Stumbling at all RPM after trailering

[sethhope]

So this weekend, i moved to Springfield MO from eastern PA. Roxy ended up in the back of a uhaul, strapped down securely. The road was rough, but she made it with no damage. However, upon unloading, she wont run smoothly anymore. I had her out for a ride the day before she was loaded up and she ran like a top.
My sympoms are as follows:

Stumbling at all rpms (will stall with enrichener all the way in on idle, but seems to idle really high with it out, warmed up and cold)

Small fuel leakage from the airbox (possible stuck float, cleaning carbs today to eliminate this)

Possible short somewhere? Battery was dead when unloading, but has held a charge over the weekend.


Back in PA i had shop space to work on roxy and could go through everything until something worked. I dont have that luxury here, and would like some tips on where to start to quickly and efficiently troubleshoot and repair.
Thanks guys!

[soccer4m]

try these

Hi Seth, I am guessing
1. carbs are the first to check, a good cleaning again, check float level, around 23cm above the lip is good or so as long as all the floats are same height. Check gas filter for clogging, maybe replace as tank may have loosened up some sediment.

2. check oil, for gas, dip a stick in the oil filler hole, pull out and sniff, if any gas smell, time to change oil

3. check the vacuum lines and carb boots,, spray some instant start around the boots and lines, if the engine changes rpm, it could be a vacuum leak around a hose or the boots. THe lines can crack from vibration if old, and the boots maybe loosened from the road vibration. If the boots are leaking, try tightening them up and smearing black gasket sealer to seal, but better to replace.

4. check the pickup coil for frayed wires, though it sounds like a carb or vacuum issue

anyway, good luck, it should be just going through the carbs, keep us informed, Mike in Sun Diego

[soccer4m]

make that 23mm

oops, make that 23mm above the carb body lip,,,,not 23 cm,,,,,to the top of the float from the lip,,,,most important is that all floats are same height and not hitting the edge of the carb body.....

[JeffH]

1. out for a ride the day before she was loaded up and she ran like a top.
2. back of a uhaul, strapped down securely.
3. the road from PA to MO was rough
4. upon unloading, she wont run smoothly anymore
5. battery was dead when unloading

Sorry it isn't zoom-zoom like it was when you loaded the uhaul. +1 on what Mike was saying but dead battery seems telling too.

So in the back of a U-Haul the bike had some good + and - G force loads both up & down plus shaking side to side. Makes me wonder what got Zero G'd and bounced around hard enough to cause a failure.

a. Battery secure from bouncing like that?
b. Imagine there was fuel in the bowls so floats shouldn't have been slapping around too hard.
c. strapped down in the uhaul the suspension wasn't doing much so the bounce & shake forces would be more than normal riding forces.
d. remaining gas in the tank could shake out rust or crud (top of the tank, fuel cap, junk in the bottom of the tank) that is clogging fuel line or something in the carb Draining each bowl into cup would see if gas is clear or if there is crud.

Checking carbs as you were planning could do the trick. Hope you get it running good again as it was when you loaded the uhaul.
Still odd about the dead battery and what caused that. Will ponder this and see what makes sense given your report.

Oh, and WELCOME to Missouri
Springfield is great place.

Jeff

[sethhope]

Ok, progress report. Got the carbs fully torn down, cleaned, and rebuilt. Had lots of crud in the bowls. Boots and vac lines are all a year old and show no signs of wear yet. Replaced fuel lines just for good luck. Still seems to be stumbling. Doesnt appear to favor a piston pair as would be indicitive of an electrical issue, but I could be wrong. Also, battery is fresh and fully charged. Definitely a head scratcher...

[JeffH]

So D: Crud

Is the stumbling any less than (now after the carb crud cleanout) it was after the first ride in MO?

If stumbling is less and bike driveable I'd maybe try and run it a bit and see. That bowl crud can easily reek havoc on the pilot jets. So I wonder if it up running on the Mains if the stumble would be gone? Runs ok at higher steady speed?

Hope it is at least running better. And starts Cold or Hot OK, or at least as good as it was in PA. If still stumbling from tiny crud piece blocking a pilot jet then only way to fix that is back into the carbs again. That wouldn't be unusual for that to happen.

If not running OK at steady highway speeds then maybe try water 'spritz' test on the pipes with a cold start. See if all 4 pipes heating up at the same rate.

Just a thought.

If gas tank or carb bowls had lingering crud in them in PA then the bounce & shake of the uhaul likely shook it all loose and starting the bike in MO sucked it into all the passages.

Jeff

think i will be draining my carb bowls and checking the fuel filters this weekend so i'm not repeating your problem

[sethhope]

Tried the water test and they all seem to heat up about the same rate. Havent ridden yet beyond idling around the lot since carb cleanout, but its more or less the same as it was. Might try an oil drain and change just for gits and shiggles. Starts fine, but wont idle on its own with or without the enrichener. Going to the supermarket in a bit and ill get back with how it drives.

[sethhope]

Went for a short ride and its all the same as it was. Noticed some popping this time that i either didnt hear or wasnt happening before. Starting to SOUND electrical... guess ill check the pickups when the afternoon heat settles down.

[Eastcoaster]

Big Move

Wow Steh Missouri that's a big move hope you are doing well wondered why we had not heard from you

Keep us posted on the Bike I am really wondering what is going on
That's a little far for a quick stop by and check out for me

Hope Mom and Dad are well

[sethhope]

Wow Steh Missouri that's a big move hope you are doing well wondered why we had not heard from you

Keep us posted on the Bike I am really wondering what is going on
That's a little far for a quick stop by and check out for me

Hope Mom and Dad are well

Otherwise doing well! Ill definitely keep all of yall updated. Yall still gonna see me around PA every once in a while. Just picked up a xs750 to play with when im visiting parents, who are doing well in all of this.

[Radioguylogs]

Symptoms seem more like a lean fuel mixture, but you never know until you find the problem.

When you cleaned the carbs, did you clean those little semi-circular screens that are upstream of the float needle valves?

Petcocks are flowing OK?

Good Luck

[sethhope]

Symptoms seem more like a lean fuel mixture, but you never know until you find the problem.

When you cleaned the carbs, did you clean those little semi-circular screens that are upstream of the float needle valves?

Petcocks are flowing OK?

Good Luck

Its strange. I agree that it feels like a lean mix too, but nothing seems to be making a difference. I did clean the screens, along with every otber orifice of the carbs. As far as i can tell, petcocks are running fine. I did the filter delete when i first got the bike because they were broken and ended up putting inline filters in. Filters are clean and flowing freely from what I can tell. Is there a way to easily measure the flow to double check?

[sethhope]

Update! 12.5v on the main fuse when off, 12.0 when the key is on, 0.00 when running. I cant find voltage on the main fuse, the accessory circuit, or anywhere on my fusebox. Whats that about?

[Radioguylogs]

Is there a way to easily measure the flow to double check?

You can get a small container in one hand and pull a bowl drain plug with the other hand; then watch to see how the gas flows after the bowl would have normally drained.

[Radioguylogs]

Update! 12.5v on the main fuse when off, 12.0 when the key is on, 0.00 when running. I cant find voltage on the main fuse, the accessory circuit, or anywhere on my fusebox. Whats that about?

(1) Internal problem in the battery? (I've experience similar symptoms before)

(2) Weak wiring connection that can pass static voltage, but it won't carry a load?