82 XJ550 Maxim carb problem not running could use some help.

hey everybody, So here is my issue. I bought my 82 xj550 maxim in August of 12 and it ran pretty good. a little on the slow side i couldn't get it to go faster than 68 or 70MPH. but i didn't mind that much. During winter here i took the tank off and repainted it and some other engine covers that did not look very good. But after getting the tank done and the bike sitting for a long time in the garage i went to start it and it wouldn't start. Finally after putting some carb cleaner in the tank it would start but wouldn't idle very well. Than after a few days i took it on the street around the house. while on the road at about 15 or 20 mph the bike died and wouldnt start again i had power but it wouldn't crank over. for a few days it did the same thing it would crank but not start i found out my battery was dry so i filled it with distilled water and charged it. the bike still would not start up. After doing a lot of looking around on here and other places i decided to spray some starting fluid in the air box with the filter off the bike would start right up and but i had no throttle control so i decided to take the carbs apart and clean them. when i got them fully apart found out that one of the pilot jets was really messed up. got it pulled out and bought some new ones from a guy on here it was really fast and easy thanks to Len. Well i got the carbs all together and put them on the bike now the bike wont start at all ive taken the carbs apart one more time to make sure everything was in place and it is. but the bike wont start even with starter fluid this time it makes a few burps when i put fluid in but thats it. any help would be great thanks again guys.

 

IN ORDER:

Pull the carbs back off, accurately WET-SET the float levels as described here: http://www.xj4ever.com/setting%20fuel%20levels.pdf

Be sure they're truly clean, see: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=31061.html

Then do as accurate of a bench sync as possible.

GET YOUR VALVES IN SPEC. If they aren't, the remaining procedures will be next to impossible.

Then, with the valves in spec, the floats properly set and the carbs bench-sync'ed, it should run well enough to do your running vacuum sync with the YICS blocked.

You might also want to get a compression test once the valves are in spec. A healthy 550 should pull redline and run over 100mph easily.

I'm concerned that you may have damaged something (like a valve) running it out of tune.

 

Also, once you're sure of all that try fitting new spark plugs & battery as well (if it was dry it's knackered)

 

There are brand new plugs and batter has test out perfect and is fully charged. I had a mechanic friend that works on bike come over and listen to my bike he really think that there is a Vacuum leak somewhere causing an issue. he think it could be with my intake boots and the boots from my filter box. the intake boots have some cracks on them and after taking them off found out that the gaskets on them were in really bad shape. And the rings holding them over the carbs where not getting very tight any more. Hoping after fixing some of these issues it will start "fingers crossed"

 

Be sure when you put the intake boots back on to throw the original bolts far, far away! They like to snap & fortunately they seem to have come out OK, personally I'd take the opportunity to fit some non-chocolate bolts (stainless) and anti seize

Don't forget to do all the carbs & valve stuff Fitz mentioned too, save pulling the carbs again if it doesn't work...

 

WELL i took off the intake boots and put a lot of rv silicone on them and got new clamps for them also i put new gaskets behind them. i cut some from some gasket paper. IT STARTS UP NOW!! but with the bike running the bike idles very high and the whole engine was smoking a lot. i decide to drive it around and now it doesnt smoke but it still idles really high i just put some seafoam in the tank and did another half mile around the block. I messed with the idle air mixture screws a little but it doenst seem to help but a little a mean a max of a half a turn and Before anybody says to check the DAM CARBS OR CLEAN THEM. I took my crabs to a buddy of mine who has the exact same bike and put my carbs on his bike the bike ran great. so i know the carbs must be fine it has to be something else. I expect a vacuum leak but i have checked the boots again and there fine. where else could it be at? thanks guys.

 

Get your valve clearances in spec.

And all your "troubleshooting" means is that your bank o'carbs currently more closely matches his motor than yours.

We don't "mess with" the idle mixture screws until AFTER the float levels and the bench sync'ing and the vacuum sync WITH THE VALVES IN SPEC.

Every motor is different. Sounds like your buddy's is closer to being in spec.

 

So you only put just the carbs on your buds bike, nothing else? If so then either your boots are still leaking, your vac snych rubber is leaking, your throttle is somehow hanging up, or your yics channel is leaking air. You really should check your valves first-it's way easier to check the clearances than your probably thinking.

They aren't as problematic on the 550's, but once out a new set would be a goooood idea.

 

I did get new bolts for the boots even though they looked out replaced with some stainless steel ones the same the same size. I not really sure what goes into checking the valve clearance so ill look into that and work on that tomorrow hope i don't need any special tools or anything.

 

OH also i got the bike to where it would idle at proper speed but once I touch the throttle even a little bit the rpms would jump to 3k or more and stay there then slowly come down and then the bike would die.

 

Re: 82 XJ550 Maxim carb problem not running could use some h

RICH, LEAN, or possibly even ritually UNCLEAN or OBSCENE: THE CARB REBUILDING FAQ:

Let us begin by warning you, though: an engine that is out of synch may perform AS IF it has a lean, or a rich, or a hanging idle, or a no-idle, or a run-away idle, or any variety of different conditions------if your engine (carbs) have not been synched, then that at is the #1 issue that you should attend to first, before you even READ any of the guidelines below and go and try to adjust and fiddle with things and change settings THAT AREN'T THE CAUSE OF THE REAL PROBLEM!!


Question #1: Why Isn't It Running Right?:

Below is a semi-useful "general rules-of-thumb" list to help you recognize and diagnose fuel-mixture problems.

All of these descriptions assume that the carburetors are cleaned and operating properly, are stock (no jet kit), the valves are adjusted properly, and the engine has been synched.

If any of the above procedures, tasks, actions, or activities have NOT been checked or performed, then do them first, or otherwise all your other efforts will barely even give you "casino odds" at striking it rich and determining what the real cause(s) of your symptoms are......


Typical Symptoms of a Lean Fuel-Mixture Condition:

- Poor acceleration; the engine feels flat.

- The engine won't respond when the throttle is snapped open, but it picks up speed as the throttle is closed. (A too-large main jet also mimics this symptom.)

- Idle speed falls after you blip the throttle, then creeps back up.

- The engine runs hot, knocks, pings and overheats.

- A lean pilot circuit condition can be responsible for a creeping or hanging high idle, where the rpms stay high then slowly drop down to the set point.

- The engine surges or hunts when cruising at part-throttle.

- Popping or spitting through the carb occurs when the throttle is opened. Or popping and spitting occurs through the pipe on deceleration with a closed throttle.

- The engine runs better in warm weather, worse in cool.

- Performance gets worse when the air filter is removed.



Typical Symptoms of a Rich Fuel-Mixture Condition:

- Engine acceleration is flat and uneven and loses that "crisp" feel.

- The engine "eight-strokes" as it loads up and skips combustion cycles.

- The engine's idle is rough or lumpy, and the engine won't return to idle without "blipping" the throttle.

- An overly rich pilot mixture is usually the culprit when the idle drops low then slowly recovers.

- The throttle needs to be open continuously to maintain acceleration.

- Black, sooty plugs, a sooty exhaust pipe and black smoke from the tailpipe that stinks of unburned fuel.

- Poor fuel economy.

- The engine works better when cold. Performance falls off as it warms up or the ambient temperature rises.

- Engine performance improves when the air cleaner is removed.



Some common causes of a high idle:

- A lean air-fuel mixture condition, which can be caused by a variety of problems......vacuum leaks, plugged or too-small fuel jets, etc. Old or "stale" gas may also cause a lean fuel-air mixture to occur temporarily (until the fuel is used up!).

- A vacuum leak somewhere in the intake system.....intake boots, internal o-ring seals, etc.

- Mixture screws not properly set or adjusted.

- Vacuum piston sticking or stuck in a partially raised position.

- Idle speed screw set too high, or set to create a "proper" idle speed when the engine was cold (and thus results in a "high idle" once the engine reaches operating temps). The idle speed when the engine is cold should be modulated via the use of the choke (enrichment) control system.

- Butterfly valves opened too far; synch screws out of adjustment.

- Throttle cable wear, adjustment, or throttle lever brackets installed incorrectly or interfering with other nearby objects (cylinder head fins, etc.).

- Choke (enrichment) circuit is stuck "open"....this can occur even if the choke lever is rotated to the fully closed position, if for some reasons the choke plungers are not fully closing (cable wear, cable adjustment, bent finger brackets, or installation problems). In addition, even if the choke plungers are "closing" fully, if the choke plunger valve face or its seat are worn or scarred, this will allow fuel to leak part the plunger and richen the mixture even if the plungers are closed.



Why your engine seems to be schizoid:

A hanging idle---one that stays high and slowly comes down when decelerating---is a sign of lean mixture. The opposite case, where the idle drops dangerously low then rises, is a sign of rich mixture.

A bike that runs better when hot is probably lean, and a bike that runs better when cold is probably rich.

But sometimes a bike that can be adjusted "just right" when cool, but actually starts exhibiting signs of running lean (hanging idle) as it warms up. And if the idle speed is then re-adjusted while the engine is warm, but eventually falls and the bike dies (especially when sitting at a stop light). Or if the pilot screws are adjusted, then it's too rich when cold---all in direct contradiction of the above observations.

Experience shows that this is a sign of worn throttle shaft seals.....the aluminum carb bodies expand with the heat, but the steel throttle shafts---resting comfortably in a nice cool airflow---don't heat up and therefore don't expand. Once the shaft seals get old and hard, they no longer are able to flex and fill the gap.....so the carb starts drawing air around the shafts, leaning it out.



Question #2: Why is the inside of my carbs covered with a brownish-green goo?:

When fuel mixes with water and sits around for a while, this is the result. Nasty looking, nasty smelling, and you can bet that the tiny passages inside the carb body are plugged solid with this stuff! Definitely time for a full rebuild.......

 

You already have the answers. What you need to do now is THE WORK.

Valve clearances: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html

Part Deux: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=29209.html

Mikuni Breakdown: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=31061.html

Wet-set float levels: http://www.xj4ever.com/setting%20fuel%20levels.pdf

The bike IS NOT going to run right, idle properly, etc., until you get it done correctly. There is NO "magic bullet" quick fix for your issues. All you're doing is wasting your time.

 

Fits Ido want to thank you for your help but saying"You already have the answers. What you need to do now is THE WORK." isn't helping anything i did all of that when i did the carbs in the fist place exept for the valve clearence. But i did that today they are off but not by much i will be getting the proper shim tool to take the shims all out and look at the numbers your pages on how to do that were extremly helpful but making fun of me and telling me that there is no"magic bullet" quick fix for your issues doesnt do anything but make you seem like a bit of a jerk i was asking for help im new to the bike world and have been working on this bike since September. and have put many hours of labor and research time in this bike. I dont mean to sound mean or ungrateful i thank everyone for trying to help. but certain things could be said better or not at all.

SO Finaly

-Carbs have been cleaned
-pilot jets replaced.
-Carbs have been WET-SET
-Carbs have been bench synced to the best i can.
-Valve clearance checked, they are only a few numbers off of what is needed. but i will be checking shims and replacing if needed.
-Intake boots have been taken care of.

So im hoping that the valve shims will help work the whole thing out. Unless if anybody can think of anything I missed i guess i'll just have to wait till the valves are done to see.

 

Once you get the valve clearances in spec, then you will need to do a vacuum synch on the carbs. The YICS passage will need to be blocked to perform this procedure. Once you get through all of this, then you will have a nice little runner. You will definitely like the increase in top speed from what you were seeing before.

 

Any body know any good forum pages that show how to do a vacuum synch really well???

 

There really aren't, because of the wide variety of manometer solutions used. You can use everything from a 6' hunk of vinyl tubing filled with ATF zip-tied to a yardstick, to a two-baby bottle rig, to four dial gauges to a 4-stick "mercury" synchronizer.

But the valves really do need to be in spec FIRST. What are your clearances?

Some questions:

When you cleaned the carbs, what kind of shape were your "beanie screens" in? Did you remove the emulsion tubes, so they could be cleaned both inside and out? And did you replace the o-rings on the pilot mixture screws?

 

Could you please detail what you did when "cleaning the carbs"?

thanks!

 

Don't have a thin skin, the wizards here are amazing helpful and have years of experiences with these old bikes. While they may seem short at times, it's because this information has been given over and over to new bike owners who don't follow the sequences from the beginning, get frustrated and ditch the bikes.

When dealing with an old bike, you have a lot of things than can get slightly off line, and you have to get it all to spec, in a very specific order, or you'll never get the final results you want. For example, the valves should be done before synching the carbs. If they were synced and then the valves done, you have to synch again. The sequences the wizards like Fitz give you are very important; on bikes almost everything is related.

That said, welcome to another Minnesotan...we're starting to take over!

 

Just to add to what Kilted said. There is probably 5000 posts on here nearly identical to your issue(s) and Fitz, like a trooper, has made the SAME comments in all of them.

I had the same issues too. Yes, I "cleaned" the carbs at least 8 times. But the carbs weren't truely "clean", the valves weren't in spec, etc etc. I sucked in my pride, swallowed hard, and did it the XJ Wizard's way.... surprise - it worked.

And just for the record, if you think Fitz is being a bit tough on you, every other mechanical forum I've seen.... the other members will tear you to shreds. This is a nice online community here. We all want to help. You have been given the answer, you just need to follow through. Getting a 31 year old piece of mechanical equipment to run at or better than new condition takes some work. Cutting corners (even unintentionally) will only frustrate you and make matters worse later.


EDIT: There is NO ONE else on this planet more knowledgable on the XJ550 than Mr. Fitz, except for maybe the engineer who designed it....maybe

 

seems like it!

 

When I cleaned the carbs I did clean out the emulsion tubes very well i had them sit in cem dib along with the pilot jets, main jets,pilot mixture screws, and several other metal parts. I did replace the o-rings on the pilot mixture screws.

I will be doing the valves now before I do anything else. The numbers for the carbs are as followed..

Exhaust:
.15, .10, .10, .15

Intake:
.10, .10, .10, .10

For the Intake i have that they are supposed to be, .11-.15
And the Exhaust are supposed to be .16-.20

SO my Main question is for the Exhaust are the .15 still ok?
And are the Intake .10 ok also??

Thanks again.

 

No! All of your intake valves are a bit too tight, you'll have to go one size thinner with the shims. All of your exhaust valves are also too tight, you will need two shims one size thinner and the other ones two sizes thinner that what you have now.

 

Our valves get tighter over time as they 'bed in,' so being at the loose end of the spec and in spec is best. So what quebecois59 told you is right.

For example: if you had a 265 in E1 then go 260, if you had 275 in E2 go 265. They would both be at .20 then. In spec will give you proper compression, vacuum, and complete combustion. It may seem like a fraction of a difference but at 7,000rpms it doesn't take much to make it wonky.

 

Ok guys so i just went and bought a new feeler gauge because I wasnt happy with my really old and dirty ones. i couldnt read the numbers very well and thought it might be off. SO i bought a new one with better increments. My new Readings for my Valve clearance are as followed.

Exhaust -
.20, .13, .13, .15

Intake -
.08, .10, .13, .10

Im surprised that Carb one is at .20 but carb 2 &3 are at .13 is that normal for that to happen.

Also the shim in carbs on Exhaust is v275 but i was not able to get the other shims out the tool i was using was my friend its for Suzuki so i just bought the proper yamaha tool online it will be here tomorrow so i can read the rest of the shims then.

 

Oh and because of the big chance in some of the numbers i rechecked all of them several times. Also i dont think my engine was fully cold last time i dont know if that would make a difference but this time my bike hasnt run for two days. Also the old feeler gauges i had only went in increments of .05

 

So, exhaust valves for carbs #2, 3 and 4 are too tight, you should put shims one size smaller (put 260s if they were 265s).

Intake valves for carbs #1, 2 and 4 are too tight, same recommendation.

As for how to explain why #2 and #3 exhaust valves got tighter than the other ones, it could be because these cylinders may run a bit hotter than the external ones (#1 and #4)

 

Also keep in mind that motors don't even come from the factory as perfectly the same across the cylinders. Yours could have come from Yamaha with those valves already tighter than the others, but still in spec-it's simply the nature of engine building.

Word of caution with the shims. Don't crank your engine while the 'tool' is in place or while you have a shim out. Also some shims can be stubborn. You may have to rotate the slot around and pry from another angle to remove them if they are. The first time I did the 550 it took me almost 3 hours. Much of that time was spent on one shim which was married to the bucket, plus I didn't have really good shim pop/pull tools. I remedied that using a metal computer chip puller the second time around and did the whole thing in less than 40 minutes.

Good job on getting a better feeler and making sure. Your Max will thank you for it.

 

OK well i took all the shims out and here is what I got.

Exhaust

carb#1- gap .20, shim Y275-Will NOT replace this shim

Carb#2 - gap .13, shim Y275 - WILL replace with a Y270

Carb#3 - gap .13, shim Y280 -WILL replace with a Y275(im gona use the Y275 from carb#2 that im replacing)

Carb#4 - gap .15, shim Y280-WILL replace with a Y275

Intake
Carb#1- gap .08, shim Y265 - WILL replace with a Y260
Carb#2 - gap .10, shim Y265 - WILL replace with a Y260
carb#3 - gap .13, shim Y265 - Will NOT replace
Carb#4 - gap .10, shim Y265 - WILL replace with a Y260

I hope that all makes sense and looks right. ill get the new shim asap and put them in.

 

**ding*ding*ding**

Bob, tell that man what he's won! High-fives all around.

Seriously though, they look good. Good catch, the tight exhaust valves are the scary ones.

Now you'll be able to do a good vacuum sync, and also have confidence in your motor knowing that YOU KNOW what the critical bits are up to.

Good job. Be sure to record all of the installed shims and "after" clearances in your log book.

Oh... if you're not keeping a log book, start. I bought my Norton new back in the day; and I have a log of every single thing that's ever been done to it + all of the parts receipts.

Any time I buy a bike I get one of those small, hard-cover spiral-metal bound notebooks and start a log. Then record every single thing that I do on it. Procedure, date, mileage, comments. Comes in VERY handy and is quite entertaining reading after you've had any particular bike for a while.

 

I needed to add:

Keep the questions coming.

We still need to talk brakes, chain and sprockets, suspension, etc.

But let's get this puppy (and it IS just a puppy with only 17K) running right first.

Keep up the good work.

 

SO Fits i know you said there are no good forums here for how to vacuum synch, Any way you could run through the how to for me. just a quick list of what to do. for the 550? Im still very lost on how to do that thanks.

 

WELL!!!!!! i got the valve all together and the carbs boots redone again. but there better now. and put it all together AND!!! it wouldn't stat, lol. But it sputtered and sounded like it didnt want to spark i put the battery on a charger and pulled the plugs.. WOW are they filthy. so i ran and bout new ones at a total of $10 bucks its worth it to just have new clean ones that way later if i can check the color and know for sure. Well after putting the plugs in with a little dielectric grease, It started right up and sound really good I mean really really good. nice low punch and revs were really nice. BUT i have a small problem with the choke on the bike runs fine. but after warming up the bike has to have the choke on just a little to keep it idling. if i turn it off the bike wont idle high enough to run. i turned up the idle control in the middle of the carbs, it didnt help. I am wondering if its the idle air mixture screws they are at 3 turns out all of them. Oh and i have not vacuum synced yet but i do plan to next first thing was to get it to run so YEAH and thank you to all for the assistance.

 

OK.

Now DO NOT mess with the pilot screws. Leave them at 3 turns out. Sync time.

Depending on how accurately you set your float levels and how good you did your bench sync, the next step is indeed the vacuum sync, with the YICS blocked. You did wet-set the floats to within 1mm and do a nice accurate bench sync, right?

The plugs were new NGK D8EAs, right? Did you "gap" them , or use them right out of the box?

Good job. Next time use anti-sieze compound on the plugs, not dielectric grease.

Which manual are you using (factory or Clymer?) It will make the following steps much easier.

 

ok so big surprise i dont have a manual. I did use the D8EA plugs right out of the box and used boot grease on them is the proper name i guess. SO i will NOT touch the pilot screws i will accurately vacuum sync. but HOW? And i dont have the money for a manual right at this moment. So im hoping i can get by to do this with out it. But i will get one soon i hope. Thanks

 

eBay.

Meanwhile. To vacuum sync, you need a way to compare the vacuum at the intake manifolds to each other. The actual tool for this is a four "stick" or four gauge manometer,, which makes the job easy.

However, you can accomplish the task quite well by building a rig that can compare pairs of carbs. This can be a long piece of vinyl tubing (like 6 or 8 feet) zip-tied to a yardstick and filled with a few tablespoons of ATF; or the famous "two baby bottle rig" using two inexpensive plastic baby bottles, the same tubing (not as much) and some ATF. There have been forum members that have posted pics of these methods over the last couple of years; use Goggle to search the site rather than the site's search engine.

The basic procedure is this: There are only 3 screws for 4 carbs. #3 is "home base" the only way it gets adjusted is via the main idle knob. The linkages for #2 and #1 are semi-interconnected, #2 brings #1 with it.

SO: You sync #1 to #2. Then you sync #2 to #3, it will bring #1 with it. Then you sync #4 to #3. If you're using a two bottle rig, go back and check #1 against #3 and remember if it needs adjusting then #2 will probably also, so check #2 against #3 before adjusting #1. Etc., etc., etc. which is why four gauges or a 4-stick manometer are the recommended tools. But it can be done.

With YICS blocked. You can buy a YICS tool (a replica of the factory tool is recommended) or you can stuff the passage with a motor oil-soaked cotton rag (old T-shirt) twisted tightly into a rope and pulled into the passage with a hunk of coat hanger wire.

HOWEVER: If you didn't actually wet-set the floats or do an accurate bench sync, the motor probably won't behave itself well enough to do the vac sync. Float levels are critical in the Mikunis (+/- 1mm ain't much) and the more accurate you get the bench sync, the less adjusting will be needed doing the vac sync. Again, this is MORE important if you're only using a two-pot comparison rig.

If you skipped or short-cut either the float levels or the bench sync, pull the carbs back off and do it right. Or don't attempt to vac sync you'll just get frustrated.

 

My friend has a four gauge manometer, and will come over and help me do this. and i did the float level and bench sync to the best of my ability. SO i hope it was good enough. the floats looked good. and the bench sync was ok not great i wasnt 100% sure what i was doing but it was good. I think i will do more reserch on the bench sync and do it again before the vacuum sync.

 

Good idea. While the rack is off, might want to double-check the float levels, using fuel and clear tubing if you didn't; Mikunis are fussy about their floats: http://www.xj4ever.com/setting%20fuel%20levels.pdf

Here's a bench sync tip: instead of trying to use a "feeler" (paperclip, business card, etc.) take a close look at the top of the carb throats. There are a series of TINY holes there. Use the relationship of the butterflies to the tiny holes as you operate the throttle linkage to get them to match rather than trying to depend on "feeling" a gap.

Then be sure that with the idle knob backed all the way off the butterflies are free to close all the way tight.

When you vac sync, be sure the motor is FULLY warmed up first, like a 20-minute ride warm. Then use a house fan to blow air over the motor while doing the sync.

 

hey guys... i did the valve adjustment. and tried to do a vacuum sync but i wasnt able to get the bike to idle without the choke on and the idle was all over the place so i couldnt really get it done very well after doing that i got it to idle but my boots where leaking still. SO Well i bought 4 new intake boots my old ones were still leaking air and didnt want to seal up so i caved and bought new ones. and new gaskets. I put them all one and with a new air filter too. After getting them on here this mourning The bike started up really easily but would not idle without the choke on and the idle would still go way up then drop then go up and drop. i tried to get it to level out so i could spry fluid on the boots again but i could not get the dam thing to idle at a level spot. ALSO after the bike was running for only about 2mins. There was A LOT of smoke coming form the exhaust pipes. the RPMS only got to about 4K so could this be a major issue? thanks again guys.

 

SOOO i went to the local hardware store and got these little rubber caps that you put on the end of screw. I put them on the nipples of the boots i sprayed some fluid on the old boots and found that it was getting sucked through them. i put these little plugs on and then electrical taped the bottom of them to the nipple then put the old caps over them the other ones are really small not as long either so i put the old ones over these and put a new spring clamp over the old plug. now the bike with idle with out choke but it idles way to high then lowers then dies. i just feel so lost now. .... any help would be great.

 

OH and also it is still pouring out smoke and the engine gets very hot very quickly. the fins and valve cover get super hot really fast i mean within 30 seconds.

 

Color of smoke? blue, black, or white?

Air cooled motors will get really hot really fast if they are running and there is no air passing. When you do this kind of running, but not moving work you need a big box fan blowing front to back to keep it from overheating.

Sounds like your synch is way off, or you still have an air leak somewhere.

 

White. thick white smoke. I'll keep hunting for an air leak.

 

Sounds like whatever screwey solution you applied to capping the vacuum spigots didn't work.

You can buy real, thick rubber caps like are supposed to be on them at the auto parts store. You're working on a motor vehicle. Forget about the hardware store, you need automotive-grade everything.

It also sounds like you didn't get near close enough on the bench sync.

Understand something else; and we've pointed this out repeatedly: You CANNOT do a running vacuum sync unless the bike is fully warmed up. FULLY. Which requires riding it; you can't just fire it up in the garage and hope to do a sync.

In order to do that, you'll need to get the carbs close enough for the bike to run well enough to be rideable. Which requires an accurate bench sync. Are the floats right, for sure this time? Where did you set the pilot screws?

Don't worry about "white smoke" it's probably more vapor than smoke. You've diddled and fiddled and turned the motor over a few dozen times by hand, had the carbs off and on, etc., etc., etc. It's full of condensation and traces of oil where oil isn't normally, etc.

See if it's still "smoking" after a 10-mile ride.

 

When i did the vacuum sync the bike as warmed up. i rode around for 25 min, i had to have the choke on just a little bit to keep it idling Then pulled the bike into the garage i had two fans going to keep it cool. i blocked the yics passage and put the sync gage on. but the idle was at 2k-3k, cause i had the choke on.and would jump around a bit so it was difficult. then i found that the boots were leaking air so i stopped the vacuum sync and took care of the boots. also i went to two auto parts places they told me they didnt have the caps i needed and told me to go to the hardware store. ill check around again. i know Len has some but i thought they were a bit over priced for rubber caps and didnt want to wait three days for them. I guess i will be re doing the float level and bench sync to make sure its all good or take them to the local bike shop and them do it since im clearly not capable of doing any of this right...

 

You're perfectly capable. Probably moreso than the local shop at this point.

What you need to do is slow down, quit trying to rush things and getting ahead of yourself.

I've seen (and gotten) the rubber caps at AutoZone; they're with the vacuum fittings. Otherwise, get some from Len.

Which "boots were leaking air?"

How are you blocking YICS, and what type of manometer (sync gauge) are you using?

 

i will find an autozone.

The intake manifold boots that go from the engine to the carbs i just bought new ones of them and put them on. With new gaskets to.

I did the t-shirt method like you said to. soaked it in oil then twisted real tight and pulled through the yics passage.

The manometer is a four piece one. Motion Pro mercury manometer

 

If you installed new intake manifolds with new gaskets, how could they have still been leaking?

 

Sorry if i didnt make it clear. While i was doing the vacuum sync i found out that my old boots that were on the bike were leaking air. so i took them off and bought 4 new ones and just put them on with new gaskets i have not tried to do a vacuum sync with the new boots because the bike is not running good enough to do a vacuum sync. Hope that makes more sense.

 

It does. And you're getting really close from the way it sounds.

Now let's get the other things we discussed attended to and we might get this thing running yet.

Are the floats really and truly wet-set, each one individually using fuel and clear tubing, to 2mm below the float bowl/carb body junction? Do they all match exactly, and at 2mm? They gotta.

You didn't answer my question in regard to pilot mixture screws. Speaking of, were their tiny o-rings replaced? What is the condition of the enrichment plunger boots?

Here's a tip for the bench sync: instead of trying to use something as a "feeler" look in the top of the carb throats. There are three tiny holes that the butterfly uncovers as it begins to open. Screw the idle adjuster knob in until the butterfly in the #3 carb uncovers the first hole and line it up exactly on the edge of the hole. Now use the adjusting screws so that the other three carbs' butterflies also line up with their tiny holes in exactly the same relationship. Turn the knob in so the next hole gets uncovered; make sure all four carbs uncovered their tiny holes at exactly the same time. Then unscrew the knob all the way and be sure that all 4 carbs' butterflies close fully.

Repeat as necessary until all 4 butterflies uncover their tiny holes together when you operate the linkage and they all close fully when the big knob is backed off all the way. Use the relationship between those tiny holes and the edges of the butterflies for your bench sync and you'll get MUCH closer.

Set it for "barely cracked" throttle when you put it back on the bike and be prepared to immediately adjust.

 

When using a MotionPro Mercury Sync Tool you should employ some Vacuum Restrictors.

Make them for yourself.
Buy (4) Straight-line Hose Unions (Splice-tubes)
Insert a length of Carb Cleaner Red Tube through the Union.
Fill the Union with some 5-Minute Epoxy.
After the Epoxy cures; cut the Ends flush with a Razor Blade.

Use a 2-Inch section of Hose on the end that connects to the Manifold Vacuum Nipple.
Connect the Motion Pro Hoses to the Restrictors.

This will "Quiet-down" the Vacuum pulses.
Prevent Mercury from getting sucked into the Engine.