Idle too low?

[XSTrey11]

Okay after the carb rebuild I took the bike out for a few minutes tonight and its running okay. Well, it's running... It sounds very uneven (I imagine once I get the carbs synced that will be solved?) until I get on the throttle a bit and it isn't dying when I'm choking it but once I push the lever back in it wants to die on me. If I had to guess I'd say the idle is just set too low but without a tachometer I can't tell you exactly how low. What does it sound like to ya'll?

[cywelchjr]

If it's running rough, and it dies when you push in the choke, either the carbs still aren't clean, it's not really warmed up, or yes, the idle is too low. If you have access to an old style tach/dwell meter you can use that to check the idle speed, you will just likely need to double the 4 cylinder reading to get the true RPM reading, otherwise if you have access to one of those fancy timing lights that does RPM as well, just make sure to set it to the wasted spark setting and your good. However, if you have none of those, just set it to the lowest speed that it will idle reasonably smoothly and reliably at, but your going to need SOME sort of tach to do a sync properly, at least to do an accurate one.

[DGXSER]

Yep, if it were my bike, I'd adjust that idle up a little. You get to where you can here the right idle speed after a while. I had a set of carbs I rebuilt and put htem on my bike to test. Thought I had soemthing way off cause it would die everytime I shut the enrichment circuit off. Just needed the idle adjusted up ALOT.

As to the tach for a synch, well, you do want the bike to be about at the idle you need. But the synch is strictly a vacuum setting, and while the vacuum it pulls will change with RPM, you can still get them even at any RPM. So once you get your ear tuned for the idle speed you want, you can synch without the tach, just keep adjusting the idle back where you want it as it will change as you synch the carbs.

[XSTrey11]

Very frustrated.

It's now leaking fuel out onto the ground. I haven't been able to find out from where since I'm at work and my girlfriend just called to tell me about it. This happened right before the carb rebuild and i figured it was the left petcock because of the amount of fuel that poured all over me when i disconnected it. I now only run the right petcock and the left is welded closed. Apparently I did not solve the problem. Any ideas at all? I eyeballed my float heights and they all look even. (i was told if they're even don't try to mess with them since they are probably correct.) I also replaced the o-rings on the needle seats.

[XSTrey11]

Update.

Update: Made my roommate go out and look for me. He said the fuel is leaking directly out of my petcock not the carbs so I don't have to cry just yet. Now to figure out how to stop it....

[DGXSER]

Hey Trey,

As to the petcock, a rebuild kit should cure your ills and can be found on ebay under Georgefix. Good guy to deal with and good service as well. As to float height, well as long as they are all even and at the correct height for the carbs, then yes, do not mess with them. But if they are all even and set wrong then they are still wrong and the bike may never run right. Verify the float height is at the factory height for that year carbs.

It can get VERY frustrating getting these things dialed in, but once you do and you keep up with the maintenance on them, you will have miles and miles of ear to ear smiles!! So don't let the frustration get to you, just take a break, drink a beer or ten and then after sleeping that off, try again.

[XSTrey11]

Got the petcock problem fixed. It was leaking from one of the mounting screws where there was no fiber washer. Hopefully adding the washer will solve that.

Now the bike is backfiring in the left pipe and there are bursts of fire coming from it. Also at some points there was no throttle response at all. The bike seemed like it was dying off and when i turned the throttle to keep it running nothing happened?! What should I do about these two problems?

To adjust the idle i simply turn the big screw in the bottom of the carbs that looks like its to be turned using my finger right? Righty-tighty is higher idle lefty is lower?