Carbs

[GlennInLouisville]

I started my bike this weekend for the first time.  It sounds great at idle but dies immediately if I move it off full choke or twist the throttle.   Also there is no heat coming off the exhaust from the front cylinder (not firing).   The spark is good so must be a fuel issue?  Checked the float chambers - there is gas in them.  Is there anything else left to check before pulling the carbs and dipping them?   I had them apart a couple weeks ago and they appeared quite clean (the previous owner had them cleaned four years ago and only ran the bike once since then).  I didn't dip them, but did dip the emulsion tubes which had some crusty stuff forming on them.  Can a carb actually be so dirty that a cylinder will not fire... even if it looks clean?  I was afraid to dip the carbs because the main gasket that seals the float chamber was hardened onto the metal and would be destroyed if I tried to remove it. Can a new one be purchased or fabricated?  In addition one of the floats was broken in half and I superglued it back together - will that work and will it affect the float performance?  Uggh did I do that?? :o

I thoroughly flushed the tank which had quite a bit of rusty gas in it. (Glad I didn't run that stuff through the carbs).

Thanks very much for your help.

Glenn

[Sable]

     I'll try and answer your questions in order (at least to the best of my ability) ;D
     First, things you may want to check: check the YICS and hoses to make sure you don't have a vacuum leak. Also, you can pull off the tops of the carbs without pulling them off the bike, you may want to check the bowls to see if there is any sediment that may have been missed when you cleaned them.
     Next: yes, a carb can be sooo dirty that it will not fire even if it looks clean, thing about this is, you realy can't see everywhere in these carbs (unless you have a fiberoptic camera) 8)
     AND, yes, you can make a gasket for the carbs using gasket making material, I got a roll of it for like $6.00 at Autozone... If you need a templet, I can scan in a gasket that I have laying around and e-mail you.
     And finally, it is possible that the glue could affect the opperation on the floats if it makes it a heavier. Also, will superglue hold up in fuel? Or will it disintegrate? I would try to use JB Weld epoxy.. I'm not the only one who has used it to patch small pin holes in my gas tank ;D
     Best of luck, I am sure other, more experienced people on the forum will have better advise for you ;)

     ~Sable

[h2olawyer]

Hi Glenn -

The nonfiring front cylinder may be that pesky rev limiter acting up.  Cut the yellow & black wire coming from the TCI.  This is a well known problem & fix.

H2O

[GlennInLouisville]

Sable and H20,
Thanks so much for your detailed, speedy replies!  

To Sable:

Great idea.  I'll buy some of that gasket material.  If it isn't much trouble a scanned copy of a gasket might come in real handy in case this one breaks into bits and is untraceable.

I'll check the float and see if it's holding up and use the jb weld epoxy for future jobs like this.

To H20:
Cool!  I'll try your suggestion on that TCI unit wire and let you know how it works out.  I think I remember seeing instructions for doing it on the website.

You guys are the best.   Hope I can return the help in the future.  Glenn

[nvdranger]

I would start with the rev limiter first, its the easiest and very common - this is the reason the previous owner of my v put it away. ?One snip and then start it to see what happens.
did you check each of the jets in the carbs? ?i couldn't read the numbers and wasn't sure if the previous owner attemted to fix the stumble by using different jets, if you cant read them or thry are not the correct ones you may want to buy the keyter carb kits (comes with all new jets, accel pump diaphram, and those gaskets you need). ?this will also fix jet issues if the jets are clogged, again something i notice after i tore them apart 3 times.  then you can dip the carbs and clean all the passageways with picture wire or a welder tip cleaner set. ?once finished you will need to have the carbs synch'd as well, ?build a manometer or buy one for $40 - you wont believe how much better it will run from just the synch.

ken

[Lucky]

there is already a gasket scanned & posted on my site: http://www.xz550.com/art.html
I would cut the rev limiter wire first and if that doesn't do it, then dip the carbs.  also you can get a whole rebuild kit from Keyster (on ebay) for the 82 carb.  you'll need 2 kits to do both carbs, they run about $27 ea
--Lucky

[jasonm.]

Heck, if it is only running on one cyl. On choke you won't see more than 1500 or so on the tach. The pilot gas jets of all bikes get clogged eventually. These are very tiny. .6mm on an '82 or .5mm on an '83. Most bikes they are smaller.These dictate idle. So if it does not idle, the pilot(s) are likely clogged. They were on my wife's first bike. Found it 10 years old, only had 200 miles on it. So I bought it. Changed out the clogged pilots...that was it. Also my '83 I just found out the pilots were partially clogged. No wonder the low speed screws had to be out 5 turns. Also started missing at high rpms when all the gas jets have to work together.

[GlennInLouisville]

there is already a gasket scanned & posted on my site: http://www.xz550.com/art.html
I would cut the rev limiter wire first and if that doesn't do it, then dip the carbs. ?also you can get a whole rebuild kit from Keyster (on ebay) for the 82 carb. ?you'll need 2 kits to do both carbs, they run about $27 ea
--Lucky

I cut the rev limiter wire.  No noticeable change.  So it's on to the carb cleaning.  Will the kit work for my 83?  Also, are there any differences btw the 82 and 83 gasket?

Thanks!  Glenn

[Walt_M.]

Huge difference! Keyster does have kits for '83 carbs and they are the ones you need.

[Extent]

I don't know about the differences, but there are 83 and 82 kits available (I actually just ordered mine last night) and they're selling the 83 kits for about 5 bucks cheaper than the 82s.  The user is siriusconinc, it's a canadian company, there's a 83 kit online now for auction, but they've got them all in their ebay store (which I found was a couple dollars cheaper than their website store ^_^)

[GlennInLouisville]

I don't know about the differences, but there are 83 and 82 kits available (I actually just ordered mine last night) and they're selling the 83 kits for about 5 bucks cheaper than the 82s. ?The user is siriusconinc, it's a canadian company, there's a 83 kit online now for auction, but they've got them all in their ebay store (which I found was a couple dollars cheaper than their website store ^_^)

[GlennInLouisville]

there is already a gasket scanned & posted on my site: http://www.xz550.com/art.html
I would cut the rev limiter wire first and if that doesn't do it, then dip the carbs. ?also you can get a whole rebuild kit from Keyster (on ebay) for the 82 carb. ?you'll need 2 kits to do both carbs, they run about $27 ea
--Lucky

Does anyone have a scanned image of an 83 carb gasket?  

[Humber]

I have in Corel Draw file - interested??

[Lucky]

oops, i'll have to scan one in...

[GlennInLouisville]

I have in Corel Draw file - interested??

Yeah that would be great!  Do I need special software to view it?

[Lead_Deficiency]

Humber can you open that file, save it as a giff. or jpeg. or even screen shot it then open paint paste it,then send that file to him.

[Lucky]

i'm scanning it now, i'll upload it in a few & post it here.
--Lucky

[GlennInLouisville]

Thanks very much.  Your helpfulness is incredible beyond words.   I've been raving to the previous owner of my v about this forum and how I've learned to do things to with this bike and gotten a wealth of help that he or I would never have been able to do on our own.  He is amazed.  I think he's having some remorse that he didn't keep the bike... 8)

[GlennInLouisville]

I finally fully dipped and cleaned the carbs, after carefully researching the procedures and tips gleaned from the postings on this site.   Thanks to this information, everything went totally smoothly.

The bike fired right up and runs beautifully - like a brand new bike!   No more stumble.  I am so excited!

Now that my Vision is running like a dream and is perfect, and I'm all excited to get my license and start riding it, my wife is putting great pressure on me to sell it.  So you may see it posted on the For Sale board in the next couple days  :-[.  Wish me luck in my negotiations with her.

[Lucky]

Hmm, keep the bike... or keep the wife... Hmmm.  Kia, what do you think?