" ELEANOR" IS RUNNING ROUGH !

  • Thread starter Thread starter ARCHIVE_uvbneliminated
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ARCHIVE_uvbneliminated

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New guy on board!

Just baught my fist zl900,a 1985 that is.Waited 20yrs,I'm 36 now and i feel 16 all over again :lol:
 
Ya, Eli's have a way of doing that! I've been riding since I was 17 and everytime I get on mine I tend to act like I'm 17!! :twisted:
 
I just bought my ZL last year and I am 41.

Had my first bike (dirt) at 10 and had my bikes over the years but love my ELI.
 
I wanted an Eli since the first one I saw at the dealer. Took me a few years but now own a ZL1000 and am worse than most 17 year olds! I am gonna be the big 50 way too soon!
 
I got my 85 900 eliminator this year, I am the second owner and the last. I looked for the bike for at least 8 years, the first pics of this bike i seen was an article in a mustang book and from than on ive been in love in with these bikes.
 
I got my 85 900 eliminator this year, I am the second owner and the last. I looked for the bike for at least 8 years, the first pics of this bike i seen was an article in a mustang book and from than on ive been in love in with these bikes. :D
 
hey guys ! most of you all know about my zl900, named ELEANOR, anyway, i've been working on her since i bought her in feb. of this year. i replaced the fork seals, & that worked out great, thanks to a few fellow bro's for their help ! :) i rebuilt the carbs, & adjusted the fuel / air mixture screws to the setting that MARK had posted for helping another member, i put new spark plugs in, & she seemed to be running just fine, until yesterday. it seems to be running on 3 cylinders. the thottle responce is still quick, & every once in a while i will here a hiccup from the carbs. the valves were also adjusted about a month & 1/2 ago. she idles just fine, which leads me to believe maybe timing is off !! not sure ! i do not claim to be a expert at this, & maybe i overlooked something . any idea's ?????? thanks, CHRIS
 
stock setup 2 1/8 turns out

take a real close look at your plug wires and plug caps. Se any evidence of carbon tracking? if so there's your missfire.

Mist it with a spray bottle in the garage or at night. Look for arcing. Let us know what you find.
 
CHRIS said:
she idles just fine, which leads me to believe maybe timing is off !! not sure ! i do not claim to be a expert at this, & maybe i overlooked something . any idea's ?????? thanks, CHRIS
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There is no timing adjustment to speak of. The plugs fire on both the exhaust and compression stroke, one coil for #1 and #4 and the other for #2 and #3. If there was a timing or coil issue, you would have 2 dead cylinders, not just one. I agree with Mark on this, check the wire, plug boot and even pull the plugs and look at the color and condition of the tips. The Eli is old school in the fact that they have the resistor in the plug boots and not in the plug, and they can and do fail. You can unscrew the boots from the wires and cut about 1/2" from the end of the wires. Screw the boots back in and see if that helps. Sometimes they can loosen up or develop corrosion and can cause misfires.
 
THANKS GOSUPES & MARK !
i took the plug wires off & noticed the carbon build up. i cleaned the wires, took eleanor for a spin, & she ran worse than ever ! so i took the wires off the bike, inspected them, & noticed no defects, checked the plugs & they did not look too good ! i called autozone, & they did not have NGK, they cross referrenced with CHAMPION ! i figured, " why not ! " i'd try anything so i can ride ! came home, gapped the plugs, put them in, & took eleanor out for another test run. " SHE RUNS EXCELLENT !!! " she still has a lopey sound to her & that cocerned me, but i called the previous owner in N.Y. & he told me that he had cams custom made for the bike ! , i dont know if he is just talking or not ! never heard of anyone making custom cams for bikes, but since i'm not sure , i just roll with it . THANKS AGAIN !! CHRIS
 
Keep an eye on the plugs, they'll tell you alot about how she is running. If they keep fouling out then you have her running way to rich, which was a problem with mine. And if she is running rich, make sure your not getting fuel in the crankcase and shorten her life.
 
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