vertical octopus

[wiggumpi]

I bought an '82 XJ1100 from a stranger last year. It ran okay last summer. The left exhaust smoked a little during warm up, but other than that i didn't think anything was too out of the ordinary.

This spring i pulled the cover off the bike (sitting in an unheated garage) and went to change the oil. I could smell the gas right away when i pulled plug out. I forgot to switch both fuel valve to off and when i pulled the carbs apart i found the #1 float valve corroded into position. Probably the cause of the left side smoke.

So i cleaned everything up, and as i was putting everything back together I realized that the octupus was mounted vertically instead of horizontally, like on an XS1100 diagram i was looking at. I corrected it as well as a fuel line error (the left side "pri" and "on" lines were swapped on the octopus.

I replaced the plugs with ones gapped to .030", changed the oil and filter, primed the carbs and fired it up. Right off the bat, with the choke off, it was idling around 3000, which seemed pretty high. Light smoke from the left side again during warm up (probably burning off excess crap that got it there). then when it was warmed up it automatically dropped to about 1500 rpm, almost instantly. But it was still running really rough and after awhile the right side started smoking.

I turned the engine off and checked the plugs. #1 looked lean, 2 was okay, but 3 and 4 were rich. I know i need to tune and sync the carbs, but with the few changes i made, it sure is running worse.

Has anybody ever seen an octopus installed vertically? Could this have caused one side to be more rich than the other?

Mike

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Mike,

When you say you cleaned everything up, just how far did you tear the carbs apart?? Did you take out the pilot jets, main jets and nozzles, and soak and brush/spray them?? Also, do the carbs still have the brass caps over the pilot screws on the front top of the carbs?? IF so, need to be removed to ensure proper cleaning of pilot circuit, and then resetting the pilot screws...be aware of small metal and rubber washers under the screws in the pilot screw tower!!

Checking plug color at idle won't really tell you much, the throttle chop method is what you'll want to do. But with it running rough and looking rich sounds like the pilot/idle circuit wasn't as clean as it needed to be....especially since you found the #1 float needle corroded/stuck.....probably lots of varnish from sitting gas in the carbs over winter.

I would not think the vertical octopus would have any real adverse affect on fuel flow or such, besides, the floats control the actual fuel level, so as long as it's getting to the carbs, then the octopus isn't problematic.
T.C.

[trbig]

Just my 2 cents... I would put the octo back vertical.... right into the trash can.

Tod

[John]

Vertical is the orginal postion of the octopus, IIRC.

[wiggumpi]

Well, i tested the octo last night using the tips on this website. It checks out whether it's vertical or not, so i don't think that's a problem unless a fuel line is kinked or something, which it's not.

I pulled the carbs off again because i wanted to check the float heights, something i neglected before. The #2 float was hanging a little lower than the others. I haven't measured anything yet (need to grab my calipers from work), but as i was draining the bowls i noticed that #3 and #4 had more fuel than 1 or 2. I tried to measure it but i spilled some so no accuracy there.

I did notice something that may have caused 3 and 4 to be flooded, though. I decided to cut my own gaskets from some material i bought from an auto store. The pack came with two types: a fiber or cellulose one and a cork/rubber one. Although the fiber one looked most like what i pulled off the carbs, the cork/rubber was actually rated for gas and oil (so it said on the package). I decided to try two of both and neither of them resulted in any leaks.

However, when i pulled the 3 and 4 bowls off, i noticed that the cork/rubber gaskets had squeezed into the bowl and were contacting the floats a little. I'm guessing this would cause them to stick alittle and jump around instead of moving smoothly.

I'm going to order new float valves and set the float heights correctly when i get them.

TopCat,
I pulled everything from the underside of the carbs and the diaphram from the top. Although the diaphrams showed a little cracking around the edges, they looked clean and i couldn't see any light through them. The brass caps for the pilot screws i left alone. I don't know how to get them off. (Please Advise!!)

I took all the parts, except for the diaphrams, to the lab at work and soaked them for an hour in an ultrasonic dunk tank, rinsed them off, wiped them down, and then sprayed them and through all passages with air until they were completely dry.

BTW When i got it all back together and it was idling for awhile, i did give it a few cracks of the throttle.

Mike

[Ken Talbot]

To get the brass caps off of th epilot screws, carefully drill a small through them. Drill just deep enough to get through the cap so you are still short of the brass screw under the cap. Insert a wood screw into the drilled hole, get it in just far enough to grab, then pull the screw and cap out with a pair of pliers.

[Lamric]

Hi wiggumpi,
the vertical octopus is normal, this is mine...