power concern

rsylvstr · Full Member Joined: Aug 09, 2008 Posts: 65

finally got her on the road today and took her to work. she had no power and in 3rd gear, i was lucky to get her to 60 mph....after about 5 miles, she just all of a sudden had a rush of power! i was shocked...but now she idles at 3k rpms. makes for a crazy ride when trying to slow down.

she was in storage for four years, probably without stabilizer in the fuel. i changed the old fuel in the tank to 93, threw in a little Techron injector/carb cleaner and drained the carbs. figured i'd clean the carbs for real this winter....

does this sounds like something that can be fixed without dropping the carbs or let it ride and see if they clean themselves before winter?

TIA

Retiredgentleman · Posted: September 17, 2008, 10:09 pm Post subject: Re: power concern

Remove the carbs and give them a thorough cleaning. They will not clean themselves, and your bike engine will continue to run badly.............makes for a dangerous ride!

rsylvstr · Full Member Joined: Aug 09, 2008 Posts: 65

yeah, that's what i was thinking....will have to make time for it. from what i understand, i should be able to clean them and reinstall and NOT have to synch???

weekendrider · Posted: September 17, 2008, 11:44 pm Post subject: Re: power concern

Will the idle drop if you back off the idle screw?

rsylvstr · Full Member Joined: Aug 09, 2008 Posts: 65

i was wondering the same...but since it idled fine before, i wasn't sure messing with the settings would be a good idea.
and it would be the two idle screws, right? NOT the "hidden" screws, those are for mixture???

weekendrider · Posted: September 18, 2008, 12:06 am Post subject: Re: power concern

Yes there are two idle screws. The one in the middle syncs the right to the left. So to adjust the idle for both you just use the left or easily accessible one. Your throttle cable isn't too tight is it? Not in a bind anywhere?
Was I reading the first sentence right, in your original post? You trying to push 60 mph in third gear? I've usually gone through all 5 of mine by 45-50.

tweedy64 · Posted: September 18, 2008, 5:08 am Post subject: Re: power concern

Dont want to be doing 60mph in 3rd gear, give them carbs a thorough cleaning and you may have to do it 2 or 3 times a pain i know but worth it, also chuck some seafoam or whatever it is you guys use over there in the tank. Talking of which is this seafoam any good guys ive not seen it in the uk. cheers tweedy

jayel · Posted: September 18, 2008, 8:10 am Post subject: Re: power concern

seafoam is mostly alcohol but yes it works quite well in gas tanks it cleans the top end and in the oil it will clean stuck hydralic lifters unstick rings and clean sludge out of the lower end, no a cure all for a damaged engine but if a motor has sit a while like most of these old bikes it's the best thing out side of a compleate teardown similar product is (tectron)?

tweedy64 · Posted: September 18, 2008, 1:01 pm Post subject: Re: power concern

cheers jayel i'll look into that. cheers tweedy

Jake68 · 650Rider Supporter Joined: Mar 23, 2007 Posts: 841

Sounds like possible diagphram problems to me?

rsylvstr · Full Member Joined: Aug 09, 2008 Posts: 65

threw in some techron, no difference.
dropped the idle screw (throttle slide adjustment, not mixture) and she runs great. thanks!

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