Running slightly rich on #1 & #2

The bike is running great.. Have 20 pilots and 117.5 mains and am on the 4th clip on the jet needle.. Carbs are all in sync @ 11in of vacuum.. Should I back the air mixture screws out about 1/4 turn? Oh, the floats are synced up too.. #3 & #4 are tan and looking good.. Great throttle response all through the rpm range. 4-1 V&H exhaust w/ no insulation just the bare baffle and pods.. thanks guy's..

Hi vach,
Is your petcock leaking?

Check out my post here:

The Petcock caused it!

KZCSI

No man, I just bought a new one from Z1.. I think the carbs need to come apart again, something is not right. I just put another plug in #2.. I think the pilot circut is messed up some how.. the plgs on 3&4 look good, so I'm not sure.. If i run the 17.5 pilots, when i jump on it it hesitates and or pops through the carbs.. I ran the 15's and it would barely run.. Popping and when I would take off, it had bad hesitation.. I'm not sure what can get clogged in there but it has to be something..

I would love to here what your solution is, as I have the same problem and am currently running 115 mains, clip on #2 and stock pilots. Crack throttle and hesitate, then running so so through the mid range. Am planning on buying pingle petcock as I do not trust the vacuum one.

oongow, do you have headers or anything? I think your midrange is lean and should be on clip 3.. I believe that is stock.. You might try 17.5 pilots and see what happens.. Sounds like you have 2 different issues though.. My #2 is running pretty rich and I cant figure out why.. #3 & #4 plugs look real good so I'm on the right track. I need a compression tester to be sure.. I need to buy one from e-bay.. they are like $30.00 bucks, not too bad .. You might want todo the same.. I think others around here though will tell you you should be on the 3rd clip though.. I don't have the hesitation anymore going with 20's in the pilots.. You might try the 17.5's..

Too high fuel level in float bowl can result in over rich mixture, regardless of otherwise perfectly adjusted carbs.

If not already done, would check service fuel level using clear plastic tube method.

Vach and Patton,
Thanks alot. Yes I have a new 4 into 1. I tried too many new things at once. Dyna, Pods, Exhaust. I was wondering about the pilots and the clip position. I am getting fuel into the intake boos which makes me think the fuel petcock might be bad and/or the floats might be off. How do you do the clear plastic tube method?

oongow wrote:

Vach and Patton,
Thanks alot. Yes I have a new 4 into 1. I tried too many new things at once. Dyna, Pods, Exhaust. I was wondering about the pilots and the clip position. I am getting fuel into the intake boos which makes me think the fuel petcock might be bad and/or the floats might be off. How do you do the clear plastic tube method?

FLOAT LEVEL --

Here's a link to one of several informative threads about this. Easy to find more help and pictures by doing a search for "float level" or "clear plastic tube."

float level

It's a quick easy check without removing anything from the bike. But the adjustment, if needed, is more involved.


FLOAT NEEDLE/SEAT INTERFACE --

Here's a link to some info regarding fuel in the boots.

fuel in boots

A search on float needle or other key words should produce several more helpful links.

Would keep a close check on oil for possible gasoline intrusion into crankcase. If getting to the intake boots, may also be getting into the combustion chamber and down around the pistons into the crankcase. If the float bowls have overflows, one or more may be obstructed allowing fuel to keep on rising upward in the carbs. With carbs equipped with overflows, excess fuel should escape from the float bowls through the overflow outlets (before rising high enough to reach the carb throat).

Good luck with the repairs.

Post edited by: Patton, at: 2007/07/01 22:29

I have 4-1 and pods and dyna too. I'm runnung 117.5 mains and 20 pilots.. most run 17.5 pilots though.. Some might say the 117.5's are steep but a guy at Performance Cycle in Hammond indiana whp buils race bikes helped me with those. the bike isn't running rich on the top end, only on those 2 cylinders at idle..

oongow wrote:

Vach and Patton,
Thanks alot. Yes I have a new 4 into 1. I tried too many new things at once. Dyna, Pods, Exhaust. I was wondering about the pilots and the clip position. I am getting fuel into the intake boos which makes me think the fuel petcock might be bad and/or the floats might be off. How do you do the clear plastic tube method?

Well you were right. The clip position 3 helped alot. It has a ever so slight hesitation at throttle crack and still feels slightly weak as it reaches midrange then at 7k rpm starts to have trouble, but that may be a timing issue? as I have not dialed the dyna yet. I am pretty sure I have 17.5 in the pilots but forgot to document when I was cleaning them. They had a fair amount of crud. I have the non vacuum petcock coming (fuel in the plugs on the intake boots) and am going to check the float levels tomorrow. Again, thanks.