bike not running right

[Capt-D]

Good morning y'all, getting ready to head up to Sebring, roll over to Karen's house in the bike is not running right, mileage is down 10 plus miles, sounds good, think maybe I lost a coil, because last time I rode the bike I had 40 miles to the gallon, would it be okay to take my bike riding today, what do y'all think?

[Freebird]

That's a tricky question. It's difficult to say that it's ok to ride it without knowing for sure what the problem is. That being said, I left here on a trip to Colorado a few years ago and knew almost immediately that it wasn't running right. Gas mileage was terrible. I made the round trip and did well over 3,000 miles that trip. Upon returning home, I finally figured out that my right rear coil or, mostly likely, the plug boot was bad. Replaced it and never had another problem. No harm done.

[Capt-D]

Thanks, yeah I always watch my mileage so I know how my bikes running, I noticed right away this morning that it wasn't right, + 75000 miles and never replaced anything but fuel pump, it's probably time for something else to go

[OrlinEngh]

whats it doing or not doing? could just be a fouled plug or a bad plug wire.

[Capt-D]

Gas mileage just took a major dump, bike seems ok otherwise, going to go ahead and run with it, when will check when I get to Sebring see what everybody has to say, luckily these things are pretty indestructible

[Capt-D]

Gas mileage just took a major dump, bike seems ok otherwise, going to go ahead and run with it, when will check when I get to Sebring see what everybody has to say, luckily these things are pretty indestructible

[cecdoo]

Did ya check to see the choke isnt still on or is hanging up? Just thinking out loud?

 

Craig

[BlueSky]

I think there is a risk of gasoline washing the oil off the cylinder if it isn't firing and may cause additional wear.

[Yammer Dan]

Using Sea-Foam??

[cowpuc]

Cap, hope your ok out there. Sounds like you might be running on 3. Start the bike, let it idle, put some spit on your finger and touch each header pipe one at a time and check them for heat like your checking a hot iron. You will probably find one pipe that dont sizzle like the others - this will be your non hitting jug. Pull the plug on that cylinder, put the plug back in the plug cap, lay it against the head (or other metal part) to ground it. Start the bike back up and see if its sparkin.. If it's not and you dont have a new plug to check for spark, you can stick a screw drive up into the plug cap, hold onto the handle of the screw driver so you dont get zapped, hold the shaft of the screw driver a 1/4 inch or so away from a metal surface on the bike, start it up again and see if you get an arc from the metal screw driver shaft to the bike..

Hoping its a plug but Carb diaphrams will cause problems like your experiencing too. If you got good spark, I am thinking that is where I would venture next..

[Capt-D]

Thanks guys, made it to Sebring okay, will be checking everything out, let ya know what I find.

PS- thw winds here are incredible but everyone made the M&G

[Capt-D]

And Cowpuck, name of the restaurant is Cowpuck Watering Hole

[Capt-D]

And the choke was the first thing I had checked, done that one before

[cowpuc]

And Cowpuck, name of the restaurant is Cowpuck Watering Hole

 

RUN!!!!!! - you dont want no part of what their cooking up!!!!!

[djh3]

It was good chow. No hot dogs though. Had had Brisket sandwich.

[Capt-D]

I think I had bad gas, because on the way back south I got 42 miles to the gallon, and haven't filled up again yet but it's looking even better than that

[M61A1MECH]

I had the same as Dion , plus some awesome crab bisque, good place, nice choice TuffTom.

[djh3]

I think I had bad gas, because on the way back south I got 42 miles to the gallon, and haven't filled up again yet but it's looking even better than that

I thought you had found something amiss there at the restaurant. Poor gas will do it. Especially now with the alcohol added, if it has a bit more moisture it dont burn good. I have been sort of cheating on the Vic. I think it calls for hi test, but I have been experimenting with mid grade a bit to see if it makes a difference. Guess I really need to read the owners manual on this thing for stuff like that and getting radio presets done. LOL

 

I put some dates over in the meet and great thread we had.

[M61A1MECH]

Bad gas will show more in the cold weather also, any moisture in the tank will condense and drop to the bottom where the fuel pick up is.

You can treat the tank with Seafoam or other products made specifically for absorbing moisture, but do so in small doses if you have not been treating the gas regularly with something like Seafoam. I had picked up a tank full of really bad gas back when I had my 98 Royal, I over dosed it with HEAT , that cleared up the moisture issue in less than 2 miles, but it eventually knocked every bit of varnish loose in the entire system. We were on a road trip to St Joe, MO when that happened , before we got home I had to stop twice to get the carbs overhauled at $300.00 a pop.

[chabicheka]

bike not running right

 

Its got an itch to get on the Nascar race track...is all i can think of...

[saddlebum]

A couple other pieces of food for thought

1 you may have had a small piece of debris prevent a needle seat from closing causing a carb to flood.

2 The choke is really not a choke in the traditional sense but a sliding valve which opens when you set the choke lever. This valve allows a richer fuel mix. When you move the choke lever to the normal run position a this sliding valve can stick and stay open.

[retrostude]

I love the harbor freight laser temp tool for checking multi cylinder engines like my venture. Not just whether it is hot but how hot. Last time was after a 4 month layup. I got it to start firing by tapping the carb body of the low temp cylinder with a small hammer and she came on line. That was 8000 miles ago.

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Chaharly]

Cap, hope your ok out there. Sounds like you might be running on 3. Start the bike, let it idle, put some spit on your finger and touch each header pipe one at a time and check them for heat like your checking a hot iron. You will probably find one pipe that dont sizzle like the others - this will be your non hitting jug. Pull the plug on that cylinder, put the plug back in the plug cap, lay it against the head (or other metal part) to ground it. Start the bike back up and see if its sparkin.. If it's not and you dont have a new plug to check for spark, you can stick a screw drive up into the plug cap, hold onto the handle of the screw driver so you dont get zapped, hold the shaft of the screw driver a 1/4 inch or so away from a metal surface on the bike, start it up again and see if you get an arc from the metal screw driver shaft to the bike..

Hoping its a plug but Carb diaphrams will cause problems like your experiencing too. If you got good spark, I am thinking that is where I would venture next..

 

Question for ya Puc. So if it heats up real well on all four pipes pretty evenly, but mileage takes a dump. It would be more than likely a sticking/holy carb diaphgram right? Dealing with a similar issue on my 88

[cowpuc]

@Chaharly - Yep, good place to start,, never hurts to pull the diaphrams, check em real close and make sure the slides are moving freely in the throats too, check sync - out of sync will cause it too Cha!! Also might wanna do plugs (they usually gap outwardly over time, wide gap will suck fuel big time). Make sure she has a clean airfilter.. Lets see here,, put her up on the center stand after ya ride it a little, spin the wheels and make sure you dont have a brake dragging when ya stop.. Spin the wheel, rap on the side of the calipers with a rubber mallet and spin it again - check front and back.. Surprising how much a little brake drag will rob fuel..

Depending on mileage,, these things LOVE to oblong the meter rod orvices.. Lost mpg on Tweeks couple years ago and was just not handling fuel right,, moved the meter rods down (have to do it with nylon washers - they dont have "E" clips on meter rods like most do) to lean it out so she ran right again. Got my performance back and fuel eco by dropping meter rods .032.. LOTS easier than rebuilding carbs and she is still going strong many miles afterwards..

Hope this helps!!

Puc