Thought Clutch slip...now more carb problems!?

[davins130]

My carbs were just rebuilt by a guy i know that said he's very good with bike carbs... My bike has individual air filters (no box) and i believe an aftermarket header... Anyways he rebuilt the carbs and said he didnt adjust the mixture screws. It was running fine for him when he rebuilt them, but when i went to drive it home it was extremely rich. This was about a week ago, and 2 days ago he came over to put in the jets (size 10) and took out the 12.5's. It ran fine around the neighborhood but didnt idle all the time. Today i went to ride it and it still wouldnt idle well at a stop sign, and about 4 miles later it wouldnt idle at all at a stop. It was then also popping from the air filters at idle. Is it too lean now? should he adjust the mixture screws to get this thing dialed in? im carb-tarded and have little idea of whats going on and want my bike running...Help!

[davins130]

Clutch slippage??

While riding my bike down the road, if i go easy on it it seems that the clutch is slipping because the engine revs and im getting little power to the wheels (im not positive that this is the problem, just a guess) It feels like it falls on its face in every gear, but if i downshift a couple gears and get back into it and stay above 3k then it doesnt happen. am i right or what else could this be? and what are my solutions? thanks!

[davins130]

also just pulled plugs, all are coverd in black soot

[webbcraft2150]

You did not give the mileage on your rig or how long it sat idle, so I am gonna shoot a couple of things to look at. First, make sure your clutch is adjusted correctly at the bars and at the engine. (see tech tips for this). Is your clutch cable moveing freely, ie; not binding? What kind of oil are you running? If you are not sure, change it to a 10-40 or 10-50 dino oil. If all this stuff checks out, you could have a worn clutch or clutch springs. I would bet the springs are sacked. I just did the clutch on my 80g with 67k. All the clutch plates were well within specs, springs were shot. The springs are an easy replacement compaired to R&R'en the whole clutch (which isn't really that tough either). Check the tech tips, and search threads on clutch topics, the answer will be there.

[TopCatGr58]

Re: Clutch slippage??

Originally posted by davins130
While riding my bike down the road, if i go easy on it it seems that the clutch is slipping because the engine revs and im getting little power to the wheels (im not positive that this is the problem, just a guess) It feels like it falls on its face in every gear, but if i downshift a couple gears and get back into it and stay above 3k then it doesnt happen. am i right or what else could this be? and what are my solutions? thanks!

Hey Gavins,

What do you think you're riding, a Harley??

No wonder you don't have any power to the wheels, lugging it at 2 gears below 3k rpm! In case you haven't noticed, it redlines at 8.5k, not 5 like a Harley! These engines like to run a bit higher in the rpm band, or at least above 3k, especially in the higher gears.
(Please note the smileys....just poking a little fun but seriously)

To test your clutch, get it up to about 55 mph in 5th, and THEN crank the throttle wide open, IF the rpms rise, but the speed doesn't, then you can conclude that the clutch is slipping, and the aforementioned repairs can then be persued.
T.C.

[davins130]

suposedly it has 12 k on it, but the spedo cable has been broken for god knows how long so i dont know the actual mileage. It was running fine about 2 months ago, then sat for a couple months...im running 10w-40 oil i beleive, i just changed it. It is a definete feeling when this happens, its not just slow. There is litteraly almost 0 power when it happens, and it kicks in and out. how difficult is it to replace the clutch plates/springs? and where can i get a decent set (i have read that factory plates are WAY better than aftermarket)

[TopCatGr58]

Well,

You might want to take a look at this tech tip to see what's involved in changing the clutch plates and springs. The springs wouldn't be as much trouble, but like you said, you don't know how many miles are on the clutch, so it would be good to measure the frictions, and you can't do that without taking the basket out!!

But....it may not be the clutch at all! With an aged XS11, the pickup coil wires can become faulty, causing an on/off type of symptom. But it could also be just a clogged pilot circuit preventing steady fuel flow at the lower rpms? Could try putting some Sea Foam in the gas tank and running it thru vs. actually pulling the carbs off to disassemble and clean?

Just some other ideas to think about, please test it like I described before jumping into the clutches!
T.C.

[jeffe]

The clutch on my 78E was acting weird. Grabby sometimes, seemed to slip a little other times. Adjusted cable and clutch, didn't help much. I followed the directions on the Seafoam can about using it in you oil. Was amazed at how much gunk had been broken lose. The big point is that the clutch feels perfectly fine now.

[tommystinson]

"There is litteraly almost 0 power when it happens, and it kicks in and out."

T.C. beat me to it! It doesn't sound like clutch issues if it's an intermittent problem. Plug wires/caps, pick-up coils? Carburetor or fuel supply issues? Is the octopus still intact? If so, get rid of it and get some clear or translucent fuel line. The vent hole in the gas cap might also be plugged.

And now the fun begins!

[davins130]

i have just gotten rid of the octapussy and ran 2 into 1 lines then inline filters before the carbs...and also just rebuilt the carbs and am having trouble getting them to idle and stop popping

[tommystinson]

Did you strip them all the way down? Emulsion tube/needle jet, idle mix screw, etc?

[davins130]

i had a guy i know (motorcycle guy) rebuild them, i sorta watched because i didnt know what was going on...he didnt mess with the mixture screw, and didnt take the top cap off the carb, but replaced everything that came in the kit and cleaned the carbs out

[Ken Talbot]

Ah, but you see, if you don't remove the pilot screws, you can't be sure the pilot circuit is clean. Similarly, if you don't take off the top cap, you can't be sure the emulsion tubes are clean or that the needles are okay.

[davins130]

these things are running rich (plugs are sooty) even after i took out the 12.5 jets and put the stock 10's in, so would one of those things up top you are talking about cause it to continually run rich? also how can i be certain there is no vaccum leak? hook up a vaccum guage like i would on a car to each boot? if so what should it read?

[davins130]

he said that there was something that he didnt want to break by taking that silver top part off the carb, i dont know what though...anything delicate in there?