soggy from idle up to 3500

[the108penguins]

ok so my bike is running again Woo Hoo!!! and this is what I've done to get it here. I was having problems with it not staying running for more than 10 min because the charging system was (and still is) not working but also my battery was not holding a charge. so after chasing my tail on this problem I went ahead and bought a new Interstate battery $65 (the walmart neverstart batteries are not worth the $45 expense) ok so she's running and for the time being rideable. I just have to bring my trickle charger with me and plug her in while I'm at work.

What I am hoping y'all can help me with is I have to set the idle at 2k or the engine chuggs and dies. also until I get to above 3.5k and the engine is under load it chuggs and sputters, backfires a bit too.

any ideas what this could be?

I wen ahead and did away with the ICU and replaced it with 2 IGN modules from a GM truck as per the mod on the board here. this problem was present before and after the mod.

[DGXSER]

First thought is that your carbs are not cleaned up good enough. Idle circuit sounds clogged. When you get to 3k or so is when the main jets take over. That is a pretty large circuit so it tends to do ok. I'd start with making sure you clean all the wee little orifices in those carbs.

Have you checked your voltage rectifier? Check volts at battery at idle, and then again at upper RPMS.

[the108penguins]

rectifier tests out good I've got a back up too it did sit for about two months so that could be it. I did clean them last week, though I don't know if I did a good enough job. seems to run a tad bit better with the vacuum advance disconnected, not sure why

[cywelchjr]

Make sure you don't have any vacuum leaks, as that will cause troubles that will go away as you open the throttle more.

But also make sure everything is really clean in the carbs, especially the idle circuits as was mentioned. Make sure your timing is correct, as that can make it not run right as well, especially at lower RPM. Also, not having enough voltage because it's not charging, even with a good battery, will cause problems. But if the charging system parts all check out, and your voltage is still low when running 3000 RPM, then it might be something is wrong that is pulling the voltage down with too much load, which would cause poor running at lower RPM because of poor spark, and 3000 RPM is where the charging system really gets up to full power along with the mains kicking fully in.

Have you tried disconnecting everything electrical that is not directly needed to operate the bike to see if that has an effect on the charging voltage of the bike? Pull the lights (all of them) and such, basically you want to find a way to get rid of as much load as possible. Ideal would be to find a way to get an ammeter into the line so you can see what's really happening, but those auto type meters can be hard to find, but almost invaluable to troubleshooting, especially with one that can handle 60+ amps, cause by putting in in circuit in different places you can tell if there is draw that shouldn't be there (like it sounds as may be happening).

[trdriver71]

I am with cy on the charging issue giving the poor running a low rpms, and unhooking lights. I had a bike that was not charging properly and did exactly what you described fix the charging system and the problem was gone.