Broken Mixture Screw / Needles - Replacements ?

[catdna]

Thanks guys ! I love this forum ! :-)

Will have fun playing with the airbox later this week (will check if the air filter has mice living in it too - didn't hear any squeaks on the way home )

Hold off for a bit, until you check to see if you're actually getting a vacuum leak through the cracked rubbers. There's actually a metal layer inside the rubber walls that is pretty much leak-proof. Search the tips for how to check for leaks by waving an unlit propane torch around the rubbers while the engine is idling. If the rubbers are cracked bad enough to be leaking, the unburden propane will be sucked in, and you'll hear the engine speed up. If this does not cause the engine to speed up, the cracks are only cosmetic. That can be dressed up with black RTV silicone or spray-on rubber coating.

They're definitely leaking (they're also covered in glue, so someone tried to fix them... PO denied all knowledge) - If I run a layer of saliva over the carbs (well, the cracks themselves) you can see it bubbling away .... yet the bike seems to run / tick over just fine ? (although it does seem incredibly hot - didn't want to start again when I had a rest break on the way home - waited 20 minutes and off she went).

It ticks over smoother than the trike !

I'm not going to have much time to play with the XS this week as I'd like - I really need to get it road legal first and then take it out for test-runs.

I'm off to read up the tips about the clutch now - this bike appears to have been sat for the past 3 years with very little mileage done - the PO say's that he did an oil change last week, but I'm going to do another anyway.

Cheers !
Chris

[Cobia]

That Trike is BAD!!

Hey Cat,
You're going to have to tell us about all the mods you did in making that BadA$$ trike. It's pretty cool.
Thanks

[catdna]

Hey Cat,
You're going to have to tell us about all the mods you did in making that BadA$$ trike. It's pretty cool.
Thanks

No mods at all

It's a completely new frame with an XS1100 engine in it (year not know)

Rear axle is from a Mazda MX5 (or 'Miata' I think our American brethren call it) - running upside down

Tank is a Harley 'Fat Bob' stretched and widened

Forks are from a harley 'something' (not sure)

Virtually everything on it has been custom made / bashed into shape to fit :-)


Run's a bit crappy at the moment because of all 4 pilot screws being broken off (although they're removed now, waiting on new ones before we can try it out again).


It's a *LOT* of fun to ride when it works though

[petejw]

Thats a really nice bike, nice colour and I like the xs1100 emblem on the side cover.
With the clutch, change the engine oil and maybe run sum sea foam thru the engine, after adjusting the clutch, it might help fix the slipping problem.

[Ken Talbot]

If I run a layer of saliva over the carbs (well, the cracks themselves) you can see it bubbling away ....

Yup, that is what happens when the cracks are just in the outer layer of rubber. If those cracks go all the way through, they will suck the saliva in, not bubble it out. The propane trick will tell you in an instant if it is getting sucked into the manifold. You can do a similar test by spraying with some WD40 to see if it gets sucked in, but there is a risk of that flammable material igniting and setting your carbs on fire. Don't shortcut the diagnosis - do it properly and potentially save yourself a lot of money.