82 550 LTD carb tuning... (tk 22)

So, thanks to help of many people both on KZ rider and offline, I took my first 40+ feet trip just now! It was actually about 10 miles

Anyway, I have my carbs set up (stock airbox and pipe) near stock. Used the colortune to get the pilots kinda close, but I haven't synched them yet because my buddy has my gauges...

Anyway, between shifts my pipes crackle a good amount, so I figured my pilot might be a beat lean on a carb or two...ok no biggie. BUT, when cruising at 35+ and I just throw a handful of throttle at it, it first bogs then takes off like it should. This seems like maybe shes running a bit rich and then the hard throttle floods it a bit, but then it leans out.... which is counter intuitive to my pipes crackling...

Or am I wasting my time analyzing anything until I synch my carbs? The carbs were a parts set that I had COMPLETELY apart. I bench synched them and checked float height, but I'm thinking these issues might disappear once I synch them...

Thoughts?

BTW, sure wish my 750 had a 6 speed tranny like the 550!

I have the air screws set at 1-1/4 turns out on my TK22 carbs with everything stock, if you want to try that setting. Turning these screws in richens the low speed mixture. To me, a bog that you are describing is often as associated with a lean condition.

Leave the choke on 1/2 way and see if it does the same thing.

damnit, should have thought of that last night!

just thinking outloud here, but seems to me it's rich because after my ride I didn't have a hanging idle or any other symptoms of lean.

I can't tell from the plugs (they are very sooty black) because they are the plugs that were in there when we put the top end back together and oiled everything really well... so she smoked quite a bit upon first firing it up, but has since cleared up, but the plugs are still dark from that.

Also, as it's idling in the garage the exhaust smells a bit...as if it's rich.

When you first start it up, let it idle for a little while till it satrts to warm up, and spray a little woter on the header pipes near the head. See if the water dances off each one the same way. If one seems colder, then maybe it's a float level or electrical.

I can atest that they all warm up even at first, but as for final temp, I'll have to do what you metioned.

Clymer says 3.5 mm for float height. They are all pretty close, but I'm measureing from the top of the bowl (a hair below the washer). Is that right, or should it be that goofy lip?

goofy lip. But I don't think it's too far off to be a major problem. I usually end up 1 (maybe 2 mm) higher than recommended if the level seems finicky.

(I'm a few dozen hours into the TK-22 website, but it still has a long way to go. )

See, my level is below the gasket, not the washer... I bet I'm too high then, right?

Did you "modify" that lip? looks different than mine.

That lip is rough because there is a litle extra flashing from the mold.

If you are right at the gasket level, then it's a little high, but I've had fuel levels that high before and haven't had too many problems. (As the needle and seat wear into each other, the fuel level goes up a little.)

I would lower it to the washer, though, because if the floats are sticking at all, the fuel level could actually be higher when you're riding.

sorry, I meant I was 3.5 (or is it 3?) from the gasket.

Anyway, I took it for a spin this afternoon. Pulls hard from 0-80 and 0-redline, no hiccups at all. (little pipe crackling while shifting) But while cruising at about 55 or so, if you got WOT it bogs for a sec then goes... well, I tried it with the choke on 3/4 and I damn near stalled her out. Tried a few more times with less choke and still was worse. So, it would sound like it's running rich then right?

I think a good carb synch might solve alot of these issues. After a good stretch of 65 mph, I came to a stop sign and it was struggling to idle and it sounded like I had some excessive valve tap. But a blip of the throttle and it went away...?

With mechanical-slide carbs, cracking it to WOT from less than 4000 rpm will usually cause a stumble even when it's jetted properly. You have to roll it WOT, or down shift to get the Revs up, otherwise it will be rich. It's hard to describe, or judge from description. If it seems to bog even when you roll the throttle reasonably, then you may be too rich.

Your plugs will show if you are way too rich. But it takes a long time for plugs to recover to a normal color if they were real rich before, so you'd probably have to give it a hundred miles before you can start to judge by the plugs, since they were already sooted.

apbling wrote: ...After a good stretch of 65 mph, I came to a stop sign and it was struggling to idle....

Warm engine "struggling to idle" may result from too tight valve clearances.

Good Fortune!