story and a problem

[oldyam80sg]

OK so i went and changed the spark plug closest to the clutch(4)? It was fouled and the plug next to it is also fouled-a black oily color.The other 2 spark plugs are nice and brown.The bike doesn't smoke as much but still does.Does the majority still think the carbs are dirty? Fighting the cold weather and a hand problem.Think i also pulled something in my shoulder as i get throbbing shooting pains.Will clean them again if i have to but cant believe they are that dirty.If i was to change the spark plugs and they foul after installing them what would that tell me?

[CaptonZap]

Black oil soaked fouling is usually an indication of bad oil control rings. What is your oil consumption in a thousand miles? How much external leakage does the engine have? If you have external leakage, it is hard to judge oil blow by of the rings.
A brown color on the other plugs indicates a rich jetting condition, which, on top of oil blow by, would foul the right plugs quickly.
Clean all 4 plugs, or install new, and monitor them at 1 to 2 hundred mile intervals, to check the color.
Have you vacuum synced the carbs? Adjusted the idle needles?
You might also check the float heights, and raise the floats, (lower the fuel level), a 32nd of an inch, and see if you end up with a light tan color on the plugs.
CZ

[oldyam80sg]

Oil consumption in zero as the bike doesn't burn or leak any oil.I should say plugs are TAN not brown as i previously stated-maybe a little pink from the additives they put in fuel today.I have not changed anything as the bike was fine before i put it away.It got a new battery and it was started several times.The month of August was not good, as my accident and could not physically get to my storage unit.The bike was started in late October -that's when i started with the issues.Will take carbs apart again as i believe that is the issue and replace the 2 plugs.

[DiverRay]

Make sure the vents for the carbs are not blocked with a spider web/bug. No vent, overfill on fuel. And yes, something you cannot see CAN cause a problem! DAMHIKIJK As for smoke, you probably need to run the engine UNDER LOAD for a while too loosen up the oil rings. They may be "stuck" at the moment.

[oldyam80sg]

OK my mind is drawing blanks at the moment-where are the vents Ray?

[LoHo]

Yeah, good question...when my needle seat O-rings were dry and crunchy, gas seeped out around some part of the carb and dripped down onto the transmission. There must be a vent to allow atmospheric air into the bowl chamber, but I'm not sure where it is.

[DiverRay]

The vents on the newer carbs are in the intake side of the "bell". That is, you have 4 holes on the intake instead of three. Just use a little carb cleaner and squirt all four holes on each carb. If you have the early carbs, you will have two "T" fittings between each carb. The top fitting is the vent. Make sure the nipples on the airbox are open IF you have this type of carb. The later airbox was NOT drilled, and if you put early carbs on you could will have problems.
As an aside, I have the float bowls OFF when I check the vents, to make sure everything is clear.

[Cuda 69]

Do you start your bike in storage alot to warm up? I found out when I first got my SG it does not like to be started and and shut off in the garage,without being taken out and cleaned out.I fouled a few plugs the first winter I had it,and would only run on choke,or ran rough,although I had a few problems with wires in the timing case.Just a thought.

[oldyam80sg]

Well when i start it, i usually take it around the storage facility several times.I just got my new Tygon fuel line and will put on a section of line and replace 1 spark plug as i only had 1 yesterday.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there,

With Oil fouled plug, but no burning or loss of oil, I would suspect the valve seals are a little hardened and slightly leaking. Get some SeaFoam or equivalent and add it to the gas tank before firing up the bike, run it for quite a while to empty the old fuel from the carbs and get the good new cleaner fuel into it before shutting it down, the seafoam will help keep the small pilot passages open/free from varnish/gum clogging while it's taking it's winter nap. Because of it sitting for so long you're probably right in taking the carbs off, cleaning them again....mostly attention to the pilot circuit, but also the main jet nozzle/emulsion tube...small aeration holes there also!

You might also look into some rubber seal conditioner oil additive to try to help reduce the valve leakage. Good luck.

T.C.

[bikerphil]

Plain and simple, these bikes need to be run regularly, they are not like fuel injected machines that can sit idle longer. Carburetors which are vented let air get in contact with today's crappy fuel inside small passages and will cause big problems. Everything on the bike is more prone to deterioration just sitting around. Now you have an excuse to get out and ride more, good luck bro.

[oldyam80sg]

OK TC will try that!

[oldyam80sg]

I plan on riding more as my accident left me with a bad taste in my mouth.The biggest mistake i made was going back to work knowing i was not right.Should have taken family time and healed.

[DGXSER]

Having been through a pretty harsh accident, I can say with experience that sitting around does more harm than good on humans as well as bikes.

[oldyam80sg]

OK so I'm baffled by something.I changed out the oily brown spark-plug with a fresh one and went to start the bike.Gas was turned on, choke all the way out and took several times to keep it running.The bike kept stalling but finally stayed running.Not a lot of smoke coming out the exhaust but I shut it off after i noticed the second exhaust pipe from the clutch side in starting to turn a hint of orange color.The exact plug i changed.Would the change in exhaust color getting hot mean a lean condition?What would cause the pipe to get extremely hot? Will take carbs off tomorrow.