Dropped Bike, bike idles like its flooded, even after 48 hours

Hello everyone, I am as novice as it gets with regards to motorcycles and motorcycle mechanics but I am very keen to learn.

I picked up a 1982 XJ650RJC Seca (my first bike ever) and I love it and I am getting used to riding it. Like most new riders I dropped it (silver lining being I now know I can pick it up myself no problem) but ever since it isn't running right, it sounds and idles as though it is flooded.

I put all new spark plugs in it less than a week ago. I started it at lunch today and it still sounded gurgly, shitty idle. I took out the plugs and the upper plug and the side I dropped it on, which was the left side, was wet. I dried it off, checked that they were all still making proper spark and tried it again but it is still rough idling and it is as if the throttle has very little and delayed response. I also noticed a bit of fuel weeping on the carburetor on the side I dropped it on, kick stand side.

Could someone suggest what my next move should be to rectify this? It was running like a top before this happened, it sounds so cool when it does! I am really dying to get back out on it but I do not want to attempt it while it is chugging like it is currently doing.

Thanks in advance, I am looking to learn as much as I can, Haynes manual and all.

Mo

 

99.9 times out of a hundred it's carbs...
Why it would run rich? maybe the float valve has some bits from the tank wedging it open - is the carb flooding?

 

That was my thought. I was thinking I would try to open the drain plug. Problem is it is stripped out pretty bad so it may take a lot of swearing and bloody knuckles to get that one out. I have managed to drain 2 of the 4.
Mo

 

I am betting your pulling the carbs. While out you can take care of your drain plugs and maybe replace with some brass screws from a cheap carb kit.
Maybe a float got out of wack/bent during the drop.

Remember to heat gun/hair dryer the rubber boots to make it soft when removing the carbs.
Silicone grease inside of intake boots to make carbs slip back in easier and again, warm things up to make soft and you won't need the stupid tricks people come up with to shove the carbs back in.

 

I do not want to have to pull the carbs if i can help it. I am going to try my best to get that drain plug out, then maybe give a few gentle taps to see if I can loosen whatever my be affecting the float. If I cannot get the screw out I will be pulling the carbs. Again, thanks for the advice my friends.
Mo

 

I can say this. every once and a while, I had a carb that if you fully drained it, you better be tapping it w/ a soft end of a screw driver when you let fuel back into the bowls, or the float would get caught and flood. I must have opened that thing up 5 times looking for where it was catching and never figured it out. Bike owner just took the bike (I was helping someone out) and dealt with it.

 

Good advice. I did put seafoam carb cleaner in it when I got it and I thought maybe some crud inside is impeding the float. I tried gently tapping it with a dowel but to no avail. I ordered carb rebuild kit. I will do what I have to do to get that plug screw out without messing up threads on the bowl itself and then replace with fresh ones. I'm just dying tonget back on it and ride!
Mo

 

Does this mean you haven't pulled the carbs and cleaned them since you acquired the bike? You will have no idea what is going on inside if you don't break them down. Seafoam does not do it.

 

No I haven't. I live on an island in the north Atlantic so our motorcycle riding season is extremely short. My plan is to try to ride the bike until October. Then I plan on removing tank, side plastics, seat, fender and paint it the original BR63 red like it used to be. While I have the tank off I plan on doing a full carb clean, as well as paint engine, pipes and frame. My winter project basically.
Mo

 

I did not realize you never cleaned the carbs. Just know that I found many of the amazon/ebay carb kits really sucked. Some did have decent paper gaskets but many had rubber ones that IMO are not good. XJ4ever bowl gaskets are great.
I found a couple kits that I do like one of the amazon kit needles though. Most everything other than the bowl screws I don't even use. I just clean the existing parts.
At this point, don't bother ordering more stuff till you take the carbs apart.

 

Tbh the reason I ordered the kit was because I couldn't find just the float bowl drain screws on their own for a decent price.

 

I took off and cleaned the carbs, replaced all of the needles and jets the needles go into as well as their screens.

Bike will start fully choked but will only stay idling if I constantly give it throttle. Basically how it was before i took carbs off.

D0 have any suggestions on what I should look at next? The spark plugs are brand new. The inside of the carbs were super clean, floats as they should be. Nothing obviously messed up looking.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Mo
1982 650RJC Seca

 

Did you read over the "Church of clean" and make sure all the little jets, even the bowl jet was clean. Able to put cleaner through the hole and high pressure air?

https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/in-the-church-of-clean.14692/

 

Yes I had aresol carb cleaner. Made sure it was coming out the other end of each jet. I was kind of disappointed at how clean it was in there when i took the bowls off. Also disappointed thay there wasn't anything obviously messed up with the float which I thought may be the issue. My neighbor said maybe the gas is gone off. It's a month old and perhaps my seal around the gas cap isn't the best which could cause it to act like this. I hope he is right. So frustrated, my riding window is short as it is and I feel summer slipping away each passing day I cant ride it. If I don't figure it out by end of weekend I am going to have to try to bring it to someone to look at.
MO

 

You said it was running like a top before, so it is a little improbable that the fuel levels in the bowls would be out of spec, but it is still a good idea to wet set the levels to make sure. Also, you need to specifically acknowledge that the jets in the bowl wells are clear or it is still an unknown to us.

 

I took all of them apart and cleaned them thoroughly by shooting carb cleaner through all of the jets. And cleaning bowls. The carbs were very clean inside, which was disappointing because I kind of wanted to spot an obvious issue. Floats were in good working order too. My neighbor suggested it might be the gas is gone off, especially if the seal around my gas cap isn't a good seal. I'm gojng to try putting fresh gas in today(gas in it now is a month old). If I can't get it going by end of weekend I will have to bring it to someone. I feel my summer riding window slipping away with each passing day.
Mo

 

Can you put a flashlight to the opening at the bottom of the bowl and look down the well to see a nice, round spot of light?

 

Look down the well? Of the carburetor? Sorry if thats a dumb question, I'm very new to all of this.
Mo

 

There is a well on one side of the float bowl. At the bottom is a small, pressed in jet. There is also a hole at the bowl bottom that leads to that jet. If the jet is clogged, the bike will not want to start or idle. Did you follow this link in a previous post?
https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/in-the-church-of-clean.14692/

 

I cleaned the bowls thoroughly but do not recall a jet on the bottom of the bowl, only thr drain. Carbs on mine are the hitachi hsc 32. I did clean out every jet I could get at which was all of them or so I thought. I wish I took more pics while doing it but it's hard when hands are coverd in carb cleaner and dirt.

 

The long, skinny, brass tube that extends down from your carb body goes into the well on the side of the float bowl. At the bottom of the well is the jet that needs to be unclogged with a fine wire and cleaners. You can't really see the jet and it not removable.

 

Oh yes, I got that one. Cleaned out stem piece thoroughly as well.
Mo

 

Ok, good news is I managed to get it going and idling well. I adjusted the Throttle Stop Screw (number 48 in Haynes manual carb diagram). Starts easy, sounds great idles well.

However when I took it out for a spin it was fine at first but when I down shifted at an intersection and then tried to get going again, shifting from first to second to third the throttle seemed unresponsive and I stalled out. Had to wait a little. It did start and I did get it home. When it's going it sounds and feels fine. Does this mean I just need to fine tune this or is there something else I should look at/consider.

Again, thanks in advance. I was pretty pumped to be back on the road again!
Mo

 

Still have a fuel issue. Sounds like you are starving for fuel. If you are starting, it will idle, but as you try to go faster needing more fuel it dies. Have to see what is restricting the flow. Petcock, fuel line or gas cap venting issue? Could be a wet set issue with the carb bowls, but start looking from the tank to the carbs.

 

I ordered a new air filter thinking maybe it isn't getting enough air hence lack of throttle response. I am glad it's running but definitely need to figure out the issue so I can feel confident on it fuel line and petcock seem fine. What it wet set issue with carb?
Mo

 

Check to make sure your vacuum caps are in place except for the vac line going to your petcock.... and make sure you don’t have a bad or loose line.

did you check to make sure you have good spark? Could be a loose plug wire or cap— or a wire is now loose inside A cap.

Set your petcock on PRI and see if there’s an improvement- if so, there’s your issue

Open the gas cap so it’s loose. If THAT makes it better, there’s your issue.

 

I can get it to start and it idles great. But once it gets going it loses throttle response when accelerating from first to second to third and stalls out. It will go along just fine in first. And when in neutral the throttle response is great.

Mo

 

I think that the above points are good points. I would guess that the carb hats are not sealed as they should be. The rubber diaphragm in one or more of the carbs is not seated into the little seal line, and you are not getting good vacuum to lift the slide.

Are you able to rev the bike up on the center stand, and it will rev up and come back down to idle as it should? Carbs us a lot more fuel under a load then just sitting there on the side or center stand and revving the bike.

 

Bike revs and idles fine in neutral and first. Throttle responds as it should. But when accelerating from 1st to 2nd to 3rd throttle is unresponsive and it stalls out.
Mo

 

Also when j pit carbs back together I tested seal by lifting the needle plunger and they appeared to be good, react as they should.
Mo

 

Mo Info, how did you "lift" them? If you did it by hand, it can give a false positive, using compressed air in the little frown shaped opening below the top hat to see if the plunger moves all the way up.