Cleaned carbs, still running lean, what's next?

Well, last night I pulled my carbs out, disassembled them as per the instructions, blasted carb cleaner through every little hole (emptied 2 cans) The sliders showed some discoloration, but they passed the clunk test so I decided not to screw around with them.

The carbs actually looked pretty clean to begin with.

I rode my bike to work today, and I thought I noticed a difference in how it ran, but now I'm kind of beginning to doubt it.

It still idles rough, and stalls if I don't tweek the throttle every 15 seconds or so. It also seems to be running kind of hot.

'm not a very experienced mechanic, so I could have missed a step in cleaning, but I sort of doubt it.

For now, let's rule out the carbs as the culprit and look into some other possibilities. What else can cause a bike to run lean?




For the record, I checked my cam/shim clearance last week. They were spot-on correct according the the Hayens manual.

 

Sounds like it needs to be synced. It wouldn't surprise me if that's all it needs, based strictly on what you reported.

Dave Fox

 

Air leaks can also cause a lean condition.

 

Thanks guys.

What is involved with having my carbs synced? What kind of adjustments are made.

All I know about it is it involves a special tool specific for this bike and I probably won't be able to find it at Auto Zone

How much do you think a shop would charge to take care of this for me?

I'm pretty broke, but I am a little daunted by the unknown here. I might just break down and consult with the pros here.


In the mean time, tell me about looking for/fixing air leaks. Maybe this is something I can do myself.

 

Use propane unlit tourch to flood carb boots (engine side) and see if the idle picks up.

Have you checked your valve clearances and can you post a picture of your plugs.

MN

 

You can make your own carb sync tool for around $20 or less. If you look in the threads you will find the ones that tell you how to do it.

 

Alright then. I don't have a propane torch, or a socket to remove my plugs. I'll pick those up tomorrow and get back with y'all with some pics of my plugs. I have a feeling they will be pearly white.

I have checked my valve clearance, I was surprised, it was spot on perfect under each cam.

I gave the YICS tool thread a quick read-through.

Does anybody know if there is a thread that gives a detailed, but simple step-by-step on syncing carbs? I'm curious to see what I'm getting into here.

 

Oh yeah, my tachometer doesn't work. How much of a problem will this be?

Keep in mind here, I'm not trying to get it perfect, I just want to make sure my bike doesn't blow up on me.