saddlebum

Just checked my bike and suddenly remembered about that. Guess I got so used to setting them up on the bench I totally forgot that method. The tang that touches the needle is what you bend one way or the other until you get the right fuel level. Also the brass seat that the needle goes into should not be moving around.

The needle is the only thing that should move the brass seat the needle goes into should not

I may have to revisit that and take another look at it for my own curiosity.

If you check your earlier post on this you will see some suggestions have been made but I will re-post my answer here for you. Are you sure your hydraulic system is fully releasing the fluid pressure and is not allowing some pressure to remain in the lines when you release the clutch handle preventing the clutch from fully engaging. You can try cracking the bleeder screw after a couple clutch applications with the handle released to see if all the pressure has been released (you may have to re-bleed the lines after this test. Also make sure there are no major notches in the wing edges of the clutch basket or the center spline that are severe enough to cause the plates to hang up. Also make sure the engine oil your are using does not have friction modifiers in it which is commonly found in many car oils, these are not clutch friendly. I am not sure that it makes a difference which side is in or out at least I have never come across any instruction regarding this. What I tend to do is look at the edges of the fingers. One edge is sharp and the other edge is rounded over (same as when you look at the edges of a flat washer). I then insert the plates with the rounded edge towards the engine. Whether it actually matters or not I can't really say I just feel there is less chance of the edges biting into the wings of the clutch basket or center spline as the clutch engages. I would never scuff the plates unless reusing old plates and they require cleaning of debris. In that case I would wet the back side of quality wet sandpaper and lay it down on a piece of glass or granite and work the plates in a crisis cross or figure eight pattern on the sand paper. I also clean new plates with brake clean in case they have been treated with any kind of storage rust inhibitor.

Good to hear. 👍

This is correct the clear tubes I show in my PDF can be attached to the carbs and you can check running float levels this way but (A) I find access to these a real PITA with the carbs mounted and (B) if you do manage to place the tubes in place of the drain plugs and find the levels are off you have to remove the carbs anyway. In my case I find my mitts just can't get in there.

I am inclined to agree. If it fires up and runs reasonably well transmission and drive-line feel good don't hesitate. As a rule these engines can withstand a lot of abuse before they fail. As stated before worse case scenario you can always recoup your outlay by selling of parts. So for the most part you can't really loose. Having said that after sitting for ten years even a good engine may be difficult to start and if it does it may run rough or have hesitation issues, until it has had a good run. Seafoam or other additive can often help here. Pay attention to how the engine sounds when you crank it over. Even it does not start you should be able to get some idea if it has good or bad compression by how the engine sounds while cranking it over. A little gas dribbled in the carbs will sometimes help getting a sitting engine to fire up. If it has a slipping clutch I would not worry as this is a relatively easy and cheap repair no reason to turn your back on this type of a deal. with it on the center stand and back wheel off the ground clutch handle pulled in rotate the back wheel while in several gears and listen for any unusual sounds, also a extremely rare occurrence but no harm in checking.

Are you sure your hydraulic system is fully releasing the fluid pressure and is not allowing some pressure to remain in the lines when you release the clutch handle preventing the clutch from fully engaging. You can try cracking the bleeder screw after a couple clutch applications with the handle released to see if all the pressure has been released (you may have to re-bleed the lines after this test. Also make sure there are no major notches in the wing edges of the clutch basket or the center spline that are severe enough to cause the plates to hang up. Also make sure the engine oil your are using does not have friction modifiers in it which is commonly found in many car oils, these are not clutch friendly. I am not sure that it makes a difference which side is in or out at least I have never come across any instruction regarding this. What I tend to do is look at the edges of the fingers. One edge is sharp and the other edge is rounded over (same as when you look at the edges of a flat washer). I then insert the plates with the rounded edge towards the engine. Whether it actually matters or not I can't really say I just feel there is less chance of the edges biting into the wings of the clutch basket or center spline as the clutch engages. I would never scuff the plates unless reusing old plates and they require cleaning of debris. In that case I would wet the back side of quality wet sandpaper and lay it down on a piece of glass or granite and work the plates in a crisis cross or figure eight pattern on the sand paper. I also clean new plates with brake clean in case they have been treated with any kind of storage rust inhibitor.

The nice thing about my float setting set up is while using it I discovered one of the needle seats had stuck open and flooding so I was able to correct it before putting the carbs back on the bike which saved me the hassle of discovering it after putting the carbs back on and having to take the carbs back off again. Had I used the dry setup technique I would not have caught this issue until after.

The sync tool measures vacuum to get its reading. Therefore a vacuum leak can definitely effect the reading of your sync tool. Also it is possible for the rods in the sync tool to become sticky but you can check this just by swapping the hoses from a high reading carb with a low reading one. If you get the same reading your tool is ok but if your readings also swap then your tool is sticking. Assuming you are connecting to the proper tubes which are the ones with caps on them except for one on the left side which will have a hose connected to it there should be no gas coming out of those tubes if there is you have a problem.

Thee factory way is to set the float height while on the bike which is a real PITA. Some use a dry set bench method which you should be able to find in the tech section. I devised a rather different approach. I attached a PDF as to how I do it. Home made set up for wet setting floats on the bench.pdf

When you rejoined the four carbs did you set them on a tue flat surface. I like to use a piece of granite countertop for this, most granite places have scraps they will just give you.

Did you replace the needle and seats, and set the float levels

What all did you do to the carb when you had it off?

where ever they can save a penny even though they charge more.

Never did use it. I find the site works just fine as is.

I tend to be a fan of Prestone but any aluminum friendly silicate free antifreeze is fine. If you use concentrate I highly recommend buying distilled or de-ionized water to mix with it. tap water will just start to introduce scale and mineral build up. If distilled or de-ionized water is not next to the antifreeze in the store try the drug or grocery stores. Some may suggest potable water but don't use it. All potable means is that it is safe for human consumption. Even potable water can have high levels of sulfur and minerals which can build up in your cooling system. It is if you have a scale build up but choose carefully. Some can be very aggressive and require a thorough rinsing. Some come in two parts. Part one is the flush part two is a neutralizer again flush thoroughly. In either case choose carefully and make sure it is compatible with the parts in your cooling system such as aluminum and plastic. Some flushes are not aluminum safe and can actually eat away at the aluminum.

Keep in mind how much compression leaks off is related to how much the valve leaks. Too little to zero clearance can keep a valve from seating properly or allow for a longer open time of the valve allowing some compression to escape during the compression test. I have seen this occur on many engines with mechanical valve adjusters, were less experienced techs that work under me were ready to condemn an engine, only to discover that compression was fine once I had them reset the valves to proper clearances.

All too often too much rake is added into the bike with conversion kits. May look cool and is great for straight highway driving but can be brutal on turns. One friend of mine had so much rake that not only did he have to strongarm the handlebars to make the turn but every turn was so wide it was as though he was taking an 18 wheeler around those corners and he often scarred me with worry that a he might get clipped by a car coming the opposite way.

Plus learning to wrench on your own bike puts you in a better position to know what to do, should you have an issue on the road.

Never apologize in the search for answers. Situations like yours as well as camaraderie is the reasons this site exists and those of us that are able to help are only happy to do so. As far as your fuel consumption goes two of the more common causes are stuck enrichment valves (often referred to as the choke. A common sign of this but not always the case, is that you never need to choke your bike to start it even on very cool mornings. You can try observing them for movement as you move the choke lever as they are mounted on the outside of the carbs and manipulated by levers too which the choke cable runs. Another issue is the float levels set to high which sadly is not an easy thing to check on a 1st gen and is easier done with the carbs removed and on the bench. If your valve set is so far out that you are loosing compression this could cause an incomplete or inefficient burn resulting in low power and higher fuel consumption. Also when draining the Rad there is a hex valve near the oil filter housing. marked drain. make sure it is set in the on position when draining or filling the cooling system and turn to the off position for normal operation.

That is odd I have used permatex's the right stuff for years and never seen it separate in the tube were I have had tubes of silicone separate and come out of the tube ether watery or grainy.

Sorry pressure testing and looking for pressure drop, or running the engine with the pressure tester on it and looking for excessive pressure build up were two items I meant to include but the Grand kids showed up so I cut myself short. There are more aggressive chemicals you can use but at the shop were I work dishwasher detergent is all we ever use when we get engines with cooling systems contaminated with either oil or diesel fuel. The more aggressive chemicals we only use if we feel that their may be a build up of scale in the cooling system.

You might want to check out https://www.vmaxforum.net/members/dingy.3541/#recent-content This guy Dingy used to be a member here and has done a lot of playing around with vmaxing a venture and may be of some help.

Too thick of a gasket specially were narrow edge gasket surfaces are concerned often cut in half or squeeze out as you tighten the bolts. (Permatex's The Right Stuff gasket maker) or Loctites Gasket Eliminator are perfect for totally replacing gaskets were gasket thickness is not important for clearance issues. when using lay a 1/16 inch bead down the middle of the gasket surface and around bolt holes (Do Not spread out specially important with gasket eliminator as it is anaerobic) this eliminates air pockets as it will spread out as you bolt down the part. High temp Red or Grey silicone work well too but I find the above product superior to silicone. Also never patch a gasket it is better to completely remove it. The exception to that is if a gasket comes away in one piece either completely or stuck to one side then I will either add a tiny bead of gasket eliminator (again do not spread it). The other option is to lay a light spray of permatex high tack gasket spray to all surfaces including the gaskets then assemble when dry to the touch. In a pinch were gasket spacing is important and no gasket is available I have cut thin spacer strips and used them with the right stuff embedding small strips on each side of the bolt holes and being careful not to over tighten the bolts. In some cases when using this technique lay a slightly larger than 1/16 inch bead but do not go bigger than 1/8 inch and again do not spread out. let cure over night in this case.