86 V.R. Bad Carb's?

[puppy]

So, got the new (to me) bike here yesterday. Put in new plugs and wires, completely drained the tank, and filled with fresh gas. Started and idled kinda ok. Sprayed carb cleaner on carbs, shafts, linkages, etc. Drained the float bowls, and restarted. Ran a little better. Pulled one of the diaphragms out, looked pretty new actually. Still will not develop power. What I have noticed is with the choke wide open it will idle up around 3,000, and will have some throttle response, but when you push the choke in, it drops to 1,000 and pretty much little throttle response. Some popping and spitting up through the carbs, but, not bad. And the chokes on the passenger side are pretty sticky.

I am wondering if this is an indication of bad carbs, and how hard are the carbs to rebuild. I have a fair amount of mechanical expertise with motors, but, to me, rebuilding carbs has always been voodoo, or a black science. I would appreciate any real world experience from others.

[Yammer Dan]

Sea-Foam. A strong dose and let it sit overnight.

[bobcat]

I'd check all the diaphrams. Hold them up to a bright light and check for holes etc. Also, as suggested, a good dose of sea foam then sync the carbs.

[dingy]

The bad diaphragms I have seen develop very small pin holes around the outer edge.

 

Very hard to see unless a bright light is directly behind diaphragm.

 

Gary

[Dano]

Like they say, seafoam (at least a half a can to a full tank, run it till it warms up then shut it off overnight) next dy run the pi** out of it for a couple of hours, put in fresh gas and then run it some more. Check diaphragms carefully like Dingy said. Then check the carb synch, I bet it's off. A bad carb synch will give you all sorts of problems.

 

Good luck!

[Yammer Dan]

Like they say, seafoam (at least a half a can to a full tank, run it till it warms up then shut it off overnight) next dy run the pi** out of it for a couple of hours, put in fresh gas and then run it some more. Check diaphragms carefully like Dingy said. Then check the carb synch, I bet it's off. A bad carb synch will give you all sorts of problems.

 

Good luck!

 

 

All that but I use a full can to less that 1/4 tank of gas when it has been sitting a while.

 

Best way is mix about 1/2 can of Sea-Foam with fresh gas disconnect fuel line from rear of pump and crimp off line. Use another piece of line 18 inches or so hook to fuel pump and place into can. Start bike and run until you have run all this mixture into bike. When can gets empty shut bike off so carbs will stay full of mixture. Leave sit overnight at least.

 

Add other 1/2 can of sea-Foam to tank maybe 1/3 full and run hard til you need to fill up.

 

Any or all of these should help.

[GaryZ]

All that but I use a full can to less that 1/4 tank of gas when it has been sitting a while.

 

Best way is mix about 1/2 can of Sea-Foam with fresh gas disconnect fuel line from rear of pump and crimp off line. Use another piece of line 18 inches or so hook to fuel pump and place into can. Start bike and run until you have run all this mixture into bike. When can gets empty shut bike off so carbs will stay full of mixture. Leave sit overnight at least.

 

Add other 1/2 can of sea-Foam to tank maybe 1/3 full and run hard til you need to fill up.

 

Any or all of these should help.

 

Very good SeaFoam application.

I bet it smokes enough to run off all the flyin' bugs in your 'hood!

[Venturous Randy]

Since you are new at this, and welcome aboard, these bikes do not run too good with the airbox off, if you have not put it back on. The next big thing that can have an effect on the running is if the pilot jets are blocked. The Sea Foam may help that.

RandyA

[Yammer Dan]

Very good SeaFoam application.

I bet it smokes enough to run off all the flyin' bugs in your 'hood!

 

I don't care much for skeeters either..

 

 

 

Does cause a little smoke but not much. I do it at times with pure Sea-Foam. Now that Smokes!!

[GigaWhiskey]

Now with all this seafoam in there, high quantities and so often, will this do damage to seals n stuff in the carbs?

[Yammer Dan]

Now with all this seafoam in there, high quantities and so often, will this do damage to seals n stuff in the carbs?

 

 

NOPE!!!

 

 

Good question. Some of the cleaners out there are too harsh and will damage seal & stuff. Another reason I like Sea-Foam.

[dunkins1]

I'm having the same type of problems. Took the bike in to an independent (but apparently didn't want to mess with the Venture) he cleaned the carbs said they looked good. The damn thing has to have the choke on at all times about 1/4 of the way. As soon as the choke goes off the bike dies. Also, you really have to feather first gear and give it plenty of gas. Before I took it in, the bike had good power and response at higher speeds, now it just runs like $#!&!. I'm frustrated and don't have the "know-how" to tear into the Carbs and start taking stuff off.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Bill

Hampton, IL

[puppy]

I was reading through here yesterday, and realized when I started this project I removed the air cleaner and box to check the vacuum lines, linkages, etc. Never put the box and air cleaner back in when I tried to run it. There was a post in here about needing those on to run. So, reinstalled the air cleaner and box, voila! Bike runs good now. Revs right up, will redline no problem. Turns out I was leaning it out way to much to run right without them on. Thanks for all the input. Still a ways to go on this project though. But at least got one problem solved. Thanks for all the input from everyone.

[Yammer Dan]

I'm having the same type of problems. Took the bike in to an independent (but apparently didn't want to mess with the Venture) he cleaned the carbs said they looked good. The damn thing has to have the choke on at all times about 1/4 of the way. As soon as the choke goes off the bike dies. Also, you really have to feather first gear and give it plenty of gas. Before I took it in, the bike had good power and response at higher speeds, now it just runs like $#!&!. I'm frustrated and don't have the "know-how" to tear into the Carbs and start taking stuff off.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Bill

Hampton, IL

 

Have you checked your plugs??

[Venturous Randy]

I was reading through here yesterday, and realized when I started this project I removed the air cleaner and box to check the vacuum lines, linkages, etc. Never put the box and air cleaner back in when I tried to run it. There was a post in here about needing those on to run. So, reinstalled the air cleaner and box, voila! Bike runs good now. Revs right up, will redline no problem. Turns out I was leaning it out way to much to run right without them on. Thanks for all the input. Still a ways to go on this project though. But at least got one problem solved. Thanks for all the input from everyone.

 

You are welcome!!

RandyA

[puppy]

I will still try the seafoam trick though, see if I can smooth it out some. Then have the carbs synced. I bought this off e-bay, and so far am enjoying it. But want to get it done for some touring rides. The motor may have some issues, I am hearing a little slap/knock at times. If it continues may just pull the motor and rebuild it. Any leads on recommended suppliers for engine rebuild parts?

And thank you again for all the help. I love the fact it was as simple as putting my airbox back on!

[Yammer Dan]

Doubt if there is any reason to rebuild engine. These things are almost bullit proof. Noise could be a lot of things anywhere from exhaust baffle to clutch basket. When you get oit running right you will see what we are talking about.

[puppy]

Ohh, I am going to pull out so much hair!!!! So, put the carbs back on, bike ran ok cold, warmed up kept bogging down. Went out this morning, and looked it over, discovered I am an idiot! When I put the carbs back on, I somehow pinched one of the fuel bowl drain hoses, between the carb boot, and carb body. DUH! Big fat air leak. Sprayed WD-40 in there, and it immediately sucked right through the gap. So, re-pulled the carbs, re-installed correctly. Runs a lot better. But, still a little rough. Pulled the plugs, and weirdest thing, the front passenger side plug looked brand new. I mean shiny, white tip brand new. Put it in the plug wire, and started the bike, it is throwing a nice spark. Just to be safe, put in another plug, runs even better. Still a ways to go though. I did discover the "slap/knock" sound goes away if I pull in the clutch lever. Wonder if that means bad clutch? It shifts well though.

[Squeeze]

The Sound coming from the Clutch which goes away when youpul the Clutch is the Ball Bearing in the Pressure Plate. That's a 6003 Bearing. No need to worry, all these Bike do this more or less pronounced.

[Karl C.]

my 83 venture runs but it sat for 7 years in a barn.... I did change plugs and I am wondering if you can get to the bowls on these carbs without taking the carbs off.

[dingy]

my 83 venture runs but it sat for 7 years in a barn.... I did change plugs and I am wondering if you can get to the bowls on these carbs without taking the carbs off.

Not unless you are Houdini.

 

Screws are hard to get out of bowl covers sometimes with the carb rack split and setting on bench.

 

Gary

[Karl C.]

i am Cardini the motorcycle magician...lol... I am gonna just try some carb cleaner first and if that dont work they all are coming off and being rebuilt at least then I will know what I got before i hit the road... My 2 biggest obstacles from getting on the road are carbs and front forks.. carbs I wont do myself but forks I will be attempting because with 2 motorcycles now and hopefully more coming with new job I think it will save me alot of money...

 

One last comment or question though, where can I find a descent accurate set of carb syncronisers (spelling) without having to take out a loan? I know nothing about accept i hear that the one with mercury are far more accurate and that is all i know.

 

thanks a bunch folks,

 

 

Karl

[cimmer]

Another good tip is to replace the plug wires and caps. I did this on mine and it greatly improved low end response with just the plug wire and cap change. You can order the wire and caps from Dennis Kirk or there is someone on Ebay that sells the wires and caps. The wires are non-resistor wire with the caps being a 5K resistance source.

Just another thing to think about.

Good Luck

Rick F.

[Karl C.]

Another good tip is to replace the plug wires and caps. I did this on mine and it greatly improved low end response with just the plug wire and cap change. You can order the wire and caps from Dennis Kirk or there is someone on Ebay that sells the wires and caps. The wires are non-resistor wire with the caps being a 5K resistance source.

Just another thing to think about.

Good Luck

Rick F.

 

Thanks for that info... i had thought about it but figured it would cost an arm and a leg to get...

[Grisolm1]

Clutch noise could just be a really bad carb synch. My clutch was sounding like a rock crusher and wnet away with the lever pulled in. With rebuilt carbs and only a visual bench sych so far the noise completely disappeared. When I tore down the carb rack one butterfly was noticably more open than the others. This cylinder was punching the clutch basket at idle. PO said he did a carb synch but obviously didn't get it right.