fowling plug

[mahllig]

my 1980 XS1100 special is missing at lower speeds and fowls second plug from the right. Manual gves several possibilities, weak ignition and carb problems. I'm getting some seepage on the right side head gasket, could this be another possibility? also, the local yamaha dealer won't work on "old bikes", can someone reccomend a northern california mechanic? I live in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. mr_ed@basicisp.net.

[prometheus578]

Best mechanic, works cheap, too, lives real close... goes by the name of Mahllig.
OK, second plug from the right... #3 cylinder.
Chances are it isn't spark. #2 and #3 run offa the same coil, so if #3 is getting bad spark, it should be evident on #2, as well.
Fouled plugs(unless they're oil fouled) comes from too much gas.(My ex-wife said too much gas also made me foul... That's why she's my EX)
Anyway....
I suspect you have a bad float needle in #3 carb and it's flooding.
Sure, an incorrect float height in the carb can cause fouled plugs... but I also suspect that your leaking head gasket... is extra fuel from #3 carb leaking past the carb boot(that black tube between the carbs and the engine) and running into the crack between the head and the case... the head gasket area.
So.. you need to check and confirm whether that head gasket leak is fuel, or oil.
Also.. you need to check your oil level in the engine. A carb with a leaking needle/ seal will flow fuel, usually into the airbox, but also through that carb boot into the cylinder, down past the rings and end up diluting the oil.

Carb work is easy and something that you can do. Need a phillips screwdriver, and maybe a 10mm wrench and a few odds and ends.
To replace all four float needles, if indeed that's the problem, will run you about $25.
Check that head gasket issue, fuel in the oil, etc and report back.

[TopCatGr58]

A Bird's Eye View!

Hey Prom,

You're slipping...like water off a goose's back!! You've flown the coup with this one, oh eagle-eyed one, not noting his slight mispelling! It's a good thing I'm here so this thread didn't run a fowl! Or perhaps you did see it, but didn't want to peck on a fledgling member? "Or maybe you're just chicken?" .....ducking as I say that!

I know you get to feeling rather smug nestled on your lofty perch, so I thought I would try to rustle your feathers a bit. We can't help it that you're like a pea-cock, at least that's what your Ex's say! I hope this doesn't get stuck in your craw, but I also hope I don't look like I've got egg on my face? SO...come on, show us your talons, or go hide your head in the sand!
T.C.

[mahllig]

thanks for the info

thanks, you pointed me in the right direction. No spelling problem, just a bit of arthritis. Not so bad as to keep me off the bike though. riding since the war ended in 1945 and passed 500K miles three years ago.

[mro]

.....ducking as I say that!

Gee TC, on the guys first post

So, .... he likes to ride (a lot )
Remembers the last BIG ONE.
Probably likes beer.

Prom may just have been worried that mahllig might shoot a lot like Dick Cheney


mro

[prometheus578]

TOUCAN play your game.

What are you RAVEN about now, T.C.?
'cause I didn't SWOOP down and SHRIKE him for mispelling a word?
You must constantly look for things to GROUSE about, huh?
I noted that he was older than me, possibly wiser... an honest mistake is nothing to 'OWL about.
But no.. not for T.C.... COCK OF THE WALK, is he!

Instead of FLAPPING your lips, mayhaps you aught to check your own spelling!
You GREAT BUSTARD...CRANE-ing your neck looking for faults in others....
How's that... "I've flown the coup?"
Take a GANDER at what I spotted. (And I didn't even have to WRENch my neck to see it)
I consider it a coup that I caught your mispelling of "coop".
Time to SWALLOW your pride, T.C.
You're a commoner... a PHEASANT... nothing but a CUCKO LOON.
Runnin' around, all huffin' and PUFFIN...
Now, I don't want to be ROBIN you of your credit... You're good with puns, but most of the time, you just PARROT what I write.
And it's true, some members try to EMU-late your verbal skills, but I just consider them GULLible to follow the example of such a DODO.
Now you know me... I'm usually even tempered...neither a HAWK nor a DOVE, but...
Your reference to my marital status was out of line...
One shouldn't comment on one's CHICK, eventhough she is an ex.
What she says concerns me little and should concern you even less. A TIT MOUSE's opinion matters little to a WOODPECKER.
Comments like that will be an ALBATROSS around your neck.
Some day, someone's gonna slap the FLOCK out of you, and you'll be grinning out of the back of your head.
(Grinnin' in front, grinnin' in back...PEREGRINEs!)

Wise up, T.C... lest you make a mistake you'll SHORE EGRET!

[ClarkGriswald]

Wow , I have not witnessed puns of that caliber in years.. not since I left showbiz.. (buncha nuts backstage). Well done..(was wondering if someone would catch the fowl thing but man.. I am impressed)