problem with running

Hi, I'm new here, first post and all, but I 've been reading here for about 3 months now..

Hi from the netherlands at least

Here for my problem. I made a movie with sound (12mb) where u can hear the engine making wierd popping sounds back in the airfilter. As I'm rather new to motorcycles I have no idea what this means.. Engine runs very poor, when pulling on throttle engine allmost kills every time, sometimes it revs ok..engine starts correclty and fast, runs on 4 sparks etc (only plug 4 is total black)
there are some noises coming from the carbs when throttling up..

Don't know much about the history of the bike, only that it was outside all the time, previoous owner made a mess of the ignition to coil wires (fixed that)

Here's the movie:

home.planet.nl/~drane006/z650_peter.avi

Ow yeah, it's a z650 c4 from 1980.

Engine worked fine last saturday and sunday, until i changed the oil and oil filter. (used correct grade oil 10w-40 full synth..)

Zggy, Love the video idea but I can only get the audio, no picture?

I think your problem is float level in the carb float bowls, I think it may be too low. I also think you should consider syncing your carbs. WG may have some other/better ideas.

ow It's divx 6, so that might be the case that u can't see it.. well the sound is most important in any case

Post edited by: yggy, at: 2006/04/18 17:51

yggy, I am not going to listen to your movie as I am on very slow dial up... Bike is new to you so I wouldn't operate it until I did the following:

1. check cam chain/cam shaft timing. The cams are removed on your bike to set valve clearances. It could be that whoever last pulled the cams didn't reinstall correctly.

2. check valve clearances

3. check ignition timing and make sure mechanical advance is clean and lubricated and ensure that advance is working using the timing light. Check it even if you have non-adjustable timing just to ensure the advance works when you roll the throttle on

4. check voltage going to your coils. You should have about 12VDC at your coils. There are two wires going into your coils. One from your igniter and the other is power. It will typically be yellow/red or red. Use a multimeter and put the RED probe on this wire and the black on a frame ground. Turn on the key (bike doesn't need to run) and if you have 12VDC, all is well but if there is LESS, then see the coil powering mod in the FILEBASE section. Poorly powered coils produce lousy spark which produce the symptoms you describe.

DO the things above and come back and report the results and see if your problems don't go away. If you still have problems, we can look at the carburetors.

Thx for the reply, ill get right on it

(when im home that is )

Owww god i feel stupid..

2 of the sparkplugs where broken (2-4) so that's why it ran so crappy.

I could have guessed..

Sorry all :blush: i'm just learning this stuff

Hello Yggy , where in Holland do you live btw ?
I used to have contact with another Z650 owner from Holland that was a member of the old forum, but I lost contact with him after he travelled India on an Enfield Bulett 500 last winter, and I don't know if he still have his 650.

Glad you found your problem btw. After listening to your video, I wonder why none of the more experienced members didn't give you a tip about cheking the plugs and plug caps, since it was pretty obvious from the sound that it was misfiring on one or two of the cylinders because of an irregular spark. And usually the solution to the problem is more simple than we might think.:lol:

yeah i wondered that too

nah it's ok.. i thought i had a engine ready to explode in my face :lol:

but he, we all gotta learn someway..

I'm from the south of the netherlands. I bet that guy who left for india on an enfield hasn't returned yet , I hear they suck at mountains

:laugh:

Hi Ivar, glad to see you still popping in now and then! I didn't listen to the video clip because my download speed is less than 3 (THREE) kbs/sec. It would have taken me about 2 years to download hehe... Interestingly, the Texas State legislature passed a law saying that all rural areas of the state would need to have their telecommunications infrastructure upgraded so everyone could use DSL. I sure hope they make it to my corner soon as web surfing is tough and eBay shopping is a misery! Plus I can't listen to 11 meg videos...

Next time, ill make them really small and provide a wave file too..

I live in Texas and have DSL. Of course I live in the big City. It does have it's advantages. Like runnuing water and bathrooms.:laugh: Welcome YGGY ! Glad you found the problem.