I got the replacement o-rings on Monday afternoon from Clem C., the local Airhead guru and put them on the jets and mixture screws later that afternoon. Trouble is, I failed use a small amount of silicone grease when installing the o-rings and used improper tools to get them to go on the idle/pilot jet.
I discovered this Tuesday morning, while verifying the size of the idle jet (45), that I'd probably nicked or over-tightened the idle jet into place on the right carburetor, effectively destroying it.
No wonder I didn't see any improvement in engine
performance at low speeds and continuing sootiness on the
right side cylinder's spark plug!
So, off to the dealer this time, got more o-rings (got spares now), some more fuel bowl gaskets, and even a float jet just in case.
Got home, used a "faint" amount of silicone grease and no tools, and got a new o-ring onto the idle jet. I put it in till snug, then withdrew it to check. It was fine, so in it went again, again just snug. Checked the main jet holder's o-ring and the mixture screw o-ring and they were fine.
I'd also noticed that on the right carburetor, the fuel level in the bowl was 2mm higher than on the left bowl. I adjusted the angle of the floats accordingly till they matched.
I'd also noticed that on the right carburetor, the fuel level in the bowl was 2mm higher than on the left bowl. I adjusted the angle of the floats accordingly till they matched.
Went out on Fiona on the standard test drive run, which is about 12 miles and almost 30 minutes in duration.
Fiona's engine ran great! Low speed performance was much improved (go figure right?) and she really rode the best she's done since I got her.
Still a small sign of "richness" though when one looks at the plug.
pre-ride, nice and shiny after a thorough cleaning
post-ride, a very very light coat of soot, way better than previous test rides.
I sent the above picture to a few knowledgeable people and the responses I got were positive!
Today I went by Clem's place as he'd received the new pair of spark plug cables I'd ordered through him. I'd shown him pics of the cracks on my current cables and he convinced me to get a new pair, pricey as they are, in order to eliminate that variable.
I replaced the right cable, which had the cracks, immediately and rode Fiona home. She did seem much smoother by the way. On the way home I noticed that my idle seemed too high while I was at stop lights and such. Guess my last idle adjustment, done with the old cables in place, was obviated by the new cable eh?
Got her home, replaced the left spark plug cable as well (note: if yours don't "snap in" when connecting to the coil, it's time for new cable probably, my old cables didn't). Broke out the Harmonizer tool and brought down the idle quite a bit to an indicated 1080-1100 on the tach. The RPMs will drop to about 870-910 when I pull in the clutch lever and this is normal as I am putting some drag on the system by using the clutch actuator rod. (This is according to BURAL).
Quite happy with the engine performance right now, a far sight from initial running conditions!
Today I went by Clem's place as he'd received the new pair of spark plug cables I'd ordered through him. I'd shown him pics of the cracks on my current cables and he convinced me to get a new pair, pricey as they are, in order to eliminate that variable.
I replaced the right cable, which had the cracks, immediately and rode Fiona home. She did seem much smoother by the way. On the way home I noticed that my idle seemed too high while I was at stop lights and such. Guess my last idle adjustment, done with the old cables in place, was obviated by the new cable eh?
Got her home, replaced the left spark plug cable as well (note: if yours don't "snap in" when connecting to the coil, it's time for new cable probably, my old cables didn't). Broke out the Harmonizer tool and brought down the idle quite a bit to an indicated 1080-1100 on the tach. The RPMs will drop to about 870-910 when I pull in the clutch lever and this is normal as I am putting some drag on the system by using the clutch actuator rod. (This is according to BURAL).
Quite happy with the engine performance right now, a far sight from initial running conditions!
4 comments:
It sounds like time for a road trip! And, at highway speeds without worry of damaging the engine.
Well, it's still a URAL you know....the engine will go 80 mph but will destroy the final drive while doing so. BURAL did it as a test, he ran his rig for a couple of hours at 80 mph, engine loved it, the final drive though....if I remember him telling it correctly, it wore out the top of the teeth on the ring gear due to the heat buildup anealing the metal. I probably have that detail wrong but you get the drift.
I held an indicated 60 mph, 4500 rpm, on the way to Clem's and back when I was on I-25 and I-225 with no issues. Could have gone faster but held it at 60 MPH. URAL Speed.
My, the way you're handling this stuff, Fiona will be better than new once you're done with her.
There's a lot of outside help enabling me to do the work SonjaM. It's one of the criteria leading to my choice in motorcycles, they're relatively straightforward to work on.
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