starting to get cold feet.

[Rickrod3]

Purchased my bike with a stuck motor. pulled the heads and cylinders to free it up. checked the rings and cylinders all within spec. cleaned everything up and put back together. I used the straw method of finding top dead center. I'm not convinced I'm dead center of the dwell.

My timing marks line up while the piston is at the top. I could spin the engine freely by the crank and the kick starter.
I even did a compression test and all cylinders were in the 170 psi area. Never started the engine before.
Is this good enough for a start?
Or should I employ a more acurate method.
This site has been a great resourse don't think I would have even tried this with out all your help.

Thanks in advance
Rick

[tarzan]

As long as the marks line up and you are at TDC,you are good.
Compression looks good.Fire it up.

[motoman]

Well,.... light a fire in that scoot.......my feet are getting cold!

[DGXSER]

If you turned it over enough and fast/hard enough to run compression checks, you done did any damage your gonna do which appears to be none!!

Put some fuel to that thing and light er up!! BUT first make sure your oil light goes out after you run the starter a few cycles to get the erl (in oklahoma-ese) pumped through.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

fire in the hole!!!!

[Larrym]

Forewarned equals Forearmed...

Rickrod3,

Spinning the engine sorta proves the engine wasn't put together in a manner where parts like valves and pistons didn't come together with disastrous results. That's a very good thing.

Now that you're going for a full-on "Start/Run", I'd say to be prepared for other things to go wrong like fuel leaks, backfires thru the exhaust or the carbs. If there is anything off in either the mechanical timing or the electrical/carbs then you won't get that smooth purr you're expecting. Hopefully burps or backfires won't happen. But if it does and you're not ready for it then .

I had a fire extinguisher ready to go when I first started my first XS after a major "Eval/disassembly/reassembly". Turns out it wasn't needed after all.

I also had a can of my favorite "plywood aged" beverage ready to go if all went well.

Cheers!

[Rickrod3]

Thanks again guys
Going to pick up a battery and the gas tank.
Have a few odds and ends to take care of and should be firing it up for Xmas.

Rick

[Rickrod3]

Got my tank back today.
Checked the petcocks and they could use a rebuild.
Going to order parts after I finish this post.

I'll keep you posted.

Rick

[Rickrod3]

Fire in the hole

Fired the bike up today.

Bike has been sitting since about 83.

Well the bike would only start and stay on with the choke on.

also 1 and 2 clyinders smoked a lot.
hopeing this has somthing to do with the choke being on.
I guess I have to pull the carbs.
to check the pilot and main circuits.

What is color tuning?
Any other thoughts

Chugged a beer to celebrate.

Tia
Rick

[XJOK2PLAY]

Put some fuel to that thing and light er up!! BUT first make sure your oil light goes out after you run the starter a few cycles to get the erl (in oklahoma-ese) pumped through.

Now, Don... would you kindly explain to me the reasoning deduction process you have devised to properly assume you know exactly how it is we speak in Oklahoma , being you currently reside in Ohio???

(Pass the Grey Poupon, please...)

One moment, while I climb aboard my BMW & affix my Petard Leather gloves...

[DGXSER]

Colortune is a tool used to look into the cylinder to see the color of the flame. You change the mixture screw and watch the color of the flame change.

[motorhead]

Fired the bike up today.

Bike has been sitting since about 83.

Well the bike would only start and stay on with the choke on.

also 1 and 2 clyinders smoked a lot.
hopeing this has somthing to do with the choke being on.
I guess I have to pull the carbs.
to check the pilot and main circuits.

What is color tuning?
Any other thoughts

Chugged a beer to celebrate.

Tia
Rick

Obviously you need to rebuild carbs and clean fuel system.. hasn't run since 83?........sheese

[Larrym]

Doctor in the House???

Awesome!!!

Great to hear that you've moved past the PRAD (Pre Run Anxiety Disorder) and are now experiencing something we all suffer from: Post Run Let Down. Continue to self-medicate with beer until the sadness/silence passes.

As far as the next step of getting it to run better/longer, dirty or mal-adjusted carbs is a good place to start. There's been some good posts recently about cleaning them (See WildKat's with pics...). Plus there's good stuff in the tech tips about setting float levels and doing a bread tie bench synch.

The run proves your prior work was "up to snuff." Nice to know that you can move on to the next "problem" without having to revisit former efforts.

[LoHo]

XJOK2PLAY scribbled: One moment, while I climb aboard my BMW & affix my Petard Leather gloves...

Dang, I always wanted me some 'o them Retard Gloves!

[XSokieSPECIAL]

I see in your signature you've cleaned those carbs already. Judging by the looks of the before and after pics I doubt you missed a spot.

Being an old nut twister like me I would think you knew what you were doing.

Did you let the thing warm up? These old girls don't like to idle without the enricher when they're cold.

I would try syncing the carbs and tweaking the adjustments before tearing that rack back out.

You'll have to do that after a rebuild anyway. Be careful with those mixture screws though. The tips will break off inside if you screw them in too tight and the broken tips are a bugger to get out.