 Tuning opinions
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I've got a few questions, and I know some of this stuff has been covered before, but I'm going to throw them out there anyway.
I find that turning my air mix screws makes no real difference. The engine begins to slow down and stumble below 1 turn, but from 1 turn to 4 turns I can't tell much difference, if any. I went back to the original factory screws last spring because the thumb screws were doing the same thing. I suspect something might be clogged. Before I pull the carbs apart, I'd like to know if anyone has any pointers or suggestions. Can I run a pipe cleaner into a hole somewhere? For the record, I'm running Freak, 42 pilots, 150 mains, TBS needle w/ 1 shim, 5000ft elevation. It doesn't run bad, but I think it could run better. I sometimes get a little coughing backfire when I crack the throttle from idle.
Second issue. I installed side gapped plugs a few days ago. Today I took the bike out for a 20 mile ride. 51°F. I was on local streets and rural roads. Mostly 45 to 60 mph, but ran it up to 75 several times and around 7000 on the tach. The plugs are still pure white. Does side gapping affect plug color? I would think the plugs would have picked up some color. Maybe I just need to ride it more.
Comments? Anyone? Anyone?
I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Can't comment on the carb settings but I'm curious about the side gapped plugs. Did you notice any performance gain?
Thanks, SteveB
"I live the life I love and I love the life I live."
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Loquacious
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Loquacious
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Check your vaccum plugs. I think your running way to lean if the plugs are pure white.
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Quote:
Can't comment on the carb settings but I'm curious about the side gapped plugs. Did you notice any performance gain?
Thanks, SteveB
Yes, I noticed a little better performance. The pop from the exhaust seemed a little sharper too. My theory is that the bigger, more exposed spark makes the flame propogate faster, so more gas burns before the exhaust valve opens.
I suspected my old plugs were weak, although they looked fine, with no fouling or eroding. With the old plugs I had noticed the gap was a little big. I was using a new gapping tool, which I now know was not very accurate. I regapped back to specs, using my old wire guage tool, and the bike ran a little better. I think the side gapping makes it run better still. I don't think it's a mega-difference, but it's noticeable.
I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Quote:
Check your vaccum plugs. I think your running way to lean if the plugs are pure white.
Good point. I looked at the little squirrel condoms yesterday and I couldn't see any cracks or checking. Also, I had the rubber boots off the carbs a week ago. I didn't notice any breaks or cracks there. It might be worth a closer look.
I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
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IT's THROTTLE POSITION - NOT RPM! NOT SPEED!!
web page and
mikuni tuning manual
read these over it should help you ... running way to lean
BIKER
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
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Quote:
IT's THROTTLE POSITION - NOT RPM! NOT SPEED!!
web page and
mikuni tuning manual
read these over it should help you ... running way to lean
BIKER
A word to the wise is not necessary. It is the stupid ones who need the advice.
Pat
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Quote:
IT's THROTTLE POSITION - NOT RPM! NOT SPEED!!
web page and
mikuni tuning manual
read these over it should help you ... running way to lean
BIKER
Ed,
I've read Dinqua's treatise on throttle position. That post came right on the heels of some other posts that I was participating in, and may have even been in response to some of the statements I made about RPMs. I felt properly admonished at that time.
I've also read a lot of carb tuning papers, including the links you posted. I guess it helps to review occasionally. My questions were a little different. I was asking if there are any special characteristics of side-gapped plugs that I should be aware of. It crossed my mind that a stronger or differently shaped spark halo might prevent soot buildup on the ceramic of the plug. If that were the case, it would be very misleading. Maybe it's unlikely, but who knows what happens when you alter the shape of the electrode like that. I tried to make the point that 20 miles of varied riding (varied throttle, speed and RPM) might not be enough to set the color of the plugs.
I also asked if anyone knows of a good way to clean the air/mix circuits; a blast of air? a pipe cleaner? I should probably drop the screws out and check the o-rings. I want to assure myself that all circuits are working properly before moving on to any fine tuning.
A few weeks ago I posted that my bike was running poorly and I was trying to troubleshoot the problem(s). Dwight and Salmaglie were positive that I was running rich. I wasn't completely convinced, but I respect their opinions and their arguments sounded reasonable. I'm trying to stay open to that posibility. The thing that really made a difference and brought back performance was installing Nology coils. My old coils had gotten very weak. Then I installed the side gapped plugs which also helped a bit.
Now that I have the electronics back to baseline, I'm trying to understand why there is no adjustment to the air/mix screws. I think I should fix that before moving on to anything else. I'm just trying to examine all the posibilities and not jump to any conclusions.
But...that's not to say you aren't 100% right. I may indeed be running lean. 
Regards,
Cody
PS I'm still taking time off before going back to work. Can you tell I've got lots of time to kill?
I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
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Quote:
Quote:
Stop smirking!
That's ok Cody, biker is a good friend that lives just around the corner - he lets me get away with this stuff too.
A word to the wise is not necessary. It is the stupid ones who need the advice.
Pat
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
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cody you are running lean  your own plug's even tell you that...now on to what maybe making you to run lean???? the first thing you need to do go back and start with your main jet once you get that right you can move on to the other stuff..find a place where you can run you bike WOT with room to pull over and have the tool's to pull your plug's once there run your bike down the road get it up To speed and hold it at WOT for a few sec's then all in one time hit your kill switch and pull in your cluch at the same time pull over and pull you plug's take a look at your plug's if there white go up in main jet size to you get the color you want..even if there side gaped they still should have the right color to them BIKER
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Ok, ok. Sheesh! I'll do the test if it makes everybody happy.  (Just joshing, I appreciate the input) I originally thought I might be lean, but some people were trying to convince me otherwise, based on my move from Minneapolis (800ft) to Albuquerque (5000ft). I know it's high here 'cause when I do my morning run I'm dying by the time I get to the end of the street, about 4 blocks away. FYI, though. I had 155s in last week, and it seemed to run worse at WOT, so I dropped back to the 150s. BUT, now I have the new plugs so I should get a better read on the power and plug color. It's supposed to get colder and maybe snow starting tomorrow. I may have to wait for better weather. Cody
I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Hey Biker, Well, after all my whining and protesting, I took your advise and dropped in the bigger jets. I went to the 155s, and since I was getting lots of backfire and popping, I went back to the 45 pilots I've been running for several years. I also pulled the air/mix screws and checked the washers, o-rings, and the orifice for clogging. Everything looked ok, and I was very carefull putting it all back together. HOLY BUCKETS, MAN! That sucker about pulled my arms off. I didn't do the WOT/shutdown/pull-the-plug thing. However, I did run up the road a couple miles to warm it up, and then whack the throttle, wide open. I was up to 90 before I could check the speedo. I only kept it wide open for a few seconds before I backed off. It was cold and I wasn't really dressed to go far, so I swung 'er around and headed home. I pulled both plugs when I got there and I'm finally starting to pick up some color. It's pretty light grey, but not glistening white like before. Anyway, thanks for the reality check. You got me back on the right track. Cody
I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Learned Hand
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Learned Hand
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very glad to hear that it's running better..
BIKER
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Worn Saddle
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Worn Saddle
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Glad to hear it cody. You have to remember that the higher the elevation you normally ride in, the thinner the air, hence the larger the mains/pilots you need to get optimal performance.
A word to the wise is not necessary. It is the stupid ones who need the advice.
Pat
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Loquacious
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Loquacious
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Which makes me wonder why I'm still running lean with 160's at sea level...
Mark
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Oil Expert
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Oil Expert
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Mark, Check your squirrel condoms.
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Quote:
... the higher the elevation you normally ride in, the thinner the air, hence the larger the mains/pilots you need to get optimal performance.
Dingua,
You're one guy I normally wouldn't disagree with, but isn't that the other way around? With greater altitude and less air you would go with smaller jets to compensate and keep your air to gas ratio in balance. Maybe I just think I didn't misunderstand what you thought you meant. 
My problem (well...one of my problems ) was that I was way underjetted to start with after adding the Freak. I had some other issues that I had to get right first, like a bad igniter, bad coils, and bad plugs, and a little conflicting advise. Those were masking the jetting problem. I keep thinking the really hot weather last summer took a bad toll on my bike, possibly exacerbated by a lean, hot condition. hmmmmm....
The bottom line is that it's much better now, but a snowstorm just moved into the region and I CAN'T RIDE.  Oh well.
Cody
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Re: Tuning opinions
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I just had another thought. We had abnormally hot temperatures last summer. A lot of guys had igniters go out, and other electrical problems, more so than in previous years it seems. Are these bikes starting to show age, or is there a correlation with the hot weather?
Cody
I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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LitzerSki,
Do you oil your air filters? I haven't been. I've been running mine dry. I thought only foam filters should be oiled. Then I saw a comment from Dingua a while back that over-oiling the filters might cause an air restriction. If these filters are supposed to be oiled, then dry filters might cause a lean condition. Just a thought.
Somebody else please jump in here.
Cody
Last edited by Cody; 12/29/2006 3:32 PM.
I was born a long ways from where I was supposed to be. - Bob Dylan
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Re: Tuning opinions
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Saddle Sore
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Saddle Sore
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Here's K&N's info... cleaning and oiling
More flags
More fun!
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