Giving high mileage bike some love. Now ran when parked?

[Larrym]

Gfix sells K&L kits. The K&L folks put the right sized pilot jet in their kit, but it is right sized 42.5 for the VM family of carbs, not the BS34.

I don't know why the 42.5 size is different than the 42.5 size for the BS carbs, but it is.

I didn't get GFix's K&L kit. (ー_ーゞ

Ones I gots were in Orange "Smiley-Happy-Funtime" boxes. Can post pics if needed... (´･Ω･｀)

MoAr spucifickly.... Imma talking bout the idle FUEL jets what go way down deep inside the tower after you remove the slotted screw/washer combo right next to the main jet. ( or at least thet's where they are on 79 Specials...) ( 　ﾟ ,_ゝﾟ)

They LOOK like the Genuine Mikuni versions....but they AIN'T the same or even as good as... （>﹏<）

I mean the bike runs wit'em installed. Just NOT like a superbike. (´;︵;`)

Symptoms not already detailed in prior post? ... (O_o)

Popping every time you back off a the throttle along wit' when/if you you let the throttle snap back just right? (⚆ᗝ⚆)

P-p-p-p-p-Kuh-BOOM!!! ヾ(ﾟдﾟ)ﾉ゛

Likely enuf force to make you wunder how well your aftermarket JC Whitney slip-on mufflers is clamped on. （ ﾟ Дﾟ)

[DEEBS11]

I have had some positive results with Seafoam. My Buddy, Sidecar Greg, gave me a bottle of Lucas fuel treatment for Christmas one year. I usually use Sta-Bil Marine every year with perfect results in multiple bikes but because I was given the Lucas product as a gift I figured I would try it. Unfortunately, the next spring my Valkyrie developed a pilot circuit clog on one cylinder during a ride to the shore and it would not clear. The thought of yanking those six carburetors apart was daunting so I grabbed a can of Seafoam from a local auto parts store and poured in about half the can in my 6 gallon tank. By the time I came home (a few hundred miles away) my bike ran smooth as silk. Crisis averted. I went right into my shop when I got home and chucked the Lucas in the trash and went back to Sta-Bil Marine.

[cajun31]

Might also try some "Mechanic in a Bottle". I have had some luck with that. Not specifically intended for use in motorcycle carbs but essentially does the same thing as seafoam. Of course I have used that too. Mostly use the mechanic stuff in small engines and it sometimes works but only when the crud had not gotten too extreme.

[bikerphil]

One question that hasn't been asked I think is, does it burn any oil?

[jetmechmarty]

One question that hasn't been asked I think is, does it burn any oil?

The last oil change was Aug '24. Since then, I've put 800 miles on it. The plugs are sooty. I haven't noticed a lot of oil consumption, but there is some. I believe the sooty plugs is likely oil burning.

[DiverRay]

Aug 24 is WAY too long ago for the oil change. I know you don't have many miles on the oil, but the oil NEEDS to be changed! I don't put much on my bike now, but new oil and filter after the first run of the year. Yes, it looks clean, but how much water and acid does it have?

[Larrym]

Umm... off topic but nut by much....(´._.`).｡oஇ()

In the pic of the bike.....izzat the kind of 4-into-one exhaust what makes oil changes a beeyatch? (O_o)

I mean.... blocks access to the filter/drain so's the owner gots to R^2 the exhaust to do an oil/filter change? (◔ヘ◔)

I change the oil in my bike every time I see it turn to coffee color thru the lil' window. (´c_`)

But I cheat..... ( *∵* )



(Same fOaR the middle and final drives too...)

[DEEBS11]

Larry, those pumps do work in a pinch but do not get out sludge and sediment that draining from the lower plug can do. I would just remove the exhaust. Sometimes I will wrap tin foil around the drip area to keep the pipe clean.

As far as oil, I always go by mileage not by time. When I open up a motor years later it's always shiny clean inside. 3K miles in between changes. I get motors that have sat for years with dirty oil that looks like black paint in them and there is no damage at all to the internals. I have worked on hundreds of lawn mowers and motorcycles and have only seen water corrosion inside a motor one time. Guess what? I changed the oil and it ran perfectly for many years after that (My XJ650 Turbo).

[LAB3]

I dunno, have you ever pulled the valve covers off of a car that's been used in a suburban setting in a northern climate? One that's driven 15 minutes at a time rom home, to work, the grocery store and back again? RUST and sludge!

How an engine is used is every bit as important as how long it's used. People who go out into a cold garage and fire up their bike for a minute or two then shut it down are trapping a whole bunch of condensation inside, you gotta get the thing up to temperature to avoid this.

[DEEBS11]

I hear ya LAB3, that XJ Turbo was only driven around the back yard for a few minutes at a time for about a season. The "oil" was white like milk it had so much built up water in it. But - it ran great (after a LOT of restoration work). No real damage.

This is a CB650A that I have been working on. Look at the hardface on that lobe. Not an oil issue. Metallurgy issue. Some Hondas had soft cams. It will run for years like this. It's not the Space Shuttle.

[Larrym]

Thx Deebs11... (｡◕‿◕｡)

I really do change muh oil/filter each year from underneath even iffin' I don't put the real world miles on the bike. (^_^)

I gots the 4-into-2 exhaust so access ain't a problems. ヽ(´ー｀)ノ

But seein' that 4-into-1 made me remember the first XS I ever got in 2006- 79 Std. It DID have a 4-into-1. (⊙﹏⊙)

Wuz/is the weener of the mostest dirty oil I seen in my lifetime. щ（ﾟДﾟщ）

PO seemed to be "averse" to droppin' the exhaust just to change the oil. So he just din't.... ¯\_(⊙︿⊙)_/¯

At that time I owned a sailboat with a YanMar 2gm Diesel inboard engine. NO drain plug on the motor or the X-mission. (⊙_◎)

Turns out they's made that-a-way and IIRC.... drain plugs were actualkly illegal in marine usage. ミ●﹏☉ミ

Got my first Topsider Vacuum System then and kept'a using it when I went back to bein' a land-lubber. (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

Still.....Imma thimkin' there gots to be some kinda relation tween 4-into-1's and "aversion" to owl changes..... (Ծ‸ Ծ)

[DEEBS11]

I worked on a Goldwing with about 20,000 miles and the owner never changed the oil. He just added. Smoked like a chimney. He ruined the motor but it ran fine. When I changed the oil the bike had a heart attack from the shock.