The Koolaid Project

Check your fuses...? Thats what happened when I broke down in Raleigh. I had a short in the system and kept blowing a fuse. Can't wait to see the beast on the road man. I was down your way last weekend, was headed to chaps bar on chicken foot, then got side tracked to dog house.

 

Yeah? Is chaps the one on chicken foot... just keep going past my house and it's way down on the right? I saw one down that way one time. Is it pretty small? I wouldn't mind meeting up with you for a ride/drink whenever you're in the area.

Yeah, I checked the fuses right away and they are all good.

I just found this thread and I'm reading through it now...

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=2 ... start.html

 

Yeha sounds like Chaps. Can't miss it, black and orange. Good luck man.

 

Ok, my starter button isn't grounding the circuit. I have it off right now here in the LR and I'm going to see if I can tell what's up with it. I took another wire to ground the blue/white wire going to the starter button and it turned over immediately.

Could be worse, right?

 

alright.. with the starter button fixed I'm trying to get the bike to idle again. When I had it running a month or two ago I synched the carbs and it was idling great, but not so much anymore. I couldn't get it to idle for more than 2-3 seconds. After playing around with the choke and idle adjustment I have it to where it will idle just fine, BUT I have to be giving it a little bit of choke and a little throttle. If I let off on either it sputters out.

Thoughts?

 

Oh, and I have fuel spillout out the airbox overflow tube if I leave it on for more than a few seconds. I'm still running off of the aux plastic bottle tank (IV looking dealio) and have an inline fuel filter.

The float levels should still be good. I think they're just sticking in there. I'm going to drop the bowls later and check that out.

 

I'd check the emulsion tubes, in the carb bowls, make sure they are empty and clear of obsturctions

 

yeah, they were CRYSTAL clear about 2 months ago or whenever that was that I cleaned the shit out of them, but I think I'm pulling them again later tonight after the wife goes to bed to give them a once over and bench synch again since they've been sitting and now it won't idle

 

Wow, holy neglect to reply! Sorry about that. The rear fender is stock, just relocated and holes welded shut. I fabricated the hardtail myself, and I'm using a HID GPS speedometer that projects the digital display down onto the tank from a custom bracket I made that hangs the unit off the handlebars. The tank is mostly satin black, but there is a gloss black section in a spade shape to reflect the image so I can read the speedo. The seat is a cheapo Bates style bobber seat from ebay.

 

I just wanted to add that when I got it to run the other day for a few min while holding the throttle slightly open the left pipe was hot, #2 was warm, but #3-#4 weren't even warm to the touch WTF does THAT mean?

 

usually it indicates that either #s 3&4 cyls are either super fat (rich) or arent fireing at all. All 4 pipes should be too hot to touch, at least a second time.

 

they ARE wrapped. #1 felt normal for just running for a min or two. The others worried me. I'm guessing I'm ridiculously rich. If they weren't firing at all it would sound all jacked up, right? When I DID have it running it sounded good.

 

are we talking about idle, or have you taken it out on a balls out banzaii run yet?

 

I have taken it around the neighborhood a few times, but not since it's current idling issue, so YES we're just talking about idle here.

 

with fresh plugs in it. the idle mixture can be all over the place but once you are over 4 grand or so on the main jets on a steady ride the plugs may unfoul, and once it idles down it may run like shix agian. Going by sound is difficult because 2 cylinders can miss 180* apart and it will sound find and be running on two dead holes. For a bench startting point I usually turn the screws gently in till they bottom then back out 2 1/2-3 turns each. mainly to make sure they are all set about the same. I use a very fine wire as feeler guages (like a stripped wire bread wrap) to make sure all of my throttle blades are in sinc (more or less) while the carbs are off. and if one cyl is drasticly leant like some dirt or misc craps (a dice game in vegas) it will usually clear out as the mixture screws are backed out. It it does then their is either a restriction in the idle circuit or camaged screws, conversely, if the mixture screws run better screwed all the way in, then either the screws or the seats they screw into are screwed.

 

yeah, I prefored a bench synch and then synched them with a gauge and it was running fine. Then it sat for a month or two and now this problem. I'm planning on pulling the carbs again on Monday or Tuesday and doing it all over again. Bench Synch, clean them a bit while they are off, get it to idle, and then synch with my gauge again.

I used 3x5 cards for my bench synch before and it seemed to work pretty good.

 

On mine #s 1, 2 &4 are slaves to #3 you set the pitch of the throttle blades, like I said but the thumb screw on #3 adjusts the idle speed of all four simutaniously. so do it last. with a bench setting the idle spleed will proably be way, way off. don't be tempted to screw around with the idle speed screws on 1,2 & 4 once you think they are in sync, without yics blocking tools getting them all even with #3 is the best you can do, use the thumb screw on #3 to set your final idle speed. so all four throttle blades are in line at the same time before you try and tweak your mixture screws, OK? (that also means yu have to take the carbs off first before you adjust the throttle blades before you have a chance at getting close without the correct tool)

 

If one or two seem drastically lean and it is idling fast too, the carb to cyl head boots could be cracked causing a vacum leak. I give mine a little coat of silicone on the outsaide with my finger tip everytime I wrestle with them. I also use a VW type one (bug) inline fuel filter to keep contaminants ouit of my carbs.

 

I think wire works better because the cardboard takes up a wider of area, I think a match book cover is supposed to be about .017" in thickness but wire is the same all the way around. I used .028 but had to turn the idle speed way down after I got it started. but like I said on the hitachis at least #3 adjusts all 4 of them at the same time.

 

also, check to see if the float pivots are binding on the pins (hinges) that'll make it run way off too.