1998 Honda Shadow
vt1100c2
Hello everyone!
I have 3 questions that I'd like to ask (sorry for the length, I tried to give as much detail as possible).
Background:
About a year ago my carb slides went. I just now had the time and money to replace them. While replacing them I cleaned the gunk out, cleaned out the jets, etc. I put the carbs back into the bike, and after quite a few starting attempts, it turned over and ran. It sounded a little "off" (kind of stumbled in its idle). So I decided that I would check the sync of the carbs (under the assumption that changing out those slides and cleaning everything may have offset it somehow). I built one of those manometers out of a yard stick and tubing. I used 20 feet of tubing, and I attempted to sync with both water and sea foam.
What I am finding is that as soon as I start the bike (warm of course), it pulls all the solution into the left port. When I crimp the left hose (to see the vac strength on the other side), it gently pulls the fluid that way but never really makes it there. I've checked the attachment between the manifold and carbs, no leaks and the clamps are tight. Plugs are good, sparks, new fuel filter, new fuel.
I did mess with the adjustment screw to see if I could correct that vac variance, but if I go too far in either direction it starts stumbling again; so I found a happy medium between the two extremes where things sound fine. One last observation, when I started the bike today, the left side smoked until it was warmed up, I don't know if that is due to adjustments or due to the fact that I sucked in a lot of Sea Foam the day prior and it may have been burning out.
1) So my first question is, does anyone have any ideas what to do in this situation? I tried searching for answers on the net and the closest situation/solution I found involved a car. What the person said to do was, disconnect the linkage between the two carbs. Then turn the idle screw (on the weak side) IN until the idle goes up, then turn the screw OUT on the strong side until the idle comes back down. Once that is done, reconnect linkage and sync again. I am not sure if this is relavent as they were talking about some 60's car.
2) The tires on the bike were bougtht about 6 months prior to the slides going (so it's been about 1.5 to 2 years and < 500 miles since I bought them), but they sat unmoved, outside, on the concrete, for the past year. Now the PSI hasnt dropped too much and they never went flat. Should I be concered about the integrity of the tires (ie. should I put a new set on)?
3) A friend of mine had a virago (I think 535), and it had sat for a year. When she got it up and running, within a few days something with the cam went and the motor locked up and was no more. According to her, it's something common with yamaha's, but should I be woried about something similar or anything else that I should check out before taking a ride?
Thanks for any help or advice.
:71baldboy:
vt1100c2
Hello everyone!
I have 3 questions that I'd like to ask (sorry for the length, I tried to give as much detail as possible).
Background:
About a year ago my carb slides went. I just now had the time and money to replace them. While replacing them I cleaned the gunk out, cleaned out the jets, etc. I put the carbs back into the bike, and after quite a few starting attempts, it turned over and ran. It sounded a little "off" (kind of stumbled in its idle). So I decided that I would check the sync of the carbs (under the assumption that changing out those slides and cleaning everything may have offset it somehow). I built one of those manometers out of a yard stick and tubing. I used 20 feet of tubing, and I attempted to sync with both water and sea foam.
What I am finding is that as soon as I start the bike (warm of course), it pulls all the solution into the left port. When I crimp the left hose (to see the vac strength on the other side), it gently pulls the fluid that way but never really makes it there. I've checked the attachment between the manifold and carbs, no leaks and the clamps are tight. Plugs are good, sparks, new fuel filter, new fuel.
I did mess with the adjustment screw to see if I could correct that vac variance, but if I go too far in either direction it starts stumbling again; so I found a happy medium between the two extremes where things sound fine. One last observation, when I started the bike today, the left side smoked until it was warmed up, I don't know if that is due to adjustments or due to the fact that I sucked in a lot of Sea Foam the day prior and it may have been burning out.
1) So my first question is, does anyone have any ideas what to do in this situation? I tried searching for answers on the net and the closest situation/solution I found involved a car. What the person said to do was, disconnect the linkage between the two carbs. Then turn the idle screw (on the weak side) IN until the idle goes up, then turn the screw OUT on the strong side until the idle comes back down. Once that is done, reconnect linkage and sync again. I am not sure if this is relavent as they were talking about some 60's car.
2) The tires on the bike were bougtht about 6 months prior to the slides going (so it's been about 1.5 to 2 years and < 500 miles since I bought them), but they sat unmoved, outside, on the concrete, for the past year. Now the PSI hasnt dropped too much and they never went flat. Should I be concered about the integrity of the tires (ie. should I put a new set on)?
3) A friend of mine had a virago (I think 535), and it had sat for a year. When she got it up and running, within a few days something with the cam went and the motor locked up and was no more. According to her, it's something common with yamaha's, but should I be woried about something similar or anything else that I should check out before taking a ride?
Thanks for any help or advice.
:71baldboy: