Been a while, guys! I'm having a bogging issue...

[BA80]

Anything like this?

https://youtu.be/BLbZXaFoWlU

[ERM83]

Update...

changed out the vacuum caps...didn't do a damn thing.

Greg: mine KINDA sounds like that...except it blatantly sounds choppy / cutting out...like, I pretty much have to start out in first gear by reving twice - once to get past the stumble, then once to keep it up around 2500 - 3000rpm. It's pretty sketchy to make turns from a stop at the moment...either i'm LAUNCHING, or it chops like crazy and feels like i'm in a cage match with the thing.

I'm about to do the header water-spray test, then try to clean my TCI connections and put new spark plugs in. I guess after that, time to check the coils / plug wires...

I've been trying to figure this annoying glitch out for TWO WEEKS now with every free second I have. starting to go CRAZYYYYYYYY......

[soccer4m]

try this

Hang in there ERM,,,,once its solved it will be the beast you remember....

Try this,,,1.
1. ,put the petcocks on prime and give it a ride, possibly the vacuum petcocks are acting up, remember to switch back after the ride
2. hope you have inline gas filters on both lines,,,if so watch the flow through them to verify good gas flow,,,,and try watching when prime is on and disconnected after the filter and put hose in a bottle
3. check the head pipes after running a bit and see if they are all hot, with a quick spray of water, if one is not hot that cylinder is the problem
4. check to see if fuel lines are not kinked,,, any sharp bend will limit gas to the cylinders....
Again hang in there,,,,it will be solved....Mike in Sunny DIego

[BA80]

changed out the vacuum caps...didn't do a damn thing.

Greg: mine KINDA sounds like that...except it blatantly sounds choppy / cutting out...like, I pretty much have to start out in first gear by reving twice - once to get past the stumble, then once to keep it up around 2500 - 3000rpm. It's pretty sketchy to make turns from a stop at the moment...either i'm LAUNCHING, or it chops like crazy and feels like i'm in a cage match with the thing.

I'm about to do the header water-spray test, then try to clean my TCI connections and put new spark plugs in. I guess after that, time to check the coils / plug wires...

I've been trying to figure this annoying glitch out for TWO WEEKS now with every free second I have. starting to go CRAZYYYYYYYY......

Mine ended up being a restricted exhaust. Can you remove the mufflers and test ride it? JAT

[ERM83]

Think i got it...

First thing I did was check the TCI, and their connections. TCI (was a quick and easy check...why not) and the connections were beautiful...ZERO corrosion. Then, it was on to the plugs / wires. I checked the wires with an inline tester...spark on all four! HOWEVER...when I took the tester off plug #1, the insert where the plug terminal goes in BROKE OFF. I'm thinking it just gave in, being that was the side that when I hit that deer (NAILED the thing headlight in the neck / base of the skull), it's hind legs swung around and kicked the $%&^ out of my calf, and plug wire #1. It was fine at the time...I bent it back GENTLY, patched up the boot, and haven't had a problem with it until now. Replaced that, and it runs WWAAAYYYY better. Put brand new plugs in right after that. I'll try to post some pictures of them in a little bit. they're looking lean, which is weird to me...the bike always felt and smelled like it was a tiny bit on the rich side...

I'm still getting some popping, and a fluttering idle, but i'm pretty sure that I just need to re-synch the carbs after doing some adjustments while trying to figure this one out. Taking off from a stop is nearly 100% jump-free, and even when it does, you can tell it's a synch issue rather than electric cutting in and out.

I've got some new air jets that *SHOULD* be here tomorrow, so I'll try to synch them before work. Will report back!!

THANK YOU ALL...I always learn a ton on here, and I love every second of it!! I'll be back on here plenty again...life got a little crazy, but has settled down, and I'll be doing a MULTITUDE of fixes / upgrades coming up. RIGHT ON.

[ERM83]

Update...

Still having a slight bogging issue...it isn't as bad, but definitely still there. Here's the current symptoms:

On startup, it sound like garbage. On full choke from the first start of the day, it struggles pretty bad, but if I give it a good rev, it starts to clear up a bit. Once it gets warmer, I go to half-choke, it still struggles...but another good rev, and it sounds COMPLETELY NORMAL as it should at full choke. Push the choke in, and it idles pretty damn well. I take it for a ride, and ZERO bogging. Idles as it should, but with a little pop here or there (I know I need to resynch...doing that as soon as it isn't raining). After about ten minutes in, the idle kinda flutters a bit, as if it's missing spark / not getting fuel...but none of those things make sense to me, as I checked all the plug wires and they're all getting plenty of spark. Coils are accel 3 ohlms, and they're testing at 3.5 ohlms on the meter. BRAND NEW spark plugs...perfectly gapped. As for fuel - there's no kink in any of the lines, and I had JUST cleaned the carbs at the first sign of these symptoms.

Back to the ride after the first start / when the fluttering idle starts after 10 minutes of riding (next evolution of the problem):

At around 15-17 minutes into the ride, it starts fluttering at idle at stoplights, and the crappy take offs from first get pretty sketchy (REALLY jumpy like a friggin' bucking bull). BUT...all I have to do is pull the clutch in, give it a rev to 2 - 3000rpm, let the clutch back out easy, and it takes of NORMALLY. I don't get it, and it's REALLY starting to wear on my nerves. BADLY.

Here's what I've done so far (and tested each individually after):

- cleaned carbs; adjusted floats to spec (THESE ARE CARBS FROM THE 79' SF)
- Tested spark plug wires, cleaned contact points
- checked primary wires on the coils
- cleaned the kill switch
- cleaned every connector plug on the bike, minus the headlight cluster
- checked fuses, which are fine
- replaced intake vacuum caps
- did WD-40 test on intake boots
- checked / cleaned up octopus vacuum hose
- checked TCI along with connections
- tried swapping the 80' TCI for the 79' TCI

I am at a complete loss here. Could these symptoms be remedied by a resynch??

I'm about to do a petcock rebuild, because the left side has a very, very slight leak, and I wanted to do it before that anyway to have them both in prime shape. That being said, could the seal in the octopus have anything to do with this??

Could any of the wires in the headlight cluster be the culprit?? Should I just put new primary wires on the coils despite having spark??

One thing I didn't do yet - check the stator and everything under the right side cover.

I'm pretty sure this is the most baffling problem I've had yet. I thought for SURE it was the coil pickup wires...but NOPE. At a complete loss here, guys...

Eric

[motoman]

ERM83, you are using the wrong ohm coils! The 3ohm coils are ONLY used on the 81 and XJ models. Yours and earlier models(78-80) use the 1.5ohm coils. This IS the issue your having. Also the earlier models used the ballast resister and the 81-XJ models did not using the 3ohm coils. Get the CORRECT coils installed IS first order of business.

[Schming]

Just disconnect the ballast resistor, plug the two wires together, and keep the 3 ohm coils.

Synch the carbs, if possible, then check running fuel levels and adjust accordingly.

Are you certain the float bowl jet is flowing fuel up the brass tube?

Yes, the Octy should be rebuilt along with the petcocks when the carbs are as they are the other two thirds of the fuel system.

Have you replaced the butterfly shaft seals?

[Radioguylogs]

If you are grasping for straws....

I had one of the the same thoughts as Schming as I read today's posts.

When the Butterfly Shaft Seals leak, they cause idle problems and they behave differently as the engine heats up.

Normally, you get an erratic increase in idle speed after the engine warms up. It's different than your problems, but if the seals were really bad....?

You can trouble shoot by spraying with lighter fluid, unlit butane torch, or starting fluid on the shafts. If you hear a change in RPM, then there is a leak.

[motoman]

Schming's first suggestion is necessary for secondary ignition to work correctly with 3ohm coils.ERM83, At this point I also highly recommend removing left side ignition cover, unhook and remove the vacuum advance. NOW check that advance assembly rotates freely and easily. If it's a bit stiff with rotation, gonna have to remove that assembly and spray clean all the gunk out with Brake-Kleen in order to clean that centrifical spring assembly. This WHOLE assembly has to rotate freely in order for mechanical advance and vacuum advance to work properly. This notorious problem also causes the running issues you've described having with bike. JAT to consider and easy enough to check.

[MarkD]

A HUGE +1 on Motoman's advice.

[ERM83]

HAHA...sorry to alarm ya...

ERM83, you are using the wrong ohm coils! The 3ohm coils are ONLY used on the 81 and XJ models. Yours and earlier models(78-80) use the 1.5ohm coils. This IS the issue your having. Also the earlier models used the ballast resister and the 81-XJ models did not using the 3ohm coils. Get the CORRECT coils installed IS first order of business.

I DEFINITELY bypassed the ballast resistor before installation. I researched that THOROUGHLY before installing, I promise!!!

[BA80]

ERM83, you are using the wrong ohm coils! The 3ohm coils are ONLY used on the 81 and XJ models. Yours and earlier models(78-80) use the 1.5ohm coils. This IS the issue your having. Also the earlier models used the ballast resister and the 81-XJ models did not using the 3ohm coils. Get the CORRECT coils installed IS first order of business.

I DEFINITELY bypassed the ballast resistor before installation. I researched that THOROUGHLY before installing, I promise!!!

He's right Brant. I removed the ballast resistor and put 3ohm coils on LONG ago.

[ERM83]

the advance is good to go...just re-checked the movement in everything again, as I went through the whole thing when these problems first started...failed to mention that earlier. Meaning, I didn't just check the wires on the pickups!

I hope it isn't the butterfly seals...heard it isn't the easiest task (from what i've seen in threads on here). Never messed with those, so I gotta research that in a minute...

petcock kits come friday at least... still bummed about this damn bogging, though!!

Also going to keep trudging on this and trying to think what could be the problem, and as always, and advice from the masters on here is encouraged and MUCH appreciated!!

I should mention that I've been spending every free second I have on this, because working on and riding this beast is pretty much all I want to do as of late. I had a health scare (gnarly ulcer from stress...almost had an ICU visit ), so I decided to stop drinking / eat healthier and be more healthy in general, so now I don't go out as much...I exercise, and FIEND to fix my bike, my computer...anything!! I try to LITERALLY THINK of things I can do to fix / clean and tighten mah baby up with my current spendable income (WITHIN REASON, OF COURSE!), AND I LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT, no matter how frustrated I get sometimes!! I apologize for you guys having to hear me whine so much recently, haha.

That being said, one of the things I REALLY want to do is clean up some of the wiring while waiting on other things to come in the mail. The fusebox wiring is a disaster from the P.O., and also I'd just like to clean up the primary wiring on the coils. How did any of you who have done this gone about it?? I'm more or less asking about getting the matching (or close to matching) color-coded wiring. Any good, trusted sources you all go through??

Not going to lie...there's part of me that's still stuck on the electrical problem - theory from earlier in this thread...

Eric

[bikerphil]

Double check your pilot jets and make sure they are the BS type and not the VM type, VM has the wrong spray pattern and will not work properly in the BS carbs, here are the 2 side by side...

If they are the correct ones, try a re-sync and proper idle mixture screw adjustment.