S
snowbeard
Guest
sorry if this gets longwinded, I haven't really tried to sit down and collect all the things I've wanted to figure out so far, just chased after each one as I saw it. maybe a more thurough description will spark someone's memory...
so my bike is always hard to start after twelve hours (esp cold) almost always requiring starter fluid for just that first push. then it runs slow, needing the throttle to be held for some time. I've taken to turning the adjuster nut on my throttle up to keep it running, as I don't have a choke cable.
so I'll set it up to run about 2000 rpms, and it will stay there a few seconds, then climb steadily to about 4000, at the same time as it begins to spew blue smoke, only on the left side. I've touched the pipes before and found one of them cold when the others were all scalding, I think it was #2 (1-4 = L->R from rider's perspective)
I've thought that it was my charging system lately, not having enough juice to charge the coils, but I've gone thru the stator papers and everything checks out good. I haven't been able to check the resistance in my plug wires as they are solidly sealed where they attach at the coil, but I've had the plugs out and grounded, and they are sparking a little blue spark, but it doesn't look like anything I'd call a "fat" blue spark. (aside note, does the automotive relay, direct power from the battery to the coils work around do anything that could be potentially damaging if there wasn't a problem in the first place? or will it just make your coils charge to the best of their ability?)
it was mentioned that the smoke could just be the valves leaking a little oil into the cylinders, and I could easily believe it, but it seems that the cylinder isn't firing at first so it could also be getting fouled with fuel until I get enough charge to spark that one.
on top of all of it, it seems to have a slight leak at the intake manifold, I found a small one with starter fluid, and replaced the clamp with a pipe clamp. this didn't seem to fix it at first, but now spraying it there with fluid doesn't gun the engine. :?
it idles 1200 cold, and for a slight while after, then mostly a 2000 idle after city driving, but after a longer stretch of highway riding, it almost always sits at 3000 and slowly drops back to 2000 - 2500. at first I thought this might be due to building up too much charge and needing to disperse it, but the regulator holds the volts at the battery nicely around 13.4-13.9 over the full range of idle to 5000 rpm.
the manifold leak would make sense also because even tho it's reading 3000 on the tach, it doesn't have the power of 3000 on the takeoff, it has to catch up, as if the other three weren't running that fast because they had to, only because the leaking one was dragging them to run at 3000...
so I've asked a few of these questions before in bits and pieces, so it may sound familiar, but I thought maybe all of it together might make for an interesting story... :roll:
if anyone gets any thoughts on this info, I'd greatly love to hear it. the ol' bike runs pretty good for my twenty mile commute, but I'm a bit leary of the longer tries!! that and I may as well make it run the best that I can!!
thanks!!
so my bike is always hard to start after twelve hours (esp cold) almost always requiring starter fluid for just that first push. then it runs slow, needing the throttle to be held for some time. I've taken to turning the adjuster nut on my throttle up to keep it running, as I don't have a choke cable.
so I'll set it up to run about 2000 rpms, and it will stay there a few seconds, then climb steadily to about 4000, at the same time as it begins to spew blue smoke, only on the left side. I've touched the pipes before and found one of them cold when the others were all scalding, I think it was #2 (1-4 = L->R from rider's perspective)
I've thought that it was my charging system lately, not having enough juice to charge the coils, but I've gone thru the stator papers and everything checks out good. I haven't been able to check the resistance in my plug wires as they are solidly sealed where they attach at the coil, but I've had the plugs out and grounded, and they are sparking a little blue spark, but it doesn't look like anything I'd call a "fat" blue spark. (aside note, does the automotive relay, direct power from the battery to the coils work around do anything that could be potentially damaging if there wasn't a problem in the first place? or will it just make your coils charge to the best of their ability?)
it was mentioned that the smoke could just be the valves leaking a little oil into the cylinders, and I could easily believe it, but it seems that the cylinder isn't firing at first so it could also be getting fouled with fuel until I get enough charge to spark that one.
on top of all of it, it seems to have a slight leak at the intake manifold, I found a small one with starter fluid, and replaced the clamp with a pipe clamp. this didn't seem to fix it at first, but now spraying it there with fluid doesn't gun the engine. :?
it idles 1200 cold, and for a slight while after, then mostly a 2000 idle after city driving, but after a longer stretch of highway riding, it almost always sits at 3000 and slowly drops back to 2000 - 2500. at first I thought this might be due to building up too much charge and needing to disperse it, but the regulator holds the volts at the battery nicely around 13.4-13.9 over the full range of idle to 5000 rpm.
the manifold leak would make sense also because even tho it's reading 3000 on the tach, it doesn't have the power of 3000 on the takeoff, it has to catch up, as if the other three weren't running that fast because they had to, only because the leaking one was dragging them to run at 3000...
so I've asked a few of these questions before in bits and pieces, so it may sound familiar, but I thought maybe all of it together might make for an interesting story... :roll:
if anyone gets any thoughts on this info, I'd greatly love to hear it. the ol' bike runs pretty good for my twenty mile commute, but I'm a bit leary of the longer tries!! that and I may as well make it run the best that I can!!
thanks!!