Help, Pipes turning blue....

[Brad]

Looking for some help, my pipes are turning blue. I was told she running rich. 1978 xs1100E

[Suckerpunch]

Looking for some help, my pipes are turning blue. I was told she running rich. 1978 xs1100E

I thought it was due to being to lean because of the heat?

[Montreux_Blue]

Running lean is correct. Need to do a colortune, or tune by ear, and carb sync.

[CatatonicBug]

Are they stock headers, or aftermarket? The stock ones won't blue unless the engine is running lean, but the thinner, single-walled aftermarket ones will almost always turn blue, no matter how well the carbs are tuned.

[Brad]

Are they stock headers, or aftermarket? The stock ones won't blue unless the engine is running lean, but the thinner, single-walled aftermarket ones will almost always turn blue, no matter how well the carbs are tuned.

I bought it from a P/O who had it in storage from another P/O for 4 years....don't know the history, or how to tell if they are stock.
We are also limited in motorcycle resources and I don't know weather or not I can find a colortune. Would I need to turn the mixture screws in all the way and back off 1 and a 1/2 turns, then fine tune? Then sync? I also do not have an rpm gague, it is broken.

[Montreux_Blue]

Look down in the "Maintenance" section and it will tell you how to tune by ear, that should get you into the ballpark.

[CatatonicBug]

A picture of your bike, and anyone here could tell you if your pipes are stock.

A colortune is nice, but not required. Tuning by ear is just about as good. There is a tech tip that can walk you through the process. My screws are turned out over 4 turns. You might fix your tach before worrying about the other stuff though. It's electrical, and if IT doesn't work, there may be other issues.

The process usually goes - Sync, then tune, then sync again just to be sure.

[wylie coyote]

Right on with the 'check in maint'. Mine was an identical thing- pipes were [U]black even, and the PO said it always ""ran hot"". Yeah, right. I bench set it the way described in the articles here, used some Blue Away on the pipes (which worked incredible btw), and the thing runs so good, they have not colored at all since. Listen to these guys- they know what's going on.

[Bigfoot]

I bought it from a P/O who had it in storage from another P/O for 4 years....don't know the history, or how to tell if they are stock.
We are also limited in motorcycle resources and I don't know weather or not I can find a colortune. Would I need to turn the mixture screws in all the way and back off 1 and a 1/2 turns, then fine tune? Then sync? I also do not have an rpm gague, it is broken.

After colortuning, my idle mixture screws are 3 1/2 - 4 turns out. The bike runs much better that way and the popping on decel completely went away. I am sure that there is someone here that is much smarter than me that will tell you I just ruined my bike or something but others that I have talked to that have colortuned have reported similar results.

[Montreux_Blue]

Bigfoot, you just totally ruined your bike and are now running far too rich which in turn will cause all that extra fuel to seep past the pistons and get into your oil causing catastrophic failure!

Just kidding, you did it right even if you weren't sober....

[Brad]

A picture of your bike, and anyone here could tell you if your pipes are stock.

A colortune is nice, but not required. Tuning by ear is just about as good. There is a tech tip that can walk you through the process. My screws are turned out over 4 turns. You might fix your tach before worrying about the other stuff though. It's electrical, and if IT doesn't work, there may be other issues.

The process usually goes - Sync, then tune, then sync again just to be sure.

The tach, old speedo and the rest of the stock components up on the "dash" were beyond repair. I hooked up a kawasaki speedo that my friend gave me off his 77 dirt bike. Hooked up power for the internal light and attached the cable. He followed me with his car and we found that the speedo worked correct. The pipes are Vance & Hines, If someone can tell me if the headers are stock, here's a pic. [IMG][/IMG]
The header pipes were blue before I changed the exhaust pipes, and she will not idle, I have to feather the throttle. She pops a bit on accel and pops a bit on decel, dosen't quite have the "pull your sholder out of joint snap". Another guy at the local hangout has a 79 that sounds great, idle's awesome , kicks my a#$ off the line with his farrings, saddle bags and wife on board. He tuned his in by ear, took him all day he says.
If I get him to do it for me, it's no different than a "other brand here" owner taking it to his over priced mechanic to fix it for him. Then I might as well buy the matching boots, gloves, helmet, chaps, shirt, sweater, jacket, bandana, key chain, walet and sticker for my truck, then leave the scoot in the garage cause it might get dirty, or worse yet, be seen by someone else having the exact same one.

[Bigfoot]

I disagree (if that is still allowed)

If I get him to do it for me, it's no different than a "other brand here" owner taking it to his over priced mechanic to fix it for him. Then I might as well buy the matching boots, gloves, helmet, chaps, shirt, sweater, jacket, bandana, key chain, walet and sticker for my truck, then leave the scoot in the garage cause it might get dirty, or worse yet, be seen by someone else having the exact same one.

There is no shame in having someone help you with something and learning from it. Sounds like the guy knows how to tune (shouldn't take a full day though IMHO). If he is willing to teach you his tricks, offer him the drink of his choice and take him up on it.

[CatatonicBug]

Those are NOT the stock headers. They will likely be blue no matter what you do. Tuning by ear takes a tad longer than a colortune, but you can do it in about 30 minutes or so if you follow the tech tip. The popping will be cured by tuning, though I don't know if it will go away 100% with those pipes.

I agree with Bigfoot though. A little help from another XSive is always a good thing. I wouldn't suggest handing it over and walking away, but learning from his experience may benefit you in the long run.

[Brad]

For sure

I would love to have someone show me how to work on bikes, he said anytime. I just have not made time to go his place or even know his last name. No shame in learning for me. Time and money are two things I lack in life....

[Winterhawk]

Are they stock headers, or aftermarket? The stock ones won't blue unless the engine is running lean, but the thinner, single-walled aftermarket ones will almost always turn blue, no matter how well the carbs are tuned.

He's right. Single wall tubing will turn regardless. I've always heard of the lean thing also.