90% there

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Dirty Dave
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90% there

#1

Post by Dirty Dave »

Still chasing gremlins on my 79 that hasn't been running as it did
until the stator broke loose 5 years ago.

It's roadworthy but has an annoying stutter with slight backfire pops
while cruising. Have synced carbs (rebuilt) many times and checked
the air cutoff for problems. From red line to decel I got a loud single
backfire yesterday.

New plugs helped some and color is right with white insulators
and a good tan color on all four. Compression is good at 150 all
around.

Just looking for places to check. I can't do any more to the carbs
than I have done with complete tear down, soaking, ultrasonic
cleaning and replacement of gaskets & O rings etc. New Dyna S,
timed correctly. Pulls great at high revs on all four.

Any suggestions are appreciated.
1978/9 GL1000
1997 Honda Valkyrie
2018 Kawasaki Z900 RS
McTrucky
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Re: 90% there

#2

Post by McTrucky »

Might sound daft, but is the fuel pump working correctly. If not you will get symptoms like low float height in the carbs. In my Suzuki I had this which gave fuel starvation and lean running type backfires. Very different bikes, but the Suzuki (usually) pulled well at high revs, but was lumpy at certain engine speeds (suzuki was a vacuum pump).
1976 GL1000 barnfind, not run since 1991. My first Goldwing, which joins my 1990 Suzuki VX800 in the stable.
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Dirty Dave
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Re: 90% there

#3

Post by Dirty Dave »

Worth looking into. Thank you for the possible direction.

So much knowledge/experience here.
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1997 Honda Valkyrie
2018 Kawasaki Z900 RS
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Sagebrush
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Re: 90% there

#4

Post by Sagebrush »

How old are your coils and plug wires?
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CYBORG
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Re: 90% there

#5

Post by CYBORG »

If you haven't, I would check the flow thru the fuel filter as well.
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Dirty Dave
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Re: 90% there

#6

Post by Dirty Dave »

Spark wires were next on my list although they were part of the Accel coil set
and not old. Filters were checked and clean.

Spark on all plugs but new wires will settle that question.
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redglbx
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Re: 90% there

#7

Post by redglbx »

Are you still using the factory Bakelite spark plug caps ? If so, you should check the resistance across them, should be less than 5k.
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Dirty Dave
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Re: 90% there

#8

Post by Dirty Dave »

No.

After market wires & caps that I will be updating regardless.
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Re: 90% there

#9

Post by Bloodhound »

If those intake rubbers are hard you may have a slight vacuum leak , I soaked mine in , oil of wintergreen and isopropyl alcohol , I wasn't sure if the mix would upset the bond so I only put them in like 18mm depth and checked them daily did mine for 3 days 4 days would be better . Alot better ,got my 4th cyl working.
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Re: 90% there

#10

Post by Whiskerfish »

Yea I would concentrate on vacuum leaks. Make certain the engine is at full temp and tighten down the intake clamps about as far as you can.
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Re: 90% there

#11

Post by pidjones »

Maybe even take a second look that you didn't pinch an intake runner o-ring? They can sneak out of the groove into the head when assembling. I use a coat of vacuum grease to hold them in place.
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5speed
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Re: 90% there

#12

Post by 5speed »

easy way to check for a vacuum leak is to start the bike and spray brake cleaner around the carb rack, intake manifolds..or you can use a propane torch...just don't light it. :mrgreen:
if the bike idles up..you found your leak
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Dirty Dave
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Re: 90% there

#13

Post by Dirty Dave »

Haven't checked with you guys for a while.

Thanks for the ideas. I checked intake O-rings when putting carbs back in
but had the hardened rubber intake rubbers might need rejuvenating.
Had them off & on with a heat gun.
I knew about the wintergreen/alcohol trick but never tried it.

Great ideas
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1997 Honda Valkyrie
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Re: 90% there

#14

Post by LuckyEddie »

90% of carb problems are electrical.
I would be looking at the ignition system.
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Re: 90% there

#15

Post by Fred Camper »

I have a similar experience as LuckyEddie above. When I took my car to a mechanic at 17 years of age, and told him what I had tried, he communicated that the carburetor should be in the bottom of the oil pan as they are not the first thing to go wrong. He said they should not be on top. The electrical system is often the problem that folks try to fix with the carburetor and that seldom works. My car had a distributor made with pressed metal that wobbled. I do try to be sure the electrical is sound first now.
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