Carb problems?

[Haarstad]

I have a 79 xs1100 special and I just put on 78 carbs that I picked up, the carbs look awesome in and out but after I hooked them up, I heard the bowls fill with gas and tried turning it over and it won't fire. I took all of the plugs out and only 1 was wet. I don't know if this is the problem but I think it's a good place to start.

Do any of you have any suggestions?

By the way, when I had my original carbs on there, before I got the new ones, it wouldn't start and I checked the plugs then and it also had 3 dry plugs.

Any help is appreciated.

[Haarstad]

Also, I have the fuel/air mixture screws backed out 1 3/4 turns cause I read on here to start between 1.5 - 2 turns as a base.

[DGXSER]

Just for a point of reference, have you ran a compression check lately? If all four carbs are set up the same and only one is wet, then the difference would almost have to be in the engine. If it was fuel related, at least two carbs would be wet.

[Haarstad]

If it was fuel related, why would at least two carbs be wet?

[DGXSER]

1-2 get fed form one petcock through a common fuel T, same for 3-4. So if it was a kinked fuel line of a petcock not feeding fuel it would effect two carbs at a time.

If you have all four carbs set the same, then all four would get the plugs wet with the same amount of cranking unless the cylinder is firing or there is a fuel issue. That is my thinking anyway.

[crazy steve]

You might check to make sure all four carbs actually have gas in them; try loosening the bowl drain screws to verify that they all have gas....

If they do, then either the carbs are clogged up internally, or you have mechanical issues in the motor i.e. run a compression test....

[Haarstad]

I got ambitious and tore the carbs apart again and really got in there with carb cleaner. I think the problem was my jets weren't cleaned properly the first time. I put everything back together and it started right up

I'm pumped and it idles like a champ, I'm so happy to have carbs that can hold an idle properly compared to my last ones

When I rev it up quick, it backfires so I'll have to look up carb tuning cause it's been a while

Edit: I should clarify better, I think It stutters so bad when I rev it quick that it kinda backfires out the intake. I was so tired from working on it tonight that I didn't pay attention well. I was just happy it runs good. What makes it stutter on a quick rev?