@$#@% idle!

[GARTHXS]

I am having a really tough time getting this bike to idle right , the carbs are clean , and sync is near perfect , set idle screws at 2 turns and she just keeps creeping up till about 2k rpm tried turning down set screw and she dies . btw new carb boots and no vacuum leaks , Iam talking about my 79f the only mod it has is a drilled airbox and k&n filter

[Ivan]

My only guess would be that maybe your "choke" rod might be hanging up, and not letting the enrichener circuit close fully. I had that happen on mine when I didn't get one of the little forks with the setscrew fully into the divot in the choke rod. It held the rest of the plungers open just a hair.

[GARTHXS]

stock

I just put my other airbox bottom back on , the one that isn't drilled and reset pilot screws back from lightle seated to 1-1/2 out and seems to run a little better but it still hangs a little @2k before settling down maybe 2-5 seconds, I guess I have to take it for a spin and check plug color

[Ivan]

Its perfectly ok to run the idle on an engine a tad rich. I always did on cages when I would rebuild carbs. I always figures an easy start and smooth idle would trump having a perfect mixture.

It really sounds to me kile you might be a bit rich still. Try opening the pilot screws a half turn each and see if it gets better. One other thought that occurred to me was that your throttle shaft seals might be leaking a bit. On the cages, this made the idle hang a bit too. Usually richening the idle made it work ok.

[motoman]

Do the cam chain adj. procedure....................I know, doesn't sound relative. Give that a go and report back. May be surprised........

[GARTHXS]

transition jets

3phase suggested that my idle set screw may be to far out leaving the transition jets open and just pulling mor fuel into the carbs? i am going to see if I can get the bike to idle under1k and re sync, adjust mix etc. also he said to check for a vacuum leak , I guess I will just narrow down the possibilities

[soccer4m]

Hey Garth,

Hey fellow San Diegan,,,,,,had the same problem on another XS,,,it turned out to be sticky carb slides. Maybe pop off the air cleaner and lift up each slide and make sure it slides down without hesitation, and then place one finger over each air inlet at the top and the slide should slowly drop. If its sticking or the slide drops quickly after stopping the air flow,,,,,problem solved. If its sticking the only method I know is to pull the carbs and clean the slides thoroughly and lightly oil. If its dropping quickly after plugging the air flow,,,,the diaphragm is not sealing properly and also requires carb yanking out. Good luck,,,pray to the XS gods and let us know whats up.....also shoot some carb cleaner around the carb inlets just to make sure there is no leaky boot or seal just to make sure there is no vac leak............Mike in N.San Diego

[81xsproject]

Don't be afraid to try 2.5 and 3 turns out also.

[CatatonicBug]

Don't be afraid to try 2.5 and 3 turns out also.

We just did a colortune on my MNS, and ended up over 3 turns out. Each carb was different, but they were all over 3 turns.

[mn2346]

I had the same problem.

The fix for me was to make the sync -> adjust the idle down and repeat until the sync was good 100-200 below the normal idle.

Then raised the idle back to normal.
Seems that one carburettor was out of idle range and caused the uneven idle.

[GARTHXS]

yes

I think maybe this is the problem

I had the same problem.

The fix for me was to make the sync -> adjust the idle down and repeat until the sync was good 100-200 below the normal idle.

Then raised the idle back to normal.
Seems that one carburettor was out of idle range and caused the uneven idle.

[tarzan]

Idle screws need to be set one by one.I let the bike idle.Then turn the screw in till the rpms start to drop.Then back it out till the idle levels out.Then turn it out another 1\8 to 1\4 turn.Then do the next one.

[3Phase]

Garth, how's it going with the carbs?


Regards,

Scott

[GARTHXS]

not yet

Stupid job gets in the way of workin on the bike, maybe wed.

[3Phase]

Stupid job gets in the way of workin on the bike, maybe wed.

Ah, so... I'll keep an eye/ear peeled for you then when you get back to it!


Regards,

scott