Best DPAWL31 post, yet!

Oh yeah. Here it comes.

So, as some of you know I am up and running again.

DEFINATELY on the rich side, and still need a second sync/tune, maybe even a third.

Now I have a lot of little projects, like wiring my lights, ordering and installing my voltage monitor, upgrading brakes... all of which I have very set plans for, and can't wait.

But, as for the BEST post out of my hundreds of 'red liner' posts...


Here it comes...


Are you ready?








No seriously. Hold on tight.













This is gonna make you cringe with happiness. Seriously.







Scroll down when ready!










































Oh my god, can you feel it?













































OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDD CAN YOU FEEEEEEL ITTTTTT!?!?!?!?!




























3







































2












































1









































.25






























HAH!















OH NO, HERE IT IS!


































































Oh you are DAMN RIGHT.

Can't wait till the real plate comes!!!!! Holy heck yes!

 

Congrats! when do you want to start your "wheelie and stopee" training?

 

Now, so this post fits in CHAT since I am an idiot, here comes some technical questions.

Stay with me now.

I am running rich from what I can tell, due to the turns out on my screws and the smell of my exhaust. Have not checked the plugs yet, will do that tomorrow afternoon.

But, here is my theory, tell me if it makes sense.

When I started with the bench sync, my screws were set at 2.5 turns out.
I did a sync, and it didn't make the motor better or worse - come to find out, the colortune showed that 2 of the cylinders were not even firing.
So I colortuned till they seemed OK. Since then, idle seems real good, not GREAT, but real good. Power is WAY better than before, and I can really feel it pull in all gears REAL good.

Still following me?

Now back when only 2 cylinders were firing and doing all the work, my guess is they were getting two much air, due to increased idle screw, and that extra idle allowed those two cylinders to fire and run the motor. Now that I got the cylinders 'sucking' evenly, and restored FIRING to the cylinders via colortune... I am probably running rich.

Now, doing another sync, my guess is it will allow me to tighten my mixture down more, leaning it out a bit.

Oh forgot to mention, my plugs AND colortune were both CAKED with carbon, due to running with the choke so long when I was screwing with the mixtures LAST TIME. Now that I have dropped 150miles on the plugs, they are nice and clean. So they should be firing better, which should also air in more fine tuning.

As for power, even with it running rich - I had a dumb civic pull up next to me 'in the city' when I got home tonight. JUST as he rolled up, the light changed, and I dumped into first, railed out to 7k, and as I did such - I went over a LIGHT uphill section of road in the intersection. As I hit 7k just before I shifted, I felt the front wheel in the air. Freakin awesome I must say!


So what are your thoughts, will a new sync with nice clean plugs and firing all cylinders allow me to LEAN my cylinders? Or does it generally go either way?

 

Pulling the front wheel up is plenty for me!

Seen too many boneheads go bum over dome doing wheelies, and stop-y's... co-worker did one and went over the bars, shattered his wrist into 14 pieces. 6 Screws later, and a lot of time, he's back riding - but screw that! Pun intended!

Get that 1100 fixed oddball! Bet you can't wait to ride...

 

You're going to kill yourself first, I can tell. Send all of my parts back to me tomorrow.

 

Why do you have to have multiple clean & sync's on you carbs, I find done once, properly, is sufficient.

 

"MY PARTS" he says. haha.

Nah, a bit of play now that I am content with my motor... that's all.

Wiz - I do believe it is proper technique to RESYNC after tune, because after you tune, your cylinders are providing more power, thus more 'suck', thus the sync can be more dialed in, which in turn will affect the colortune...

I said sync and tune, not clean and sync?

 

Once you get close to being Dialed-in ... there is the Temptation to RUN LEAN
because throttle response will be absolutely breathtaking.
The bike flys.
The Lean-Burn goes off like a FLASHBULB and gives you exceptionally good performance.
<><><><><>

That Lean Burn is HOT.
The Piston Crown and Combustion Chamber cannot withstand that abuse.
The Aluminum will melt.
The Piston Crown will get a hole burned right through it.
Valve Faces and Seats will not sufficiently cool. Burn. Compression is lost.
Lean Burns consume all available FUEL in the Chamber ...
Including the Oil Sheen needed to protect the Cylinder Walls and Piston Skirts.
Piston Skirts chafe and deteriorate.
Compression in the Cylinder is lost because the Rings become worn out.
A catastrophic failure occurs.
Piston Fracture, Connecting Rod Failure, Immediate Seizure!

It WILL Run Lean.
But, NOT for Long.

If you don't have some COLOR on the PLUGS ...
You are BEGGING for a Breakdown.

Once you arrive at Tuned ...
You get 8 Degrees of Fine Tuning.

 

I was hoping you would help me finish tune it Rick!

Let me know if you would be available for Saturday.

I mean run LEANER, by the way, not lean. lol. I'd run the bike @ 8MPG soaking up gas if it meant letting the motor live longer. I don't want to take any life out of it, so I really just mean leaner than I am now, because I believe it is still too rich.

 

Based on: "the way the exhaust smells?" DAMN YOU'RE GOOD. How about "how do the plugs look?" If they're a nice even tan color, you have acheived the XJ holy grail. Quit while ahead. (Do one final sync check; yes it's a sync and tune and repeat process but there is an end point.)

Even I will admit that first accidental wheelie is quite a feeling. Don't make a habit of it, especially in traffic!

 

he was actually running VERY rich (multiple turns out past what he should be). The smell was evident and when we looked at the plugs last night, all soot. He did some adjusting based on plug color, took for a quick run to burn the carbon off, let idle for 10 mins, check plug again, lather, rinse, repeat.

 

the mixture is going to have only a minor effect on the sync, the power made by firing is gone before the "suck" starts
and how many posts have you read on here about holed pistons,scored cylinder walls and burnt valves? that mixture screw just doesn't have enough control on the mixture to do that. maybe if you left it idle while you had dinner
a lean setting might help it melt down
if it's set right it sure idles nice but if it's a little lean it ain't going to burn up

 

So when you colortune you want to lean it out, but not too too much. Whats a good blue color on the colortune to look for when you lean it? Light or dark blue?

 

Thanks Andy - Yes I did mess around with the plug colors last night, seemed to be helping. Cly 1+2 still very rich. And yes, Fitz, turn your screws out 6-7 turns... You'll smell it for sure.

As for the holes in cylinders etc, there are people on here to warn people of that. As for whether it's true in real life, etc... I don't know. But people on here need to understand, what they say makes an effect on people.

For instance... I wouldn't doubt it if someone came on here, new, and stated "My bike ran great last winter, I cleaned the carbs, fresh fluids... and now it won't start. My battery is 110% dead, where do I get a charger?"
And I would bet money the responses would be something like:
Clean your carbs AGAIN
Do a new fuse box
And the battery has to be 100% perfect.
Oh, and clean your carbs again. That is what is causing it to not start.




Seriously, sometimes I think people are just blowing smoke up my... O_O


Anyway, I noticed that my #4 was DEAD on for plug color, #3 was a BIT rich. 1+2 real rich. I tweaked them, went for a ride, came back and idled.
Right pipe was nice even firing, even sound, even pressure. Feels good.

Left pipe is pop pop ahop pop pop pop ahop.

So it's a bit bouncy, and that I attribute to still being rich. Once I get it set by plug color, I am going to sync again, and then plugs again. By then, I think I'll be good.

Getting tired of this bogging in first gear thing... ugh. Can't wait to fix those left two!

 

well since you have gone this far if you really want a fine tune - drill holes in the header pipes... each one..... install O2 sensors and adjust till you get matching readings from where you are now - thats how they do it on the track

BTW Go Clean your carbs.... LMAO

 

Too bad you arent closer or you could use my wideband/header pipe lol

Get to work on those carbs

 

Guys, my bike just went off a pier, into a lake - should I clean the carbs, or put a new fuse box in?

I kind of like the idea of the holes in the headers - maybe I should put a ton in, and NO O2 sensors... just for sound. I won't need to rejet my carbs right? I mean heck, I threw the whole rack in the sonic cleaner with a combination of drain cleaner, bleach, and orange degreaser. I never took my throttle shaft seals out, or my orings... is that a problem? What if I just clean them real good?




















JAY KAY! (jk!)

 

I was adjusting my #3 carb screw (under the tank) so I was leaning real hard over the side, and I leaned it way out, popped a wheeling in 5th gear doing 20mph, man was it lean! Blew a hole clear through the piston, sheared the rings right off.

A good soak in some muriatic acid should clean the hole in my piston right? Allows better airflow to the crank case?

 

no dude radio active is the way to go ... it gives the XJ a certain glow that is ir-replaceable

 

So that's how Fitz got the 550 to look like that!!!

Fitz! Share the wealth with that radio active 'wax'!

 

you don't need radioactive waste, i just beat mine u till it turned black and blue.

 

So the fine tuning seems to be working out, I ride to work, and home, and every day when I get off it, I let it idle for 5 minutes, then check the plugs. Getting closer on all of them. Still a bit lean on the right two, and rich on the left two.

I haven't checked yet, but what's the proper running procedure for this?
Run the bike nice and warm, ride it, etc, then come to a park, idle 5 minutes, and check? 10 minutes?

 

Idle will HIDE the accurate Plug Chop.
You need the Bike run at Wide Open Throttle and then hit the Kill switch.
Coast to a stop. Check the Plugs.

The technique is done this way to accurately measure the RICHNESS provided by the Mixture Screws added to the Main Jet Flow.

The Richness you Dial-In at the Pilot Mixture Screw is supposes to provide
Supplemental Richness to answer for the very brief transition from Idle to Off Idle.
With sufficient Supplemental Richness the Bike accelerates and "Gets-out-of-the-hole"
If the Supplemental Richness is too Rich ... The Mixture FAILS to Ignite and the Engine Boggs-Out until the Ratio is corrected and the Engine runs, again.
Too Lean and there is a hesitation until the Main jet Fuel arrives.

The Optimum Setting -- Between too RICH and Too LEAN is within a very short movement of the Pilot Jet.
8-Degrees.
Not "A couple of turns"
Not "A quarter-turn"
A tweak.

At NON-Critical LEAN: The tuning is Heavy Acceleration / Hard Engine Braking.

At FULL RICH: The tuning is for velvety smooth acceleration and Engine coasting. Cool running. Engine longevity.

 

So Rick... I want to be where the bike is SUPPOSED to be. I assume between your 'non-critical lean' and your 'full rich'

I have only been tweaking my mixture about a dime's width.

So... last time I nailed the kill switch at full throttle, I got the mother of all backfires - but I DID flip the switch right back, and I THINK that's when it backfired, assuming it needed the spark to do so.

So, WOT (any gear, any RPM? Not that that will stay @ certain RPM @ WOT lol)

And kill switch, LET off throttle and clutch IN?

Then I am looking at the insulator - the base of the ceramic, correct? Not the electrode, or the bendable anode... the insulator.

Looking for TAN on that, even with a plug chop @ WOT?