Eats GAS, runs flooded-NOW what?

[DELL82]

I have been having trouble getting my bike, 82' xj1100 MAXIM to run good. Went 100 miles on 4 gallons of gas yesterday-WTF
I have cleaned the carbs.
Drilled out the idle jets to two drill sizes larger( alcohol gas)
Set the float levels using the tubing method on the bench.
Colortuned at idle.
Synced and all is good RIGHT. WRONG
Idles Okay, runs seemingly good after 5500 RPM
What am I missing? Where to start looking.

My first problem was the original coils had one fail. I replaced it with a GW (Pri and secondary ohm the same as the Yam's) model temporarily until I can get the Dino's.
As always I need your VERY GOOD EXPERT ADVISE
Dell82

[psycoreefer]

how is it between idle and 5500?

if you really needed to go up 2 idle jet sizes then likely you need bigger mains too.

how do the plugs look?

[lvrsnr]

sounds like a problem I had. turned out that a float was hanging up on an after market float bowl gasket ,,trimming them with a razor to match the carb gasket surface solved the problem. and has been trouble free for two years now. good luck Larry R

[blue giant]

Does it flood when sitting? I had to replace the orings on the body of the float needle seat. I was getting fuel seeping by the seat body and carb body. Drove me crazy cleaning carbs til I found out was was going on!

[jmnjrpa]

Have you

Checked the air filter, plugs, compression, valve clearance, vac advance (loose hose or leaky), and pipes for blockage or loose connection? What size did you drill them out? Air jets? Also you may have coil issues with the other one.

[jmnjrpa]

What

other mods do you have?

[motoman]

Drilled out the idle jets!................U can start by replacing them, seriously! Pull the carbs and start over. Re-read all the tech tips, etc.

[motoman]

Making no apoligies for the somewhat rant, but seems many here recently are jumping in with both feet before reading all the good info here......

[DELL82]

Thanks for all the input.
I will try and get your answers this weekend as the weather is great and I have time.

So far I have done the following:
Using the 0-80 drill set I sized the OEM Jets. Then using two sizes larger drill I opened them up. This We found works great on a Honda 450 to solve the gas problems we were having with alcohol.

No leaky advance hose to the advance box under the tank. Switched out the box and the TCI to no avail. I found the coil was bad at that time.

I am going to run the bike at 3500 RPM(the worst place) then do a spark check and look at the plugs, replace them, so I can look better back at the shop.

air box does not have fuel in it. Floats are sealing.

I have fabricated a K&N air Filter on the OEM Frame, project I will show later.
Thanks
Dell82

[Yard Dogg]

Thanks for all the input.
I will try and get your answers this weekend as the weather is great and I have time.

So far I have done the following:
Using the 0-80 drill set I sized the OEM Jets. Then using two sizes larger drill I opened them up. This We found works great on a Honda 450 to solve the gas problems we were having with alcohol.

No leaky advance hose to the advance box under the tank. Switched out the box and the TCI to no avail. I found the coil was bad at that time.

I am going to run the bike at 3500 RPM(the worst place) then do a spark check and look at the plugs, replace them, so I can look better back at the shop.

air box does not have fuel in it. Floats are sealing.

I have fabricated a K&N air Filter on the OEM Frame, project I will show later.
Thanks
Dell82

Typically on chop testing, you should start with idle speed, then chop test at high rpm in top gear, then check midrange in top gear. I have to agree with motoman on drilling out your jets. It may work on a single cylinder engine, but with 4 carbs your jets should be a machined match to eachother. I'm finding out just how finicky these carbs can be. Have you changed pipes or altered your air box? Did you say your running alcohol through it? Confused a little.

[DELL82]

OKay I will try the chop at designated RPM's, thanks. Jets are matched as I machined them with proper speed and drill. No swirl in hole as i used a microscope to examine the holes.
altered your air box? I have taken the OEM air filter and striped the element out of it and replaced with a K&N element. Pictures are coming when I finish the article. However the element is in the bike now.

Did you say your running alcohol through it? Yes the 10%+ alcohol in the gas. When we tuned a CB450 Honda we could not get the mid range right. So we drilled out the idle jets and it cured the problem. So I drilled out mine in hopes that it would solve my problem as well.
will keep you abreast of the progress. Thanks All
Dell82

[jmnjrpa]

???

I keep hearing a lot of people rag on the E85 alcohol. That's what I'm running and my bike runs like a bat out of he!!. Maybe a change of plugs is in order. Get a set of E3 and you won't believe the difference. The engine will run cooler with gasohol and pre detonation is no longer an issue.

[cywelchjr]

I keep hearing a lot of people rag on the E85 alcohol. That's what I'm running and my bike runs like a bat out of he!!. Maybe a change of plugs is in order. Get a set of E3 and you won't believe the difference. The engine will run cooler with gasohol and pre detonation is no longer an issue.

E85 IIRC only has about 60% of the energy of straight gas, which means you would be getting around 18MPG and would have to have gone up considerably on the jets to get the right mixture since it uses a much richer mixture than normal gas. That and it's very caustic on the fuel system, which means it has to be designed for it, I don't think our carbs would last very long running E85 through them.

[Ivan]

All I can say is I wish I could get 100 miles on 4 gallons of gas on my scoot. I only get about 22 mpg, and that is 25.

Midrange stumble might just be cured with a dynojet kit and its adjustable needles.

Also look at the end of the emulsion tubes where the needle goes in, they get egg shaped sometimes and cause problems on the needle.

Last but not least, go to Nebraska to get some fuel. Seriously. I ran up there a week or so ago and on my Mazda Tribute, I usually get 16-19 mpg. Since it was a long trip, I tried to use the cruise control as much as possible, letting it do the accelerating and such. So I think I can say that I drove very close to the same up and back. When I filled up in Nebraska, I got 26 mpg. Then on the crap Kansas gas, it went right back down to 17.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

Yup, on the highway I get about 100 miles out of a tank on my SG before going to reserve. And the special holds, what, somewhere around 3.5 gallons?

So.....between 27 and 30 MPG.

The XS is NOT designed for fuel mileage.