update on my project

[DGXSER]

Moto, not sure how it works on an H, but on the two SH I have owned, there was not enough room to get the top bracket off the frame to lower the top of the airbox, the snorkel also keeps it from dropping down. That has been my experience anyway.

[GLoweVA]

help ?

Okay, so for the last 2 days she hasn't been running right. Studder at speed and seems a little weak at idle. Like I'm running on 3 out of 4.
So last night when I get home, I spray the pipes and #1 is not hot at all compared to the rest.
So I pull the plug wire and no change. Pull the plug and it sparks, so maybe no fuel.
It seemed to run okay at speed, so I thought maybe it's just the idle circuit.
I tried to open up the idle screw and no change.
I open up the drain plug and I got fuel in the bowl, so I figure it's just the pilot circuit that's dirty. Afterall, this is the carb bank off the G.
So, i dump 1/2 a can of seafoam in it and this morning top the tank off.
The ride in to work was the same, almost died at idle and sputter/surging at speed.
Got home tonight and decide it was time to put the SG carb rack back in, but with the non kit jets. (ie. the stock minikui jets that it came with)
SO, after an hour of so, I get them all back together, 42.5 pilots, 110 stock mains with the fairly clean SG carbs.
I go to sync it and #1 has no suction (almost none). WTF?
I'm thinking it's a stuck open valve or something stupid like that.
I pull the plug and it seems to suck and push just fine. Man I wish santa brings me a compression tester. That would have told me a lot and saved me about an hour of trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
I reach up under the rack to adjust the idle and the damn inlet boot bolt falls out into my hand!



90 miles I've ridden with the bolt loose and NOW it falls out!! how's that for luck!?!
The boot had separated away from the head and that's where #1 was sucking thru there instead of the carb or the sync hose.
WOW!, I get it all bolted back together and sync'd and get the idle adjusted and all 4 are hot now (at idle). Eat dinner and then go for a ride.
It seems to still studder/surge at about 4k steady throttle/speed.
My question is, could it be too lean with the 110 jets and thus starving for fuel? I do get a rare backfire out the pipes.
I suppose it could be the pick up coil wires, but I fixed them once already, and if they went bad, I know what running on only 2 feels like. BTDT on the G, that's how I burnt the piston in it back in 2011.

I know this post is a little long winded, but I believe in putting out a lot of info.

[GLoweVA]

I hate working in my carport in the dark. I've got one light above the door to the house and my flashlight.
I suppose if I had more lighting, I would have seen that bolt was way backed out and figured out my #1 cylinder issue a whole lot earlier.

Okay, so now on to this annoying misfire/sputter/surge issue.
I've been searching the forum and I've come to the conclusion to swap out the other coil.
#2/3 was bad (found it a few weeks ago, completely open on the secondary side) I swapped in the #2/3 from the G in and it worked.
So, maybe the SG's #1/4 coil is going bad. It can't hurt to swap in the G's #1/4 coil and try it out.
Note: one thing I did find out a few weeks ago when I did pull #2/3 from the G, the plug caps were 8K ??? not the 5K I thought they were. Weird, for more than 5 years that bike ran with those coils/plugs and it really didn't seem to mind.

I've kinda ruled out the carbs being 'bad' because the issue was there with either rack of carbs. I may still have a vac leak at the boots, but I suppose I would have seen that with the sync rig like the previous post, but I'll try the WD-40/starting fluid check just to be sure.

I will say, I'm getting fairly proficient at pulling the carbs out. The quick seat bolt mod sure helps as does the cordless drill for the boot clamps. Still hard to do by flashlight though.

[jetmechmarty]

I hate working in my carport in the dark. I've got one light above the door to the house and my flashlight.

I do most of my work outside in the dark. Often it's cold, or raining, or both! A B767 just won't fit in the garage. If it does, the rent is extremely high! My last breakdown was in Anchorage. The temp went up to 18 and down to 2 on the Fahrenheit scale, and the sun comes up at 10A and goes down at 3P. Get yourself a LED light that straps on your head.

[crazy steve]

Take a look at the plugs. If you've been running the bike with a vacuum leak, you've had a lean condition and that can overheat the plugs, damaging them.

Had this problem on a car; one emissions hose failed (vacuum leak) and the car ran poorly. Fixed the hose, but it still missed at some rpms. Dealer tried to tell me I needed a new head, replaced the plugs and the problem went away....

[GLoweVA]

Thanks Steve, All 4 plugs do look a little white, I just put new ones in about 2 weeks ago. (see about 1/2 way up this thread)
I'm thinking that they are a little lean, but that could be the 110 mains I just put in.
If I do have a leak, I should be able to find it with the WD-40/starter fluid check.

One nice benefit to having a 2nd bike is that I can 'steal' the parts off it.
I can always just put the G plugs in the SG.

[GLoweVA]

So, yesterday before I come to work, I top off the tank and the MPGs are way up! 37!
Of course I know I'm running lean and I've got a sputter/surging at 3.5-4k rpms, but I can live with that until this weekend.
Last night I got the starter spray and sprayed the heck of out of the boots/carbs and other various intake areas and NO CHANGE.
So, No vac leaks. (Step one done)
Now I'm going to swap out coils with the G and see if that cures the stumble/surge. (and try another sync/idle mix adjust)
If that doesn't do it, then it's off with the carbs again and check float height (again) and maybe change out the main jets up a size.

Oh and last night I found out that the left side muffler joint also has a crack in the weld there too. (go back about 10 posts for the right side crack I found.)

Could my exhaust 'leaks' there be enough to cause the lean running with the stock muffler backpressure restricting the flow enough that the exhaust goes out the pipe cracks?

Weather is supposed to be nice down here in SE VA this weekend and I'd sure like to ride for pleasure rather than commuting.

[ViperRon]

On the running lean issue before you swap mains when you have the carbs out make sure and check the float levels. The float levels being off can cause it to run lean and stumble under acceleration just as easily as the mains not sized properly.

[GLoweVA]

Thanks Ron, I've got a little homemade rack to hold the carbs and tygon hoses I stick up into the drain holes and verify the actual level. Maybe I'll check them before I actually pull the carbs off the bike then I'll know for sure that the levels are good or, if not, which one(s) need adjustment.

The stumble isn't really there under acceleration, but a lot noticable at steady state cruise.

[DGXSER]

I would definitely correct your exhaust before you go chasing the rabbit around the tree on that stumble. It could certainly be related, and you need to fix the exhaust anyway. Eliminate that cause before you spend the time on carbs.

[GLoweVA]

I would definitely correct your exhaust before you go chasing the rabbit around the tree on that stumble. It could certainly be related, and you need to fix the exhaust anyway. Eliminate that cause before you spend the time on carbs.

Maybe I can sweet talk TC into firing up his welder this weekend.
Otherwise, maybe some of that heavy duty metal tape and some tinfoil?

[DGXSER]

I had a similar thing happen to my exhaust. Took it to the local Midas and the guy there welded it up for me. Cost me about $20.

I also took my Kerker baffle to them to reweld a few tacks after I modded it. Shop did not charge me, gave the guy who welded it $5.

[GLoweVA]

Years ago, I took my fairing bracket (had a broken weld joint) to a local muffler chain and he tack'd it up for me for $5. It held for about 4 years and last year TC redid it for me.
I guess I won't know how bad it is until I pull them off the bike and then I'll know.
Maybe I can ride over to TC's Saturday (or Sun) and after the bike cools down, we can take them off over there and he can weld the cracks back together. Too bad he won't see this post until tonight.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey George,

I hadn't been following your thread over the past week!
I just got back home this evening after visiting with SWMBO who's still in the Hospital having just had back surgery Thursday! Not sure if she'll get discharged to go home tomorrow or Sunday? Once she gets home and settled in, I'll be happy to help with the exhausts and get them rewelded up for you! I've got your phone # so I'll give you a shout when I find out when Swmbo will be able to come home and when I'll be free to help out! I don't want to rely or trust the PM system right now! I got a new less of a POS Tracfone...actual touch screen instead of the basic flip, but same ph#!

T.C.

[TopCatGr58]

Opinions from the welders!

Hey George,

Glad you got my Text, Swmbo is expected to come home tomorrow...they kept her because of a persistent fever...thought it was surgery related, turned out to be a bladder infection! SO...yeah, we should be able to get together next weekend!

NOW...for the question for the welders. I'm just a novice welder, and due to the thinness of the material and the previous weakening and fracturing of the repair...I was thinking about putting a SLEEVE over the joint...performing the initial crack repair, but then tig welding the sleeve over the fracture to provide additional support/strength to the joint..since it's apparantly under repeated vibration and heat/expansion/cooling compression stress. But I also understand that alllegedly, due to the welding process...the new area that becomes welded becomes the more brittle/weaker section???

Thoughts, opinions from experience regarding the use of the sleeve repair or just simply fix the crack??

T.C.