Yes...I too mucked up a carb cleaning and need help

[dougger]

Thanks egsols...I will give it my best shot tonight!

[dougger]

Thank you all for the help. I made sure that all of the floats were at least dropping the same distance. I had a little hold up with #4 again, but I belted the side of the carb with the end of a screwdriver and lo and behold, no more gas. Thank goodness I have pods or it would have been a real mess!! I've only gone about 5 miles but it seems to be okay.

It's a little boggy in the bottom of the range, then at about 4500 rpm the bike really takes off. I saw a thread about that somewhere, can anyone help me out?

[dbeardslee]

Dougger - soft and boggy on the bottom can be floats to high in their 'normal' orientation. Means you need to raise them a little when the carbs are upside down. They say 1mm can make the difference. Mine was doing that and I set the floats to 26mm (25.7mm max recommended) and it solved the problem. Mine is a standard, and I think the float setting range is different on the special.

Checked my Haynes manual and it says 24.7-26.7mm for E, F, and SF models, 23mm plus or minus .5mm for G(US) and SG models.

[dougger]

: madCrap!! You mean I have to take the damn things off again....I just got the gas fumes aired out of my garage!! Thanks for the advice...I did find that thread and it sounded like plugs might be the problem too. Any thoughts?

[dbeardslee]

Dougger - another thread was discussing the merits of the NGK Iridium plugs. Supposedly they don't foul as easily and provide a hotter spark. People were saying such good things about them I just couldn't help myself, and this afternoon I bit the bullet and spent the $7.50 ea. for a set. Too early to tell, but they do seem to provide a little more low-end oomph. NGK BPR6EIX (stock #6637)

[dougger]

Ouch $7.50 each! I hope that you can feel the difference!! Let me know...I might have to pony up myself and git er done!

[dbeardslee]

Garth - Oh I definately feel the difference - in my wallet! I'll have to run it some to really be able to tell. I'm hoping I get a little bump in fuel economy - that would help with the sticker-shock. I went out in the garage a few minutes ago to check the stock # on the plug box, and man am I glad I did. Had gas dripping out of the #1 pod - stuck float. That can't be good for the old mpg's. Did the TC-tap-it-with-a-screwdriver fix and it stopped. Thanks TC!

[dougger]

Had I known these old girls required so much tinkering....I might have bought a Harley!!

[dbeardslee]

Sorry about the previous post. I meant to say 'Dougger' not 'Garth'. Been replying to too many threads - they're all starting to mix together in my head Harley! HARLEY! Bite your tongue. You get her runnin' right you'll be able to pull a Harley faster than it will run

[dougger]

Ok, ok I had a weak moment. The PO did a lot of the same mods to this bike that you have done. 4 into 1, oil cooler, pods...What else might he have done that I can't readily see. It does have Mikuni carbs...are those standard or a mod? I've owned the bike for a year, but just changed oil last year. Now I think it's time to roll up my sleeves a little. It's never been a speed demon and I'm not too sure that I want to crack the case and start poking around in there...no experience with that. Though, I've never pulled carbs apart before, and that went better than expected!! Anything that I should look at or for? Thanks, again, for all the help.

[dbeardslee]

Dougger - Mikuni BS34II's are stock. Do you still have the stock coils installed? That was one of the first things that had to go on mine. Thirty year old coils and wires just can't be a good thing. Also, there's just no substitute for a good synch job. If you don't have vacuum guages I would suggest acquiring some. I synch mine whenever I do anything that affects fuel/air mixture. I like colortuning them too, but that's not as critical as the synch. With a good set of guages it's super easy to do. The other thing that has a HUGE affect is jetting. Do you know what sizes you have in now? The mains have the size stamped on top. I'm not sure how you tell what size the pilots are. I know what mine are 'cause I put new ones in. The heart of these bikes is the carbs. They can cause all kinds of wierd stuff if they aren't clean and properly adjusted. If you do change jets make sure you use genuine Mikuni jets.

Here's some advice about doing things you haven't done before and this site. Don't get in a big hurry. If you see something that confuses you, stop and put up a post. I've never had to wait very long for a reply, and the quality of the responses you'll get here is top notch. Better to put the posts up before you get into trouble. Get intimate with the tech tips - there's some really good stuff there. I wouldn't have been able to get old Betsy back on the road if it wasn't for the good people here.

[dougger]

Dbeardslee, I whole heartedly agree. There is no way that I would have attempted pulling the carbs apart had I not read the tech tips first. I have to admit, I have no idea about the age or condition of the coils nor the wires. How much is that to replace? The lead going into #4 spark plugs is cracked too, that can't be good. I don't have a lot of cash to sink into this right not, is there an inexpensive way to do this or is it just going to bleed cash?

[dbeardslee]

Dougger - If you've got a cracked high tension wire, you're right - that ain't good. When I took my old coils off I thought I would keep them around just in case (ok, so I'm a packrat). I went to put them in a coffee can and the high tension wires broke in two. They looked ok from the outside, but on the inside they were toast. The thread new wires in old coils has some pics of the old coils. Also tells you how to graft new wires into them, strangely enough. You can get MikesXS coils, wires, and caps for $86 delivered to your door. Difference being the mikesxs coils put out twice as much voltage as the stock coils and allow you to get rid of the ballast resistor. Plus they're not 28 years old. Be thee aware, if you install high output coils you need to widen your plug gap to about .035 inches. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what a hotter spark will do.

Also, if you haven't found it yet, check the yamaha fiche . You'll find exploded diagrams and parts lists there that can be very helpful.

[dougger]

dbeardslee -

Thanks so much for the tips. By the way where in OH are you, I went to Kent and still have a lot of friends in C-Bus and Cleveburgh. I get out there every so often, still love the buckeye state!!

Thanks again.

[dbeardslee]

Dougger - Cleveburgh? You mean the mistake on the lake? I'm down at the other end of the state - Cincinnati area. My sister went to Kent for a while - one quarter. They were going to build something on the site where the four student's got zapped by the national guard, and I think she just went up there to protest. She was one of those miss-guided hippies that missed the 60's. My cousin used to run the ROTC program at Kent, but that was after the shootings. He got killed in Vietnam and didn't even know it 'till years later - cancer from exposure to agent orange. Talk about different ends of the spectrum. I used to get up around Ashatabula and Erie a lot when I was driving a semi, but those days are gone.