Dropping some coin...

Side covers arrived today from Bike Bandit...No problems there...Tail light gasket and swing arm cover and plug boots from Kawi today...Lights are here just got them from Cycle Depot.

I guess my next step is to look into carburation again...If I start the bike and it is idling, I can pull #4 and it virtually has no change in RPM...If I rev it, I can here a miss....When I put it back down in the hole, I can hear when the spark jumps to the plug, just an instant of difference in motor...RPM does not change....if I pull #1 plug (same coil) it makes a drastic difference..The motor almost dies and you can tell it made a significant change..

A couple weeks ago I pulled the carbs off and disassembled #4, but I did not pull the mixture screw out..I thought everything looked clean..I pulled main jet and tube and pilot out..I did not have my tiny drill bit, but I think pilot was open...

I rode it a little today and at times it seemed pretty decent and other times it sputtered and hesitated and sounded like a freakin moped...On easy throttle from stops it would have a flat spot or sputter just off idle...I was going down the highway around 60-65 in probably 4th gear...Rolled the throttle (medium) and it spit and sputtered and eventually picked up....If I whack the throttle 3/4 to full at any time, it seems to be decent (no sputter) but not like it has full power...

It looks dam good, but when I take off and it sputters I feel like people look at me like I dont know how to ride, or this bada$$ lookin bike needs a tune-up...
 
Maybe you should truck the bike to mid ohio meet
With a bunch of us being there we should be able to figure things out
 
When I get home today, I may pull that #4 carb apart...Now you said "primary" jet...Which one is that?? I know the main jet (127.5) is right on the bottom and then the pilot jet .35 mm is up inside and can be removed....Did you pull the float out too or leave it intact?? I do have carb cleaner but not compressed air at home...I think I am gonna try it anyway and see what happens...

I wanna get it to mid-Ohio and I prefer to ride it there....trying to truck it is gonna be hard..

Willy
 
Lowlife, any chance you can pick up Willy and his bike on your way through? He is right off the exit ramp just past Chi town! Just a thought.....I know, I shouldnt be doing that...
 
Is it possible that somehow you got the carbs out of sync?

If you are going to pull the carbs off. When they are off, if you look at the carbs from the engine side at the bottom you will see a small hole. They should all be equally exposed and if you can see a big difference from one to the other just by looking they are way off.

If they are way out for some reason you can adjust them by eye to get it running a bit better and if it helps the problem and gets you running good enuff to get to mid ohio, we can sync your carbs right there. I will bring a good set of guages along with me.
 
I suppose they could be out of sync...I dunno for sure....

I had Wicked ZL (Rick) do the carbs for me back in November, he bench synced them. I mounted them on the bike when I got them back from him...The bike sat for a while, before I fired it up since I was getting it painted. When the painted stuff was all done, I primed it with gas and started the bike...With the bigger jets and Pods, it was hard to start at 50 degrees or colder...below 45 and you might as well forget it...I never messed with anything on the carbs, untill I got some bad gas on June 6th...The next week I pulled the carbs and pulled them apart and cleaned everything and rejetted to stock (well 127.5). Other than cleaning and pulling out the mixture screws I didnt change anything...The bike now starts up very easy and idles pretty good...Most of the sputter and hesitation is in the just off idle to sometimes 3/4 throttle range...

I pulled #4 bowl off yesterday and pulled out the main jet and tube and the float...Cleaned everything I could with carb cleaner and put it back together...Still the same...I don't remember any hesitation or sputter before I got the bad gas...So I am not sure..At idle, I can pull #4 wire and it makes no difference in running...if I put it back on and pull #1, it almost dies..

Rick offered to re-do the carbs for me, but not sure if I could get them to him and back before mid-Ohio...Not sure if I should ride the bike all that way with the way it is running...I dunno

Willy
 
WillyD said:
..At idle, I can pull #4 wire and it makes no difference in running...if I put it back on and pull #1, it almost dies..

Willy
Click to expand...
On mine, if I get crap in the fuel it's ALWAYS been on No.1 carb. So before pulling the carbs again, change over the leads and spark plug from no 4 with No. 1 cylinder ( the leads should be long enough just to swap them around) If you still get the same result then it's the carbs, if not it could be a bad HT lead (common fault) or spark plug.

Hope this helps.

KK
 
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I will try that, but I believe a couple of weeks ago when I was messing with it, I did that very thing and it stayed with a problem on #4....It probably is in the carb(s)

Willy
 
have you pulled other wires besides #1 and #2 while she is running?
I used a set of insulated long reach needle nose pliers last night and pulled everyone of mine and the drop in rpm was almost perfectly equal whith each one.

So a simple test may help

-carefully turn the Idle speed up on the #4 carb one full turn

-adjust overal Idle speed if nessasary
if the overall idle speed did not go up, open #4 idle speed till it does slowly! then adjust idle speed overall

-pull plug wire and see if it makes any difference and note how much compared with #1
-take for a test ride and see if its any better
if not return #4 idle speed back to the settings that you started at.

I will send you a Pm with my phone number so you can call if you want a better explanation
or you can send me yours and I will call you it dont matter .
 
Well...as I am working I am going over stuff in my head and I know it has to be carb problem..

I can try a couple things to determine it, but some of it I think I already did...

I believe I swapped the plug leads on the #1,4 coil...Problem stayed at #4 cylinder...what does this eliminate??

Coil....if it were a coil or even one tower of the coil, then #1 would have acted up and not #4...

Wire...If #4 plug wire was bad, then swapping them would have made #1 screw up...It didnt.

Pick up...If the pick up (or whatever it is called) was bad, it would affect the whole coil, not just one part of it...The pick up only makes the primary field collapse and cause the high voltage spike...both towers fire at the same time..
Plug....I tried a different plug in #4

That leaves only a few things left...
Timing...if timing was off, it would not affect just #4
Air....since the airbox feeds air through all four carbs it can't be air..
Compression...this was fine and all 4 cylinders even...This eliminates questions about valves, rings, piston, etc
Fuel...It has to be fuel...If all four carbs were working as they should (and all of the other stuff listed above, checks out) then each plug wire being pulled should have pretty much the exact same affect in RPM and sound of engine....#1, 2 and 3 (I believe I have checked them all, but will double check) all make the bike stumble alot, when the wire is pulled...#4 makes no difference in idle quality (sound or RPM change)

Now just figuring what is wrong with the fuel...Clog, dirt, balance....

Would float level affect this??

I should be able to start bike and run for a few minutes on level ground...Bike level and then shut it off....then drain each bowl into a container and look at how much fuel drains out of the bowl...Correct??

Yesterday when I pulled #4 bowl off, I drained the bowl first and got a good amount of fuel out of it...I drained it into a small container...I could do the same and mark the level on the container and compare carb to carb...

Sorry...I am just thinking out loud....Been going over this stuff in my head all morning..

Willy
 
I read on another forum that someone was having an air leak problem - and it was a crack in the carb body itself.!
I think Mark or someone advised another member to spray WD40 around the air box / rubbers (both inlet and airbox sides) - and I would add around the carb bodies themselves.
If your revs change immediately you spray that should help locate your issue.
Hope this helps - I know you have been through a lot and an answer would make it all seem worthwhile (I hope). :)
 
About an hour ago a guy I know who is a very good mechanic (auto) suggested I check the boots, etc for this...When I get home I am gonna check that first thing....

Thanks

Willy
 
zlMark said:
I'm with Richard on this one,,Carb Cleaner,, is not to be used for this unless you want to torch your bike and collect on the insurance
Click to expand...



May not be too far off what he was thinking!!!!!!!
 
You still have a dedicated downpipe for #4...can't think of why anything would effect this...I am not too familiar with this carb on our bike yet but I have seen needles not doing what they are supposed to be doing at the right time...again a distant longshot but at this point Willy you have what mechanics call a 10%er. 90% of your cars take 10% of your time and 10% of your cars take 90% of your time. You will come out of this a far better motorcycle mechanic WHEN this problem gets fixed.
 
Willy I understand you are not far from Chicago. I'm coming through...I will be bringing 1 pickup and 1 bike. Now coming back I plan on bringing 2 bikes back in the pick up. If I got you down I may not be able to get cha back if we can't get it running. I don't have a trailer hitch on the Ridgeline.
 
Hey Jay sounds like a good challenge! Thank god there will be plenty of beer,,lol

Man this sux,, I gotta ride my bike there this year. I planned on bringing both bikes in the van. The zl900 is staying home this year. **** weather better hold out! Cause I don't like cleaning.
 
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