Test Ride.... Yeah!

[audijunky]

I got the bike runnin right finally. I bought a carb rebuid kit from Partsnmore just for a pilot jet.(before I knew where to get the seperately). THe kit came with a 45 pilot that was screwing up my #3 carb. Lucky me I ordered four new pilots sized 42.5 and 45. So I put all new 45s in all carbs thinking I would be OK cause I have put on Pod filters. Well It wasnt OK cause the bike Barely ran. So I pulled out the 45s and put in 42.5s. She Idled and ran good!!!!. I took my first ride (around the neighborhood) Sunday.I still dont have a headlight, rear brake, new back tire , battery, new front tire, turn signals. Yeah she is missing a few things. My front brake is real spongey and I have to pump it a few times to get it to grab good. Should I rebuild Master Cylinder or try to bleed first. Master Cylinder was really corroded, torn boot that goes on the end, ect... I also am getting some poppin from the carbs. I have some either 145 mains or 142.5 coming (cant remember) I am planning on removing the mufflers so I cant remember which ones I ordered. Will the larger size mains resolve this problem? I know some of you Stock guys might snarl but I plan on Choppin her. Should be pretty sweet. First I got a LOT of cleaning and Polishing to do.Talk to ya later fellas.

[audijunky]

Test Ride.... Yeah!

(If you have read some of my posts before please skip to the bottom to see my questions, I dont want to bore you with the back story.)I am the happiest man alivvvve. This bike is alot faster than I expected. Some back ground for yah, Bike sat ten years outside under tarp , didn't run, no brakes, rusted and dirty. Got it for 50 bucks. Got it home , pulled the wind jammer(first thing) drained the fluid that was supposed to be oil, pulled the carbs, drained the tank. Then I dismantled the carbs and cleaned them, tried to derust the tank as muck as possible, rebuilt some parts of the carbs. Then I checked for spark at the plugs, put on the tank, put on the carbs, and tried to fire her up. I had stripped pilot #3 when removing so I had to get a new one. When she started running #3 cylinder was not firing. Rechecked carb 3 replaced the needle and main jet. Still no luck. pulled the carbs again and noticed the new pilot was 1 size larger than stock. Replaced w/stock size and #3 was then firing some of the time. Since I have pod filters I went up a size for the mains, and put 4 new stock size pilots.

PLEAS BEGIN HERE IF YOU SKIPPED THE HISTORY
We have lift off. All for are firing and WOW. I noticed one thing, from about 1k-3k rpm she kinda hesitates. Almost bogs down. She is accelerating but not as quick as I think she should be. Do you guys think I should go up a size for my pilots? AND after about ten minutes runnin her pretty hard around the hood she started smoking white smoke? Happened when I first got her runnin, but went away, and now comes back after about ten minutes of trolling around the hood in first and second in a range of about 2k-7k rpms. Doesn't smell like oil but I am not positive it isn't. Some guys before said water/rust in the pipes. Could this smoke be the same thing? I tell you what none of this could have happened without this site and the excellent Tech Tips and wonderful people. I have a new Love and it is gettin old two wheel dinosaurs roarin again. I appreciate all the help. Thank you all.[

[Czekus21]

Blue smoke= burning oil ( blow-by )
Black smoke = xsive fuel
White smoke = burning water or coolant
Green smoke = vulcans have invaded the internal workings of the motor and have snuffed out the martians.
I think that a gremlin bell is in order
Sounds like a burning condensation in the exaust issue. But it should go away after everything is warmed up to operating temps.

[mro]

Hi steve

Have you synced the carbs w/merc or vacuum gauge???

Needs to be done after any adjustment/fiddiling to carbs.

Smoke comes only after pipes get hot and then goes away, condensation/water in pipes.



mro

[audijunky]

Hey fellas, The smoke doesn't come untill the engine is at running temp. I have had it at running temp atleast 5 times for about 10-20 minutes each time and after about runnig for 5-10 minutes it starts to get heavier. when I give it gas it gets heavier. It hasnt stoped smoking when it has been running either. ( like if it were to finish burning something off.) I have not synced the carbs yet, waiting on the vacuum gauge to arrive. should be any day now. What do you guys think about the slow start. Should I go up a size of pilots, or do the sync first?

[DiverRay]

I would do a sync, and then adjust the pilot jet-resync. Most of the time, you can get the adjustment you need with the jet. If not, then it's on to a new set of pilot jets...
The smoke is probably left over water/oil/fuel in the pipes. You need to run it for about 30 minutes down a freeway to really clean everything out. Don't forget to PUT A FAN in front of the bike when you sync the carbs. The engine can overheat in less than 5 minutes without airflow!!
Ray

[Ken Talbot]

Originally posted by DiverRay
Don't forget to PUT A FAN in front of the bike when you sync the carbs. The engine can overheat in less than 5 minutes without airflow!!
Ray

Of course, once you get good, you don't need the fan because you can do the sync and pilot adjustment in less than 5 minutes!

[DiverRay]

Ken,
You don't need the fan because it never gets hot up there!!
Ray

[audijunky]

Thanks for the replies fellas, how do I adjust the pilot jet with out replacing them? Do I just loosen it up in its seat? BTW I have a 79 xs11 standard.

[skids]

You really don't adjust the idle jet. You do compensate at idle by turning the pilot screws, but I wouldn't assume that they need adjustment until you color some new spark plags and read them for the throttle range you are interested in. Check to see if one of the head pipes is cooler than the others.

Originally posted by audijunky
Thanks for the replies fellas, how do I adjust the pilot jet with out replacing them? Do I just loosen it up in its seat? BTW I have a 79 xs11 standard.

[DiverRay]

The pilot screws will adjust the fuel/air for the low RPM range, 1K to 3K. On your '79, the screws are on the front top of the carb, just behind the clamp for the manifold.
Read some of the threads, "pilot jet" and "idle adjustment" in the search. It should give you the information you need to get it all adjusted. Just remember, you want to turn the screws only about 1/16 to 1/8 at a time, once they are "factory" set. As Ken has said, you will adjust them all the same, about 1 3/4 turns out from LIGHT seat, adjust the synce for the carbs, and then go back, adjust the pilot screws, and recheck the sync. This will probably take you 1/2 to 1 hour the first time, so USE A FAN to keep the engine cool.
Ray

[TopCatGr58]

Auditory Pilot Screw Tuning Technique!

Hey Steve,

Since you're so into the SOUND of your machine, then this should help you in tuning your pilot jets! It's Ken's Auditory Pilot Jet Tuning Guide that I refound and have posted recently in another post!

Those pilot screws sound to me like they may be a bit on the rich side. Try fine tuning them as follows:

- warm up the engine and sync the carbs with a mercury tool or vacuum gauges
- adjust the idle down to approx 700 or 800 rpm
- adjust one pilot screw out slowly while listening very carefully to the engine sound and watching the tach needle
- listen for the engine speed to pick up a bit then fall off
- if it doesn't pick up, adjust the screw slowly in, again listening for any increase in idle speed
- when you her the increase, adjust past it a half turn or so, then come back to it again until you've got the sweet spot
- adjust the idle speed back down to your low starting point
- then work another screw, again looking for its sweet spot
- each time you get a screw adjusted, drop the idle back down
- once you've got all four screws set, resync the carbs
- take one more pass through the pilot screw adjustment for each carb, still working at 700 to 800 rpm
verify that the sync still looks good
- adjust the idle back to 1100 or so depending on your personal preference
- go for a ride!

This procedure is basically what you're doing when you use a colortune sparkplug, only it is a lot faster. You are adjusting the pilot screws to achieve the optimum fuel/air ratio at the bottom end, which is why you will hear the engine speed up a bit and sound smoother at that low rpm.


__________________
Ken Talbot

KEN, CAN YOU POST THIS AS A TECH TIP??

[DiverRay]

Thanks TC, that is the thread I wanted him to find.
Ray

[TopCatGr58]

Originally posted by DiverRay
Thanks TC, that is the thread I wanted him to find.
Ray

You're welcome DiverRay, only 23 more posts to go, you
"Cusp of a GURU"
T.C.

[mro]

only 23 more to go?

Hey DiverRay

when you become the next XS GURU, I'll let you come over to my shop and help me put a 79' engine into my 80 Midnight cases.
The 79' has 2600 original miles



mro