Engine started to sputter in gear

Bunty27 wrote: Thanks Motor Head. Will the inline fuel filter help with this at all? Also, can you comment on my question on why this seems to happen only when I shift into gear and not when I'm revvin'g the engine up in neutral?

Only use a scintered filter or a metal screen filter. Not a universal paper filter.

Make sure none of the vacuum hoses or vacuum plugs came off the 4 manifold ports. I've seen them come off (usually from a backfire) and cause sudden rough running.

I would cap them all off, and cap off the valve cover ports too, at least for testing.

Since you are running on prime, you may want to make sure the vacuum line for the petcock didnt come off. Carb 4 has an extra manifold port for the vacuum petcock. Check there and on the actual petcock. I would recommend capping that port on carb #4 for testing as well.

Your bike does not have a kickstand switch, so the transmission (neutral switch) should not have a direct effect on how it runs. However, the extra load of the trans dragging can affect running while in gear (with clutch lever pulled).

Lou, the manifold valve plugs were one of the first things I checked since I had meddled them during my carb sync operation using the mercury vacuum gauge. Two of the four vacuum outputs from the manifold hook up to the main vacuum hose (that goes to the vacuum switch) on my bike. I checked for leaks in those tubes but didn't see anything there either. And I verified that the vacuum line for hte petcock was snug too.

I believe I do have one of the better fuel filters but I'll double check.

And you're saying that the extra load can affect how much fuel is being pulled in through the jets (pilot at low speeds, I presume) and causing the stall if the jets are plugged (maybe)?

I have the tank and carb assembly out again. I should be getting K&L rebuild kits for the carbs and I plan to replace the stock everything with the rebuild kits. I'll soak the rest of the carbs in berryman's overnight. I'll try and use the shrink tubing to take care of the crack in the brass overflow tube. And I'll try and clean up the tank as much as possible with evaporust or something.

Bunty27 wrote: Lou, the manifold valve plugs were one of the first things I checked since I had meddled them during my carb sync operation using the mercury vacuum gauge. Two of the four vacuum outputs from the manifold hook up to the main vacuum hose (that goes to the vacuum switch) on my bike. I checked for leaks in those tubes but didn't see anything there either. And I verified that the vacuum line for hte petcock was snug too..

Ok, good. Then, as you mentioned, there is a slight chance that the emissions valve diaphragm may have a leak. If you find that the bike backfires when you close the throttle, then I would try to temporarily block off the manifold ports and the valve-cover ports, to see if it makes a difference.

Bunty27 wrote: And you're saying that the extra load can affect how much fuel is being pulled in through the jets (pilot at low speeds, I presume) and causing the stall if the jets are plugged (maybe)?

Maybe. Usually, the extra load, if the clutch is dragging, will drop the RPMs slightly, which will slightly richen the mixture, if anything. If it's sputtering, though, then I first would have suspected an ignition issue due to a kickstand switch, but your model shouldn't have that, unless someone changed something.

As a test, you could hardwire the positive of the ignition and coils directly to the battery, and see if it runs better. Then it would indicate that there may be a, intermittent wiring issue that only shows up when the bike is in gear and vibrating more. It's kind of reaching, but may be worth a try if the carb work doesn;t make a difference.

Thanks Lou. By valve cover ports, I'm guessing you are talking about the two tubes that go into the valve covers from the vacuum switch. Correct?

While working on the bike this morning with the carbs and tank off, I noticed that the fuel level wiring connector was totally broken exposing the two connectors which were actually touching each other in addition to touching the chassis. Could this have been the short causing most of my issues?

For the first time ever, I have the carbs completely disassembled and I plan to soak them in Berryman's for 24 hours. My KK-0049 carb rebuild kits are here which I use to put the carbs back together. I also noticed that the epoxy I had used to fix the leak on the brass tube in the carb bowl was all peeling off and looked bad. I plan to use JB Water Weld to fix it this time around. I hope this works well.

I'm also in the process of washing the tank with soap & water along with a chain thrown it and agitated to get the rust off. I will then soak it up with Evaporust overnight so I can get most of the rust off.

I'll keep y'all posted. Thanks much again.

Yes, you can just connect the ports together with a hose.

The wires (green/white black/yellow) for the fuel level sensor in the tank will not affect the ignition. It would only make the fuel light flash on/off if it was shorting to the frame.

I don't trust any epoxy or glue to stand up to alcohol/gasoline.

I would try to use solder to fix the cracked tube. The brass sleeve idea is best. Make sure to use some acid flux and try to get lead solder if you can. You will also need a tiny butane torch, or even a wind-proof lighter will work. I like the Ronson lighters best, in a pinch.

Practice a little first on some brass tubing, and make sure to clean clean clean the cracked pipe before trying to seal it.

Hey Bunty, I have an 82 550 with the TK 22's. I have had very similar issues you are having. I found mine to be two-fold. The Pilot passages in my carbs were plugged (or partially) and I think I had a pilot jet plugged too at one time. Then there was a time somehow, someway, one of my fuel levels in my carbs was really low. Each time I had a pilot issue or low fuel level in a carb the bike would idle just fine and rev up in neutral fine, but you put a load on it and it would fall on it's face.

The other issue I had. One time a went a little too crazy with the seafoam in my gas tank and the bike ran like crap. Dumped it out and put in fresh gas and the appropriate amount of seafoam and it was fine.

Thanks apbling! You are my new best friend.

I did manage to finally disassemble the entire carb assembly and took out all the carbs, jets, everything individually. And I did not like what I saw. First, as most of your pointed out earlier, the epoxy was just peeling off from the brass tube with the fix that I tried to leak in the carb bowl (yuck). I also noticed that some of the pilot jets were partially plugged. But most importantly, the main fuel hole for each carb was partially plugged like blocked arteries. I'm certain most of the passages inside the carb were plugged similarly and may explain most of my problems. I'm kicking myself for not taking out the carb piece by piece earlier but my newbie fears wouldn't let me do so then. I've over than hump now!!

I've been taking turning dipping each of the carbs and various other carb parts into Berryman's for a couple of hours. I can see a ton of difference in how the various orifices of the carbs look after the Berryman treatment. Once I'm done with all the cleaning, I'll install the brand new jets and needles from the rebuild kit for my carbs.

I'm also in the process of cleaning out my tank with evaporust. I'll see how that comes out.

Still debating how to fix the cracked brass tube. The OD of the tube is 3mm. I need to find a brass tube with an ID of 3.5mm or such to run over this tube and try soldering it as Lou recommended. I was also wondering if I can use something like a piece the overlow tube that fits at the bottom of the carb bowl to kinda sleeve over the brass tube. Will the fuel tube be ok being under gasoline for such long periods of time?

I got the brass overflow tube with the crack soldered by the tech guy in my hardware lab (I work for a computer engineering company). It's holding well and not leaks found.

I put everything back together but the bike stopped firing after a couple of runs. I have another thread open for this now. Sigh!!! :pinch:

kzrider.com/forum/3-carburetor/557650-en...doesnt-start-anymore