Carb Rebuild

I rebuilt the carbs on Sunday, and now the bike runs perfectly. I had no rebuild kit, and the only thing that could have gotten messed up was the float bowl gaskets. I soaked them with penetrating oil and removed them very carefully. The body of the offending carb got soaked for 1/2 hr in mineral spirits, as did all the other little parts. It really wasn't that hard. Now, after running for a few seconds, I can take off the choke and it works fine. All the power I could want. I rode it to work today, trusting the Accuweather forecast. It started raining on the way in and never stopped. I'm at home recovering and trying to warm up from my ride home!

Now for the little stuff like fork oil and pressure, final drive fluid, brake fluid flush and check sticky caliper, get rid of gap in headlight ring, new handlebars, grips and mirrors, fix seat, etc.

Carb Clogged?

I've ridden the bike a few times now, and the rear cylinder only kicks in occasionally. This is dangerous, unacceptable, and is not getting better. There is spark and compression back there, and there is fuel getting to the carb, and it speeds up right away when carb cleaner is sprayed in as if it's starving for fuel, unlike the other cylinder which bogs down for a few seconds before speeding up when sprayed.

So, I think I'm gonna begin dissassembly prior to buying a rebuild kit, just because I have no damn money. Maybe the problem will be obvious.

And unfortunately, my old boss wants his camera back, so I can't take pics as I go a long to help with re-assembly. He didn't pay me for the last 3 days I worked there, and I am still pissed about that.

Riding on the Road!

Last night I cruised up and down our road in the dark with no headlight.

Then today, I mounted the light and license plate, went down and got gas, and rode all over Mountlake Terrace. Then I got on the freeway and rode to 145th and came back via Meridian.

The rear cylinder is having trouble, but it seems to be getting better as the carb gets unclogged. I put some injector/carb cleaner in the gas before I put everything together.

When I got home, I took off the handlebar and cleaned and roughened the mounts and put it back on. I thought it had slipped down, but it feels even less right when I put it higher. I need a different one with a more comfortable angle.

I wanted to ride it to work tomorrow, but now it's gonna rain for the next few weeks!!!

It's a Little More Alive!

I tricked it into running faster by spraying in some carb cleaner and opening the throttle while it was running quicker. After a few times of doing this and getting it up to 5K rpm, the tach and right front park light started mysteriously working.

After running it and playing with it for a while, (and repeatedly spraying in carb cleaner), it will now allow me to give it some gas, but not very quickly.

Also, the cooling fan works!

It's Alive!

Today I did quite a bit. I learned to solder and fixed the wires I cut in the back--they now have connectors on them.

Then I installed the ignition module, mounted the horn, the headlight case, and correctly re-connected all the wires--I counted 7 wire bundles for a total of 3 zillion connections to figure out. Actually, the colors made it pretty easy--sort of. I wasn't sure at all if I got it right, but I installed the battery and turned the key anyway. All the lights came on! Well, everything works except the right front park light. The signal works, but not the park light--probably a bad bulb. Oh, and I left off the headlight for now, so I don't know if that's still good or not.

Then I mounted the fan in the shroud, the shroud on the radiator, the radiator on the bike, and filled the radiator.

After that I pulled the plugs, sprayed WD-40 in the cylinders, put the bike in 5th and turned the back tire. It wasn't easy, but it turned. Then I put anti-seize on the plugs and installed them, and set up a temporary fuel system. I put a hose on the secondary tank and stuck a funnel in it and raised it up, then I took the clear vent tubing from my new battery and put it on the vent hole and ran it up toward the handlebars. I then stole some gas from my lawnmower can and filled it until it started coming up in the clear tube, (tank full.) This lets me run the bike with the main tank off so I can get to all the critical stuff I don't understand. Then I cranked the bike over. It wouldn't start for hella, and then I discovered the gas was off! I turned it on, made sure the choke was on, and it started to fire. After a few tries, it was running very slow and rough.

It didn't get any better, and I never saw the cooling fan come on, (even after I freaked out and plugged it in!) I took off the air chamber so I had direct access to the carbs and sprayed carb cleaner in. In one carb that almost makes it die, then it speeds up. In the other one, it just speeds up right away. It dies if I give it any throttle or take the choke off.

After 20 minutes of running, it got worse and quit. I'm worried I overheated it or messed up something with all my carb cleaner spraying. I called it a day at this point. I was at the Hangar racing yesterday for 10 hours and working on the bike all day today, and I'm beat.

We watched 'The Rocker', and it was pretty good.

Mental note: rRmember to hook up the brake linkage before I try to back it out of the shed or it'll buckle. And don't forget the cotter pin in the thingy.