luvmy40

My current boondoggle had two completely clogged pilot jets and the right pilot mixture screws were turned in tight with the left side out 7-8 turns and she didn't stumble at idle like that. It wasn't a sewing machine smooth idle but it was steady and consistent with little rpm variation. It sounds like a combination of carb issues to me. Badly tuned pilot circuit/clogged jets, bad synchro, possibly bad diaphragms. I wouldn't think float level would be a major factor at idle unless there were extreme levels(no gas or full to overflow levels). I'm far from an expert on these bikes but I've seen similar symptoms in the XJs and a serious carb rebuild fixed it 90% of the time.

Hope it stays dry and all have a great time. There's very little chance that I'll get things buttoned up in time so we'll try for next year!

Well, evidently it will quite some time before I have to pull the valve covers again and(at least on the XJ covers) there's no reason to pull the gasket off the cover when I do have to check the valves again.

That's the way it works on the XJs. I hope it's similar in this application.

Hah! That'll teach me to open my eyes!

I use Permatex high tack.

So what are the odds that OEM TCI that "Came off of a bike that was running with 22,000mi when it crashed" is going to be good? There's one on ebay right for $55.00 and I'm almost half sure that my current problems are at least partly TCI related.

I ordered some Chinese gaskets and bolt seals today on ebay. I'll keep my fingers crossed that they fit and don't fall apart quickly!

The gaskets are $38.50 ea. at the local Yamaha shop. $8.50 ea. for the cover bolt seals. I ordered both gaskets and 16 bolt seals for $69.82 delivered on ebay. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that the gaskets are decent quality.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261954379741?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Found these on fleabay. Anyone tried them?

Carbs are spic-n-span and the floats are set. Now I'm just waiting on a shim tool to pull the rocker boxes and check the valves clearance. Does the fuel tank absolutely have to come out? No way to work around it?

We just bring a two man pop up tent and sleeping bags usually. I don't haul a trailer so cargo space is at a premium for the weekend trips.

Are there usually any camping spots open at the last minute? I'm hoping to have the new Venture up and running soon and the Wife and I would love to try to make this run. There's just no way I can say for sure yet. I may be buttoning things up this week but then there's that old saying about the best laid plans of mice and men...

These carbs don't look bad at all. The pilot jets were at least partially blocked in 2/4 but they're not really gunked or full of debris at all. I just got the new plug wire today and I'm going to give the carbs another going over and double check the float settings as I have a habit of being too cursory with this kind of thing and missing small stuff that tend to make big problems. Maybe get it done tomorrow?

I just ran a compression test and got some interesting results. The rear cylinders are pumping 190-195psi and the left front 150psi. The right front 180psi a couple straws full of oil in the left front cylinder did not change the results at all. I didn't oil the right front. Funny thing is the left front is the cylinder that seems to be running the best. At least it was the one that had the most rpm shift when adjusting the pilot mixture and had the most effect(engine stalls) when pulling the plug wire at idle.

So, Situation Normal, All Fouled Up! While I appreciate that each individual task that I have performed on the XVZ12 has been easier than it looked to be, I am frustrated to no end right now. The more I dig into things the more surprised I am that this bike ran at all, let a lone as smoothly as it did. I wonder what the PO sacrificed to what god to make her run till he found me? The battery box, TCI and coils came out quick and easy. The vacuum line on the advance module was not connected to the engine. The connections on the TCI look like they have spent a good bit of time under water, as does the coil/tci mounting bracket. To top it off, the coils all check within spec off the bike. The one that was showing open had been checked 2 or 3 times with the plug wire removed before I pulled them. I have a feeling the TCI is fragged but I cleaned it up and reinstalled it with the new coils anyway. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I was going to put her back together with the best of the eight wires I have, but now I think I'll wait til the new plug wire shows up. Where is the vac line from the advance supposed to connect up on the engine? One of the intake vac ports?

The new(used) coils all check within spec! A roll of new plug wire is on the way.

The Colortune adapter and a set of used coils from fleabay arrived in today's mail. Hopefully I'll have her up and running this weekend. Then I get to finish making all the little repairs to the plastics and track down all the various missing fasteners. There wouldn't happen to be a comprehensive list of fastener specs for the body parts, would there?

MM482, Couldn't tell you about fitment. I'm still brand new to this series. If someone can confirm the exhaust compatibility, I'd be interested in it. My rear skirt doesn't occlude the straight exhaust but the turn down looks much better. I'll just keep my eyes open! I did order a set of coils on fleabay. Hopefully between them and the ones my new acquisition is sporting, I'll be able to cobble together four in working order.

I haven't used it on the Venture yet, but it's an absolute necessity for the XJ engines. I do have the 12mm adapter coming. Some have said they couldn't get a good read through the smaller adapter but then, quite a few say the same thing about the 14mm kit too. I have no problem tuning the Hitachi carbs on my XJs to the perfect, just rich burn with the Colortune.

Wishes don't fill fill the hand as fast as what? I've got several multi meters and when I finally got around to using one of them I discovered that I have 2 bad coils and one on it's way out. Well I needed the experience pulling the carbs and now I know it's a relatively easy job. I'd have had to pull most of the fairing to get at the coils anyway. I am surprised that the bad coils were sparking bright. One of them is completely open on the secondary and the wire is shot as well. The other is well over spec at 55Kohm secondary and another is at 42Kohm. The fourth is text book at 36.5Kohm. I gues it's time to do a little research on the C.O.P. conversion.

Well, the right bank carbs had the pilot adjustment screwed in tight and the left bank had the pilot adjustment out about 8 turns. I thought I'd read that two turns out was a good starting point? I just finished up a quick and dirty clean up on the carbs. Not nearly a complete job but as I don' have any parts on hand, I just gave them a quick fluff and buff to see if anything changes. I think the pilot settings may have been the major culprit.

I pulled the carbs today. I'll get started on them tomorrow. I'm going to strip the rest of the plastic and get the valve check out of the way now too since I had to take most of it apart to get the carbs off anyway.

snyper316, I'm very new to this forum but I can tell you, for the most part any group who gets together due the love of "something" will be a close knit, supportive group. This one would appear to not be the exception. I am and have been part of several different motorcycle forums. XJbikes.com, katriders.com and others. All have been supportive and helpful in the extreme. What it comes down to is a love of riding and a love of the machine. It really doesn't matter which machine(though mine is the best, obviously!) only the fact that there is a machine that requires an attentive master and a loving hand at the wrench and control.

Battery's strong, newer AGM battery. The charging meter shows 14V.