the links. I hope to retackle the problem again today! Will look for other causes of the problem with the bike cutting out with throttle.

 

Carbs all clean and have read a bit about pods, but I don't think this is the issue anymore or at least not the main one -- the front of the exhaust heats up with seconds of starting and she will not run without the choke on. As soon as you hit the throttle she dies. It sounds like one spark is off and I will fix this before starting again, but not sure if that would explain all of the issues. Any ideas of what else to check?

 

So, when I cleaned the carbs the first round, I left the prime jet alone because one of them was damaged and could not be removed -- someone went at it previously and half the top is missing. Now I want to change the jets -- any idea of how best to get it out?