black sooty smoke big time

[fiddlesticks]

The electrical system couldnt cause that ???Could it?
Could not having the carbs syncd  be the cause?  I havent done them  yet because I have not figured out how to make the manometer gizmo. She idles good now,no problem ?staying running. In fact she started with little choke no throttle and the first touch of the button. ? But after warming up the smoke started billowing out. At higher rpm she starts breaking down. Sounded a little bit like a motorcycle with a chest cold. ::) I wouldnt say that she was cutting out though.

Thanks
Fiddlesticks

[Lucky]

first thing that comes to mind, check the oil level & check the airbox for excessive oil.  could be too much oil, bad oil controll ring or leaky valve seal.  next pull the plugs & see if one or both plugs are oily/sooty.

normally fuel is black smoke & oil is blueish smoke.  the only reason i didn't start off with fuel is that these carbs are so picky that it's hard to imagine it could be so rich it would blow smoke & still run... i could be wrong, but fuel wouldn't be my first guess...

--Lucky

[fiddlesticks]

Yep the plugs are incredibly sooty for plugs that were changed at the beginning of spring. I'll

[Rob_OS23]

Hey Cindy, when you did your winter prep did you spray rust check or anything in the mufflers?
Wouldn't explain why it runs rough, but could be two separate things.....

[silicon_toad2000]

could it be the float needle not seating properly? after while the floats fill up causing the bike to run rich?, overflow partially blocked. when sitting the fuel slowly drains out of the overflow, when running it fills the float chambers faster than it can drain away?
just a thought out of left field.

[fiddlesticks]

I did spray some rust check in the pipes, but not enough to cause this. Any of that should have burned off already as the bike has run many times now. I sincerely hope the float needles arent messed up as the carbs were just rebuilt. And for what I paid they better be right or the place will come to realize that hell hath no fury like a women scorned.lol

[QBS]

easy check for carb needle valve/float issues:  with bike off, put fuel petcock on prime, look for fuel dripping out from under the bike.  If fuel is falling out of the bike , needle valves are leaking.

[ProfessorRex]

Mine does that, how do I fix it?

[h2olawyer]

Rex -

You need to tear down the carbs & check to se if there is some debris in the needle / seat interface to clean out.  If there isn't, the only other repair I'm aware of is to replace them.

H2O

[Lucky]

Rex try this before pulling the carbs off (which you don't have to do, see the bottom of this post)

--set the petcock to "on",
--drain the carbs, this will cause the floats to drop
--remove the "T" hose from the carbs
--spray the crap out of the carbs, using carb spray with the straw tube into each inlet fitting. hopefully this will dislodge anything caught in the needles.  if this works, check your tank for rust & fuel filter.

you can remove the carb tops & leave the rest of the carbs on the bike. pull the black plastic panel in front of the carbs, pull all the hoses off the airhorn (top) of the carbs. pull the choke rod out. pull the 6 screws off the top of the carbs & carefully lift them off. now you can work on the needle & seats without pulling all the rest of the carbs out.

--Lucky

[QBS]

Rex: if you decide to replace the needle valve assembly, pay very very close attention to the float pivot pin removal procedure as described in the Haynes manual.  Removal of these pins is very tricky.  If not done very carfully, you will (I promise) break off the pivot pin pedistal.  Then you get to hope that your JB Weld repair holds up.  Cheers.

[ProfessorRex]

Thanks for the help.  I ran on reserve the other day and I think I pulled some crap into my carbs so I'm going to pull them apart and clean them.  I'll make sure that I pay close attn to the float needle and seat.  If I get one of those rebuild kits are those parts included?

[Lucky]

Carb needle & seat
Part Number: 18-4651
carb inlet needle & seat for an 82 maxim, (fits Vision)
where purchased: K & L (order thru your bike shop)
Price\Cost: 37.10 EA.- my price @ the dealer

These may seem expensive but they have a big advantage over the stock needles. these needles have a bail wire that fits over the metal part of the float arm. the movement of the float makes them move in & out, not fuel pressure, so they cannot get stuck closed (yes it does happen)

--Lucky

[QBS]

Rex: If running on reserve moved trash into your carbs, then you are obviously not running an inline fuel filter.  Shame shame on you.  You know better!

[ProfessorRex]

I am running one, but I have no other explanation for it's recent poor running.  Perhaps its water in the fuel, I'm not sure as I haven't spent any time working on it yet.

[silicon_toad2000]

cheap an' easy, run half a cup of metho in every other tank. keeps the water out of the fuel.