Problem

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Firehawk,

Your mileage is about PAR for this machine! As for your carbs, was concerned about whether you had dunked or soaked the bodies in carb cleaner?? You could have damaged the butterfly seals, causing vacuum leaks, which could contribute to difficulty starting, but sounds more like the float bowl and fuel enrichener jet being clogged in the bowl!!

As to your petcocks, fuel should only come out of one petcock at a time, since you had it coming out of both, then your petcock rubber gasket/valve is probably damaged, and they need to be rebuilt. It would be best NOT to use RESERVE, cause you could run out and then wouldn't HAVE a reserve. Just plug the OTher spout, and use PRIME...it's not Primary. Prime on Specials is designed to bypass the OCTOPUS and send fuel directly to the bowls, cause after sitting a while, they could possibly be a bit DRY due to evaporation, and so this ensures fuel gets to the bowls without the need for engine vacuum actuating the Octy valve when using RUN!

I started this reply before thinking to check the whole thread, do you have the Octopus. It might also NOT be working properly, and you might be better off just bypassing it entirely, just turn the gas off at the petcock when you stop/park to keep it from leaking thru the carbs.....IF the float needle valve doesn't fully seal/seat!
T.C.

[Firehawk]

I did soak the carbs in carb cleaner. Oops, I suppose. I hope I didn't ruin anything.

I'll probably get the carbs off and look at them when I get home next then, too.

No 'octopus,' just straight lined to the carbs. I haven't ever ran out of fuel (knock on wood), mainly because I check the tank before I head out and keep track using the trip meter.

I am looking into getting some vacuum shut off valves for this tank (if they even exist).

Also, it was mentioned that there is a guide for changing out jets yourself? Is it on this site?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Firehawk,

You can find all sorts of info by going to the MAIN Forum page, and scrolling down to the TECH TIPS, and reading thru them, from maintainance, to repairs, modifications, etc..

Here's the link for the jetting guide thread/tip

For your carbs, first fire up the bike, and then spray some carb cleaner or such around the butterfly shafts and listen for any change in rpms. IF not, then you may not have damaged the seals!? But if you have, you can get them and replace them!

The Octopus is a pain, and even though you can buy a new replacement for $50.00 or so, most of us that have gotten rid of it don't ever miss it!! It's not hard to remember to turn off the petcocks. And if you forget, only IF your float valves aren't in good condition, you won't have any leaks anyways! The specials used the Octy, that's why the petcocks are NOT vacuum controlled like the standards!

It's been posted that the parts in the Octy Rebuild kit are not exactly what are needed. I can't remember exactly but I think it's the rubber diaphragm, which is the main part in the Octy!

So....just rebuild the petcocks, and then they will work properly, and fuel will NOT flow when they are turned to off, and save the rest of your $$ for other fun stuff!!
T.C.

[skids]

I of course do not recommend standard carb soak for the throttle shaft seals, BUT, I did that once and they were almost impossible to rotate. I then soaked the carb bodies (including the shaft seals, in mineral spirits and it shrunk the seals to where they operated normally.

Originally posted by TopCatGr58
snip IF not, then you may not have damaged the seals!? But if you have, you can get them and replace them!

[Michael March]

You mentioned that you had problems starting, I too had problems starting, and I'm no mechanic, but I have benefitted GREATLY from the many on this site. After many more difficult attempts, my problem was finally fixed by just opening the throttle while cranking, something I'd never done on any of the bikes I've ever owned. In the cold this made the start very easy when I used to just crank away to no avail. A simple fix but was I ever glad to learn it. Every bike has its own personality, so maybe yours is like mine, also an '81 Special. It's worth a try, and it's also a freebie.

[Firehawk]

Well, I checked the wires for the coil pickup today and the looked fine although they don't appear to have been touched from the factory.

I had some wire ready to replace it, but the wires on there were much more pliable than the wire I had, so I wondered if there's some special type of wire I should go get.

I also couldn't get it started to test to see if it was running evenly on all four cylinders. It wasn't getting any fuel at all. Today was the coldest I've tried starting it though (50 degrees fahrenheit).

[Winterhawk]

Check your crankcase for fuel. Could be your fuel limes being routed wrong, wrong lengths Check and make sure the fuel lines aren't kinking also.

[Ken Talbot]

Originally posted by Firehawk
Well, I checked the wires for the coil pickup today and the looked fine although they don't appear to have been touched from the factory.

If your pick-up coil wires look fine but they have not been repaired, you can be 99% certain they need to be repaired. It is trickier to test them without the bike running. You would have to unplug them, attach a meter, and have somebody watch the meter while you yanked, pulled, and tugged at the wires in every possible direction. If you see even the slightest change in the meter, you've found a break that needs fixed.