Plugs, coils and Carbs

[OneHand]

Got Anakin back from hospital last weekend. (4 burnt Ex valves.)Been riding around a bit this week to check out the other problems.

Starts easily with some full choke for a couple of seconds,
go to half choke for about 20 secs till revs pic up. Idles at smoothly at 1100. Drive away!

Problem 1: Drive the 5 mi to work. Lots of stop/start, up to 50mph, stop again. Pulls smoothly from 2K through to 8K, where I
chickened out. Idles at 2,000!!!!?? What now?

2: Pulled the plugs last night for interest sake. B8ES??? WTF!? Should be BP6ES!! I'll replace soon as I can get some. Would those plugs do damage/have perf. implications?

3: Plug 1 and 3 look ok - Nice tan/grey colour . 2 and 4 - black and wet. Could it be coils? How are they paired? 1/2 and 3/4 or 1/3 and 2/4 - I'll go search the TEch tips.

4: Gearbox very cluncky at low rpm shifts, better over 5K. Could this be the type of oil (20W50) or do I need to learn to shift?

5: How can I benchmark the performance? I've got a feeling it's not running 100%, but can't compare to others. Have recently ridden mates' VFR800 and Blackbird, and its nowhere close to even the 800. Cant compare to the BB, got 145 bhp on the rear wheel!!!

1H

[prometheus578]

"Plugs 2 and 4 went over to the Dark Side."

Coils are paired for #1+#4, and #2+#3. If 2 and 4 are wet and fouled, I'd say carbs... too much fuel. (Though it could still be electrical, such as bad plug wires or caps, but that's not all that common)
Clean all carbs and reset the float height.

Gearbox very cluncky at low rpm shifts, better over 5K. Could this be the type of oil (20W50) or do I need to learn to shift?

These tranny's are sort of "clunky", anyway. Just checking.... that's 20W50 in the engine, and 80/90W in the middle gear and final drive, yes?

[OneHand]

Thats what I was afraid of...

Was suspecting the carbs as it "smells" rich when running. Been putting off pulling the carbs myself. Sh!t scared of doing it, but looks like i'll have to. Did the XT's (single) carb a couple of weeks ago and got it running reasonably, but this is a different kettle of fish...

Will have to build the 'vacuum sync tool' first.

Thx
1H

[OneHand]

Sorry,

Yes, 20W50 in the engine...

Tranny 80/90 I expect, but have not changed it yet.

1H

[pggg]

1H, if it's hot in South Africa then the BP8 plugs are O.K. theyre cooler plugs and if the plugs are carboned up it's most likely the float /fuel level, when you unscrew the carb lids and bowls, you can usually tell if the jets and things have been scratched by screwdrivers before by strange unknown people who may not of known what they were doing, the XS should give the VFR800 a whipping in a short drag.

[oseaghdha]

B8ES

I been wondering about the plugs. 6's seem awfully hot to me. I run a 7 and 8 in the front/back on the XV. Everything else I have (with two wheels) takes 8's even 9's in the summer.
Anyone migrate to cooler plugs?

[OneHand]

Yeah, gets pretty hot here in Summer. Anything from 30 to 40 deg C on a mid summer day. 28 today, early spring.

Carbs will have to wait untill the weekend.

Will leave the B8ES plugs for now as they are brand new, less than 100 mi. (shop put them in, not me)

Unfortunately still a long way off before I can ride regularly. Just started with the toothbrush clean and polish. Still needs side covers, clocks need some fixing and new tyres before new paint is coming on.

Will go up against the VFR when he comes around again to check.

L8er

1H

[prometheus578]

Been putting off pulling the carbs myself. Sh!t scared of doing it

You'll laugh at your statement once you realize just how easy carb work actually is. Keep them together on the bank, no need to separate them. Do one at a time so you don't feel overwhelmed. Keep all the parts together. Ask questions here, as needed.

[OneHand]

This is probably a stupid question, but what the hell...

How does the float level influence/determine rich or lean? Isn't it supposed to be determined by the jets?

[DiverRay]

The jets work on the WOT, but the float height will allow more or less fuel in all the time. If you read the "Tech Tips" on the carbs, you'll see they are NOT that hard to clean and adjust. I would pull the carbs, check to make sure you do not have a "bad" float, if they are metal, and adjust ALL the floats to the same height.
You know #1 seems to run well, so check the float height on BOTH floats, make sure they are the same, and then go on down the line. It will probably take you about 3 hours the first time, but after a few times, it's a 1 hour job.
Once done, you will need to sync the carbs to get the most out of the bike.
Ray

[OneHand]

Thanx guys..

Will have to tear into it over the weekend, depending off course
on SWMBO's agenda.

Ray, was thinking along the same lines. 1 and 3 seems OK, so will try and get as close as possible to that.

Report back after the W/e.

Rgds

1H

[pggg]

About the rich/lean effect from fuel level in the fuel bowl, the float/fuel level determines how much fuel is 'squirting' out the emulsion tubes, compare it to sucking thru a straw in a glass of water, if the glass is full, the water draws up easier with less suction needed, if the level is lower, you need more 'puff' to drag out the same amount.