Troubleshooting help - sudden loss of power

[KEITH KRAUSE]

You mean you'll see a change in the spark before you can actually see the oil on the plug? For that matter, does my 4 mile plug count as fresh?

You can test with that plug. Just be sure to rinse it in gas or carb cleaner and wipe it dry. It should spark well. If it doesn't spark against the head, let us know.
An oil leak into the cylinder may not be readily visible after only 4 miles. Even a compromised spark will burn off the oil at first. The gas in the mixture is cleansing too. But at some point the oil will build up and the spark weakens or dies. Fouled plug. There's no doubt your plug is fouling.
You can also check the #1 header for heat build up as it warms up. Does it appear to heat up just like the others? This is not an absolute test as it doesn't necessarily confirm good/constant spark. It does mean you're getting at least intermittent combustion. But many times you can feel the effected cylinder not building heat as quickly as the others and it means an obvious problem.
Even if intermittent, you have to be careful or you'll get burned.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

hmmmm just a idea here, take the diaphram cap off the #1 carb and see if the return spring is where it is suspose to be or is coiled up on top.
I have seen this a couple times and one of those times the owner and given up and thought that one cylinder was toast and parted out the bike.
(I got the carbs on E-bay and discovered his mistake.

the other time my buddy was pulling his hair out on his Kat as it would not run right, it now runs like a scalded cat.

Nothing wrong with the idea, but how would that make his #1 plug look like that?

[focus frenzy]

Nothing wrong with the idea, but how would that make his #1 plug look like that?

if the spring coils up on top it will keep the slide from working correctly and will cause all kinds of havock with the jetting as the buttlerfly will still be opening and closing normaly but the slide will be stuck pretty much closed and not regulating vacume and fuel flow from main jet like it should.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

if the spring coils up on top it will keep the slide from working correctly and will cause all kinds of havock with the jetting as the buttlerfly will still be opening and closing normaly but the slide will be stuck pretty much closed and not regulating vacume and fuel flow from main jet like it should.

OK. But his plug looks like oil on it.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Yeah, I'm not thinking there's any shortcut to fixing compression, but I'm actually hinting around for you to tell me which jobs that'll entail. Rings? Am I about to get that opportunity to replace my base gasket?

I'm not jumping to conclusions, and I don't want to waste your time with guessing, but I am dyin' with suspense! :-D

I don't expect and answer on this one, but the main things my brain is fixating on is, how many hours/days the bike will be under the knife (it's my ride to work), how much I'll be out in parts, and can I still ride it while I'm planning the job?

Rings/valve guide seals aren't that expensive. Cost depends. You may find more that needs fixing, may not.
Taking off the head and/or cylinders is a bit of work. Plenty of help around here if you want to do it yourself. The right tools help.
Don't get ahead of things. Test first.
Guys...what are those tests that suggest or prove a leak is from a valve guide or piston ring? Where you add a small amount of oil into a cylinder.
Help him out. My kid is telling me we're missing the Laker game.:shock:

[focus frenzy]

OK. But his plug looks like oil on it.

never good to diagnose a plug via a picture on a computer screen as there is no substitute for a good old fashion eye ball.

also he put new plugs in and it had no real change.
when I bought Bob and got him running after his long slumber he was sucking down oil at a rate reserved for a two stroke.
60 miles would require 1/4 quart oil, even at that rate the plugs would last 120 miles before fouling out.

[focus frenzy]

Help him out. My kid is telling me we're missing the Laker game.:shock:

thats what TIVO is for, record it!! LOL

[focus frenzy]

also if he has a oil consumption problem it would have been a problem before he got on it hard.

[Roostabunny]

OK, well, I'll borrow that compression gauge tomorrow, and we'll get those numbers up here. That oughtta give me some direction. Meantime, enjoy the Laker game - and speaking of TIVO, time to watch LOST.

[Roostabunny]

never good to diagnose a plug via a picture on a computer screen as there is no substitute for a good old fashion eye ball.

also he put new plugs in and it had no real change.
when I bought Bob and got him running after his long slumber he was sucking down oil at a rate reserved for a two stroke.
60 miles would require 1/4 quart oil, even at that rate the plugs would last 120 miles before fouling out.

Agreed, I took about 15 different photos trying to get it to look right. That said, I think my "dry" comment was wishful thinking. My heart said it was carbon, but my eye said oil.

[Guest]

My kid is telling me we're missing the Laker game.:shock:

Not much of a game. Lakers by 40. :shock:

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Not much of a game. Lakers by 40. :shock:

Yeah! Ain't it a shame?:twisted:

[KEITH KRAUSE]

(sigh)...All I'm saying is it looks like oil. We know what oil can do to spark.
A plug can become oil fouled whenever it wants. He says he sees white smoke which is oil burning. I'm thinking he's basically running on 3 cylinders so I mentioned how to tell.
I'm not there. I can't see the bike for myself. If I'm wrong then I gave my best advice.
I'll bow out of this one.

[Roostabunny]

(sigh)...All I'm saying is it looks like oil. We know what oil can do to spark.
A plug can become oil fouled whenever it wants. He says he sees white smoke which is oil burning. I'm thinking he's basically running on 3 cylinders so I mentioned how to tell.
I'm not there. I can't see the bike for myself. If I'm wrong then I gave my best advice.
I'll bow out of this one.

OK, so we're all agreed that looking at photographs is a difficult way to diagnose plugs. It's like trying to rely on the pics in the haynes book. Heck I'm staring at the thing and it's not obvious to me because whether it's oil or carbon, it's the first time I've seen it in person.

Tell you what, I'll bring the fouled plug when I pick up the compression gauge and let my wrench friend take a look. No hard feeling if he says it's carbon, and I'll still post my compression numbers, K? :-D

[Roostabunny]

Hey fellas, I know it's too soon to panic, but that's not stopping me. I keep coming across the phrase, "where there's compression, there's hope" and the phase, "parting out" as I'm searching the forum for info on compression problems and head removal for a bike that's my ride to work.

I know, I know - check the darn compression and then we'll go from there. What are you doing to yourself?

I'm stuck in the house till late afternoon, and even then, the family schedule's so busy I might not get to check the compression until tonight or maybe even tomorrow afternoon. So, I'm over here pacing back and forth like a father-to-be 50's-style waiting to hear about the baby. Except I feel like I'm waiting for Rosemary's baby.

So I post to the thread.

Inexperience, impatience, and imagination are a terrible trifecta right now.

Thanks fellas, I feel better. :-D