question about Chokes

[bryantar]

i have never used the coke on my bike. up until about 3 weeks ago i had no problems with the bike. after riding out of town one day i came back to town and the bike would not run, it smells like it is running rich. sometimes it runs very well, after it warms up it most of the time it runs very bad and then once in awhile it will run right, but then go right back to running bad.


i checked several things, emptied the fuel tank, (there was some water in the tank), cleaned the pecocks, put a water remover in the fuel, removed the carbs, they were filthy so i cleaned them and checked the rubbers in them everything looks ok with them now.

when i had them off the bike i noticed that on each carb, the choke is pulled out and wont go back in, what i wanna know is when they are pulled out is the chock engagued or not.

thanks any other advise is would be great, i have a detailed knowlege of making a small block chevy and a stock car run, but im totally new at making messing with this bike.

i have always been good with motors and im sure i will figure this one out but any advise would be great.

thanks
Adam R. Bryant
bryantac@ruraltel.net

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Bryantar,

The "Fuel Enrichener" circuit, it's not really a CHOKE, is active when it's pulled out, and not active when pushed all the way into the carb. IF you've been running with them pulled out, then you've been running with it ON all the time, not good!

Sounds like a PO couldn't get the carbs cleaned and tuned properly, and used the enrichener to get the low speed/idle/pilot jet circuit running until you get into the higher rpms where the mains kick in!

BTW, you'll want to EDIT your signature to NOT show your EMAIL addy so the spam bots...and they are out there and searching the site, can't get your addy to send you SPAM!!!!! If you put your email addy in your Profile, folks can send you email thru your profile link! I didn't check to see whether you listed your year/model # of your bike, but it can be helpful since some tech info and suggestions are model specific!

You may need to pull and clean the carbs again, paying close attention to the Pilot circuit. Again, model info helpful here.
T.C.

[TopCatGr58]

Okay, checked and you have the 78E Standard.

Running and then not running well can be carbs, but is also commonly the PickUp Coil wires, see the tech tips for info and repair techniques! You stated you sold your race car and got the bike. How long have you had it, what work have you done to it? Did it sit in a garage a long time before you acquired it, etc.?

What mods have been done, like does it have the stock air box and pipes, or Individual air/cone filters, 4-1 pipes, etc.?!

Did you see the What to look for in a neglected XS11 tech tip in the MISC section??? What have you done to get it road ready?
T.C.

[bryantar]

the bike sat for like 3 years before i got it in oct. we rode for about a month and everything was great. no problems at all.
i stored it for the winter ( accaully about 45 days,) then got it back out on one of those nice days, rode it for two days. put fuel in it road about 50 miles then filled up the next day, it ran for like 10 mins after putting fuel in it.

i have not done anything to it, the guy i bought it from is a bike guy he restored and painted the body parts and i have talked to him about it, he said he never used the FE and kept them off.

i noticed earlier tonite that there was little drops of fuel coming out of what i think is the breather or blowby hose at the back of the motor, also there was fuel in the air cleaner box.

both of those lead me to think it running rich.

thanks for your adivse.

[prometheus578]

"Well, the carbs needed to come off, anyway..."

Fuel in the airbox means the float needles are worn. (less commonly, the floats may have a pinhole in them or are sticking)
Yeah, you'll need to remove the carbs to see what is the deal with the enrichener plungers.
You'll also need new float needles. When you inspect the old ones, you'll probably see a ring worn into the tapered sealing part, (caused by grit and such in the fuel) hence, the leaking.
Remove the needle seats and polish the insides with chrome cleaner and Q Tips. Replace the needles, about $5 per from a shop or search for your type on line.
Don't forget to reset the float height.
A;ways bench test the carbs before putting them back on the bike. Saves you from having to take them off if they still leak.
Hook a fuel source to the carbs, turn them upside down and watch for leakage past the float needles(with the carb bowls off)
You may need to "blip" the floats to clear the line of air first, then dry up the fuel and watch.
Fuel in the airbox comes from the needles not sealing and the fuel in the bowl then rising, then peeing out from the airjets on the intake side of the carb.
Also note, that as the fuel runs back into the airbox, it can also run forward into the cylinders... past the rings and into the oil. An oil change might be in order now, too.

[mro]

fuel in the air cleaner box

more like a stuck float, debris on the float needle or worn float needle.
If a lot of fuel dripping out of the air box, might have a leaky pet cock too. and maybe some fuel in the crank case.


mro

[bryantar]

well, im not sure what part of what i did fixed the problem.
i drained the gas out of the tank again, tooke the carbs, back appart, checked the needles and seats, they were ok and sealing, checked the FE they were all ok once i looked closer. the only other thing i did was change the oil, which looked and smelled gassy but it was 61 degrees yesterday and i got my bike running about 1 pm, and rode until about 5 pm when we went a and looked at another bike.

not nearly as nice as my XS my friend and i went in halfs on a 1980 Kaw. 550 LTD. a good running bike but we need to paint the tank and side covers.

that now give us three nice older bikes, his is a 1980 Honda CB will try to add pictures of them all soon.

thanks for the help and advise.
Adam

[XSPastor]

2 float adjustments per float??

I had an intermittent leak from the airbox and after three carb diassemble/cleanings, I noticed that one float was dropping lower than all the others. It was adjusted the same as the others (23mm) but it dropped so low that the low limit stop jammed against the float post. I bent the low limit tang (not the float needle-contacting tang) and the leak finally is gone! Yeah!! If your leak comes back, check to see that they all drop the same amount when you hold them in the same position as when that are mounted on the bike. I also just finished the second gear fix and I'm loving life. She runs lke a top and goes like mad!!