1st post and 1st question!

[lakecountrydave]

Hello,

First the good! Picked up my bike 79 Special Saturday in MI and road her 400+ miles home (over half in the rain). Love the bike she is comfy in a way my last bike (Honda v45) never was She rode great, idled at 1100 (per tach), always started right up.

Now the bad. Sunday I took off the seat and side covers, and I flushed and bled the rear brake. I also installed the quick connect for the battery the battery tender. Went for a little test ride, and now when I let off the gas and pull in the clutch she immediately dies. She also is running rough and does not have much power. She also does not spin the RPMs up quickly. A little more info on the trip back I had tons of time to kill. I stopped for lunch and dinner. Plus I she cooled completely down during ferry ride back acrossed Lake Michigan. She was running fine in both city traffic and highway driving (mostly 80 -85mph, but hit the ton twice just to make sure she was stable at speed )

Please help me figure this out before swmbo hurts me Seriously, I appriciate any help you can offer.

Sincerely,

Dave

[DiverRay]

I would pull the seat once more, and lift the tank a little. Check the Vacuum ports on the carb boots. There should be caps on three of them, and one should have a line to the "octopus" on #2 carb. Make sure the caps are good, and replace them if in doubt. You can buy the caps at almost any auto parts store, as the fittings are 3/16".
There will be one vacuum line from the #2 carb BODY to the vacuum advance on the left side of the engine. This line MUST be attached to the CARB BODY, and NOT to the carb boot.

[skids]

Also check for kinked fuel line(s) and for the breather at the gas cap.

[lakecountrydave]

Thanks!

Thank you for responding so quickly! I am headed out now to get this thing registered and plated. I am going to try your advice as soon as I get home

Thanks again,

Dave

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Dave,

Welcome and congrats on your new machine. How about a little more info about it? Had it sat for some time with the PO, or had it been a daily rider?

The quick connect battery tender, could you have possibly connected it wrong so that it's draining the battery, a weak battery can cause ignition problems?

Once starting it and warming it up for a few minutes, spritz some water on the exhaust pipes and determine which ones are not firing....most likely why it doesn't have the power it used to. Depending on which one(s) are not hot will determine further troubleshooting steps. If you have a pair that are cool, if 1-4 or 2-3, then most likely ignition, coils, pickup coils, or TCI! IF only 1 cylinder or 1-2 or 3-4, then more likely fuel related, supply, dirty, etc.!
T.C.

[lakecountrydave]

According to the PO she was a daily rider until two (three now) weeks ago. I believe that the battery is fine as I had no problems starting her multiple times on my trip home. Plus I have reconnected the battery tender and she soon indicates a full charge. I used your clever water on the exhaust trick, and the two right cylinders (brake side) are not heating up. Upon inspection it seems that when I reintalled the tank (and every attempt since) I kink the fuel lines on that side. I also wanted to ask if these bikes have weird fuel lines. They seem more like vaccum hoses than standard fuel line. I did change one to regular fuel line, but I still cannot seem to install the tank without kinking the darn things. Is there some special way that the fuel lines need to be routed? I do not have the manual yet, but I have all of the connections and t's correct per the schematic.

Anyhow, I hope to work on her Sunday. I appreciate the interest that you have shown in my problem. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Dave

[Hammerhead1st]

Same problem here, man.

Installed inline filters, and began having kinky fuel line issues. I actually ended up buying regular fuel line, 2 feet of it, and using that to feed the filters from the petcocks. Had to run the line over the inside airbox intakes, down between them, back outside of the bike from under them, made a loop in the line and attached to the filters. No more kinks. It ain't purty but it does work. With my budget (0.00) for the bike, sometimes ya gotta go with function over fashion. I do that to make it work, then I'll worry about fashion later on when I can finally afford to again.

I should note here that my bike is a standard, not a special. I dont have that octopus-like thing-a-ma-bob on my carbs, mine's a direct feed to both carb inlets.

However, longer gas line, routed in a gravity feed situation, looped instead of kinked, seems to work just fine. Regular gas line is fine, too. I used 1/4 inch, since that was all the store had at the time.

[Dragon Tamer]

Dave,
Had the same problems on the Dragon after I changed out some deteriorated fuel line, the best fix that I have found is to get some light compression spring (almost any hardware store) that the fuel line will just slide into. Position that where she tends to kink and that will prevent her from doing so.
I tried the long fuel line with the loops etc, and it works quite well but every time I have to take the tank off it seemed to kink somewhere else and I had all that line flopping around under there and twice it rubbed on something and developed a leak. There is the possiblity that I was not using the correct line but it was all that was available at the time.
Welcome to the group and have a good time with your new ride. Get a picture or two of her up here so we can take a look at it.

[JWSanders]

Had the same problems on the Dragon after I changed out some deteriorated fuel line, the best fix that I have found is to get some light compression spring (almost any hardware store) that the fuel line will just slide into. Position that where she tends to kink and that will prevent her from doing so.

Great idea!!

[mro]

compression spring

if you decide to put one inside the fuel line...
be sure to use stainless steel.
Over time the other will corrode and become a problem.


mro

[trbig]

If you get a bit longer line, run the right side petcock to the LEFT side carbs and vice versa. This makes a nice long curve that you can keep off of everything and keep from rubbing.... and won't kink.


Tod

[lakecountrydave]

Good Thinking!

I am going to the hardware store immediately to try Dragon Tamer's idea. If that does not work I am going to try Trbig's idea (going to pick up extra fuel line when I'm out. I am worried about altering stuff before I get her running right. I have bad luck with that kind of thing. I am so itching to ride. It finally stopped raining after a week, and I have been bikeless for almost two years.

Dave

[lakecountrydave]

All Smiles!!!

I got her running again! It turns out that when I replaced the kinked fuel line last time I switched the vacuum and fuel line hookups at the petcock. Will this cause any future problems? She is running fine now. I did take Dragon Tamer's advice and used the springs, and rerouted the lines as suggsted by Trbig. I actually shortened the lines as the springs kept them from kinking, and the PO had them running all over the place. Anyway thanks to all who helped. I greatly appriciate it.

Thank you,

Dave

[oseaghdha]

Re: All Smiles!!!

Originally posted by lakecountrydave
It turns out that when I replaced the kinked fuel line last time I switched the vacuum and fuel line hookups at the petcock. ..............
Dave

Thought it was a Special.
No Vac line to the petcock.
Does it have a STD tank?

[lakecountrydave]

Good question, but at least she runs now!

It has the teardrop tank. The hoses running from the "octopus" thingy and the petcocks were reversed per the schematic on the right (brake) side of the bike. I also could have still had a kinked line as the PO had plenty of extra on this side for some reason, and it is hard to see with the tank in place. Whatever I did though it worked as she is finally running What is the reason for the two petcocks and "octopus" thingy? I doubt that Yamaha had the forsight to know that adding that system in the late 1970's would mess with me in 2007

Dave