'82 1100 Spectre not reving up when under load

I picked up this bike earlier this spring and it's never had the acceleration that it should have, on the road it would hit about 4500 rpm and then start stumbling until full throttle where it lost all power and slowed down.

The guy I bought it from said he put the exhaust on because it had the Kaw emblem on, never said it if had a aftermarket set of pipes or not.
Stock air box
24000 miles on it now

So far I replaced the carb boots to fix vac. leaks
New stator, old one wasn't charging. While I had the chance I checked the regulator and it seems to be functioning.

Now it revs to about 6000 with a little playing of the throttle but then starts to stumble again with complete loss of power at WOT.
Plugs are sooty black when I check them.

Would a better direction to head for be keep on the electrical focus or should I look at the carbs more? I did clean them and check all passages when I had them off to replace the boots.

Weak spark and improperly adjusted floats can cause the problems you mention.

The factory service manual has a pretty good description of how to diagnose both problems. You can also search old posts here. MFolks has posted a consice electrical system diagnostic a bunch of times, and the clear tube method of setting the fuel level has also been discussed numerous times.

You do need a manual. Tune up procedures including valve adjustment. One of the most common issues with Po's is, they just don't know or want to adjust the valves. Put that on your list to check.
Steve

Yup, there is no substitute for the genuine factory manual. Will save many times the purchase price in parts, labor, frustration, broken stuff, aspirin and therapy.

I think sooty plugs indicate poor ignition. Make sure the battery is good & fully charged --- check it, don't assume it's good. The bike needs a good battery to run right as it supplies the power to fire the coils.

Other stuff: new spark plugs; old spark plug wires may need replacing or at the least redo all of the connections --- unscrew the ribbed compression boots at the coils; if the wires have the white crusty stuff, nip off the ends a tad; the old ignition coils may be failing under load: an easy check is to ride the bike at highway speeds, then stop & feel the coils --- they should be warm, not hot, press hard with your fingers. don't get burned by the engine.

Stock timing advance unit may need to be cleaned and lubed.

Well, Ive got some work done today.

I swapped the coils and wires, no change.

Checked the fuel level in the carb bowls with a clear tube and it seemed to be correct

The pickups and plate look to be new when I looked at them today as well.
Need to get a timing light to check that this week




Seeing as how the stator varnish was half burned could the regulator be faulty and higher RPM?

I have the 1000/1100 manual downloaded from teh net and a Clymer one the P/O had in with the bike.

He also included the paperwork from the place he took it to have work done on it.
In 5/'12 he had a bunch of work done.
Compression test, 140/140/145/145
New plugs, oil change
Ne rear tire
New battery
Rebuild the front brakes and master cylinder
Cleaned carbs and new float valves and float filters?? That's what they have on it..

Then in 5/'14
Oil change
New valve cover gasket
Front brake lever switch.

Did you check the battery & is it new?

martin_csr wrote: Did you check the battery & is it new?

Pulled it out and the electrolyte level is where it should be, and had it on the trickle charger a overnight this week till the charger said it was done.
P/O kept it in the basement over winter

Nightdriver wrote: The pickups and plate look to be new when I looked at them today as well.
Need to get a timing light to check that this week

Timing is non-adjustable...complements of Kawasaki.
The timing advance is located behind the pickup plate, and should be cleaned and lubed occasionally to keep the moving parts functioning as intended. You may want to check it while in there.

More work this afternoon.

I had checked all electrical items suggested.

So I started thinking about the sooty plugs, I took the air filter off and it helped run a bit better, so I made a stop at the garage and took the tubes that fit between the carbs and air box and went back out.


And oh boy did that wake this bike up, made a 5 mile loop around town, stopped in front of the garage and looked at teh plugs.

They all look like they should, white insulator, clean center trode, white/tan ground



So, now all I need to find is a set of stock sized mains and I'm ready to take that trip I've been promising my lady



Thanks to all who've helped with my questions