spark plugs pic

[kevxs]

hey guys, i've got the bike running pretty good finally, thanks to this forum of course,

i've got plugs out, 1 is very hich and 2,3,4 look quite lean.

i believe i have all the clips and floats and jets the same and am in the process of taking the carbs off to make sure but any other advice out there for me?

the bike stumbles below 3000rpm then takes off, looks like a little gas in the airbox too

thanks guys



1 -2 - 3 - 4

[freak_leg]

hmmm, I look forward to comments, mine look pretty much the same

[dbeardslee]

Might check your float for leakage on #1. If it's been immersed in gas for a while you just need to take it out and shake it. If you hear liquid inside you'll know it's leaking.

[DGXSER]

2, 3, and 4 look pretty good to me, nice tanish color on the plug. No 1 is rich for sure. The leaking float valve is probably the culprit. Could be the float or the valve. Any one of these I have ridden will pull like the wind when you hit about 3k and the mains start to kick in. Then when you hit 5k it will REALLY pull you.

[kevxs]

floats are all at 25, guess i should move the clips a notch richer on 2,3,4?

is my motor going to wreck if i keep running it as lean as it is now?

[DGXSER]

2,3, and 4 look good to me, not lean. Lean would be white and or ashy and grey/white. that brownish tint or tan is what your shooting for.

I'd say you only have an issue in number one.

[kevxs]

another pic

thanks for the fast replys guys, i thought i was lean for sure, here is another pic, number 2 is the whitest, i guess the tang on the plug would be white as well if i was lean?

[kevxs]

just checked float 1, didn't hear gas in it but the gas had been drained for a couple hours.

I submirged the float in a glass of water and no bubbles came out.
seems the float is good, what else should i check?

thanks

[Crazcnuk]

Make sure #1 float valve is sealing. With gas in the airbox sounds like the valve is not able to shut the fuel off properly.

[natemoen]

just checked float 1, didn't hear gas in it but the gas had been drained for a couple hours.

I submirged the float in a glass of water and no bubbles came out.
seems the float is good, what else should i check?

thanks

Dont just stick the float in a glass of water. Surface tension will keep you from finding any little holes. Boil the water and then stick the float in the water. If there are holes you will start to see bubbles rushing out of the hole. if no bubbles then pull it out and your good to go.

[TADracer]

Hard to tell from the picture but the insulator on #1 looks kind of shiny. Rich would be dull and fluffy carbon there. Are you sure you do not have an oiling problem on that cylinder?

The other three are perfect. Look at the color change on the ground strap that occurs about half way up the strap. That is good indication of the correct cylinder temp for combustion.

[kevxs]

it did have a tiny bit of shine on it but mostly black and fluffy

[BigRed]

Fuel in the airbox almost definately means that a float needle isn't seating properly. Things that come to mind that would cause this are: leaky float, heavy float, incorrect float level (too high), stuck float, crud preventing needle from seating, worn needle/seat, and gremlins.

You should wet-check the fuel level in carbs 1 and 4. The #4 plug looks good, so it will show you what the fuel level should be. I would expect #1 to have a higher fuel level. If you're sure the float isn't leaking and the needle is seating properly, you can adjust your float height based on the difference in fuel level that you find on your wet check. Maybe a PO "fixed" one of your floats and now it's heavier than the others because of the glue or solder.

You can check that needle is seating by draining and removing the carbs, flipping them upside down, and try to blow air into the fuel inlets. If any passes through, then you know that the float valves aren't seating properly.

Wet check: Put your bike on its centrestand on a level surface, hook a clear 1/4" hose up to the drains for carbs 1&4, then loop the hose up so that the open end is higher than the carb, and open the drain screw. Make sure there aren't any air bubbles in the fuel, as they'll throw off your reading. Good idea to have a fire extinguisher handy... especially if you're going to run the engine during this test.

Good luck!

[kevxs]

Arggg!

so i swapped floats 1&2 and will see if the problem follows, anyway i put everything back together and now the thing is running awful.
i've not no power it won't idle without the choke on and i'm backfiring alot from the right tailpipe, i didn't have the right side carbs apart and everything was working fine before, i have a feeling i missed something obvious, any ideas?

[bikerphil]

Make sure the bowls are full, check for kinked lines. Try with petcocks on prime setting. All vac. ports hooked up/capped?