Shifter or Clutch?

[turbo loco]

also if the pepcock is switched to on it only lets fuel in when the engine is on correct? and when its set to prime its on and uses the closing(hopeful) of the needles to keep the gas from escaping to the airbox or engine right?

[prometheus578]

You are correct about the petcock function.

Carbs are not removed for synch'ing. Bike must be running. Bad carb synch can cause all sorts of weirdness. (imagine one or two cylinders pulling harder than the other ones)
A bike that wants to die at idle often isn't running on all four or is badly out of synch.
Again, from my earlier post...

Check these few things mentioned above and write back.
(Oil level, spark plugs, carbs still leaking)

Ray... The only difference between our elderly bikes and something sitting on the showroom floor is the vacuum advance, and I suppose, the known problem of pick-up coils wires breaking. Oh, and I suppose 2nd gear issues... but all that stuff is covered in the technical and service bulletins.
Fouled plugs, leaking float needles, stumbling, cylinders not firing... these are all common problems regardless of year or make.

Curious, Slow Mo... what was the problem?

[turbo loco]

if the shift box was off, or the face at least, would all the oil drain out? it was off for a good 12+ hours in a garage. after i let it sit i sealed it up and waited for the sealer to dry then put some 15w50 in, about three quarts. maybe too much oil?

[Ken Talbot]

if the shift box was off, or the face at least, would all the oil drain out?

No, there would still be quite a bit of oil in it. Looking at it from the side, you can see how much of the crankcase there is below the level of the cover you had off, plus the filter cup would still be full.

then put some 15w50 in, about three quarts. maybe too much oil?

Yes, now it will be too full, as it should take 3 litres for a complete change. Overfilling shouldn't be cause a running problem, but keep an eye out for oil being blown up into the airbox through the crankcase breather hose. Get enough in there, and it will leak out a small vent in the bottom half of the airbox, pool up on top of the crankcase, then roll off onto your hot exhaust producing a major smoke show.

[turbo loco]

sob... so what do i do with all the oil i put in? i cant just drain it out thats a waste of perfectly good oil, for the most part.

[Ken Talbot]

Not a big problem. Drain it all out into a decent sized oil pan, using the cranckase drain plug tucked away out of sight behind the oil filter cup. Drop the cup too to get the last of it out. At this point, the oil should still be pretty clean, so just re-use it. Use your recently emptied oil containers to measure 3 litres, or quarts, and put it back in. With the bike on its centrestand, check the oil level in the sight glass.

Once you've got it where it needs to be, you may have to find an alternate use for the remaining oil. Put it in a container and save it for next time, or ?? Just remember, it is not acceptable any more to use it for dust control on your gravel driveway.