major loss of power

[petevan]

Well I've got a doozy, Recently my bike starting leaking gas again out of one of it's carbs. Originally I thought that the carb was dirty ( a local bike shop diagnosed the same symtoms witht this problem) and not allow the floats to go all the way up allowing gas to flow up and out of the carb. So I decided (bad idea) to try to use a fuel additive to see if I could clean it out without having to drop the carbs. I thought the carbs should be relatively clean because I had them cleaned at a shop in about september. I went to an automotive store the buy some sea foam because I have heard various people rave about it on this site. When I got there I found a parts guy that had some motorcycle experience he thought my idea sounded good showed me the sea foam, then here is where it gets ugly on my part, he told me that with a bike as big as mine it would be safe to put a while can in the tank if it was full. So without even thinking about it I dumped a whole can into the tank. However the problem did not go away, in fact my bike started sounding alot more throaty and I had lost a ton of power. I decided to do the inevitable and take apart the carb. With some trickery I was able to drop the bottom half of the carb with out dropping the whole assembly. I found out the leaking problem was do to the floats not being able to raise enough to shut the valve so I bent to little tab up on the floats and put them back together. Now the leaking has stopped but I still have about half power and the sound of a harley. Did I ruin the engine with the sea foam or is my problem unrelated.

[sidecarKev]

I don't think you did any harm with the sea foam. More than likely your bike is only running on 3 or maybe just 2 cylinders. I hate to break it to you but I would take the carbs out and reset all your float heights. Might as well give them a quick clean while your in there.
A good way to tell if a couple of cylinders aren't firing is to feel the pipes coming from the engine. Be VERY careful, just touch em real quick so you dont get burnt.
If only one is cold its probably a carb problem. If two are cold and they are 1&4 or 2&3 its probably an ignition problem. If two are cold and they are 1&2 or 3&4, then it probably a fuel to carb problem.

[TopCatGr58]

Pete,

Like Kev said, you need to have ALL the floats the same height, just bending the tab on one will cause more harm than good, make one run more lean than the others which will have the carbs out of balance. You need to pull the carbs, and check your float to make sure it(the actual float!)is not leaking/sinking, that may be why it's not rising up far enough to close the valve.

Secondly, with gas coming out of the carbs, you need to inspect your oil to make sure you didn't contaminate it with gas flowing into the cylinders and dripping around the piston and into the oil! Take a long screwdriver, dip it in the oil filler opening, pull it out, step far away from and outside, put a match or lighter to it, if it lights and burns, then you've got gas in your oil, you'll need to change it out!

Thirdly, drain the gas into a spare gas can, then put about 1 gallon of the seafoam mixed gas back in, then fill the rest with pump gas, do this until you run out of the seafoam mixed gas!!! 1 can is designed to treat 20 gallons!!!!

4th, you've possibly fouled a plug as well, so after doing above carb work, and getting it straight, then replace your plugs, and fire it up, you can use a water squirt bottle/gun on the pipes cause the heat up very fast and touching them can cause a burn very quickly!! Good luck!
T.C.

[petevan]

hey guys thanks for the input I've been currenlty going through a move so my email access has been really scarce. But sounds like some really good suggestion and I'll get on it as soon as I have time. I'll keep you posted on my progress.