bike not wanting to run/idle

I have a 1981 650 maxim its been sitting outside for about 3 years since it last ran I went through the carbs with the kits and got them to looking like new again. I put them on and it will fire over but I cant keep the bike running and if i do keep it running I have to hold the throttle at about 5 or 6 grand to keep it running and help on the idea would be appreciated. oh yeah I bought new plugs for it as well

 

Check for a vacuum leak. Sounds almost like you could have cracked or a mis-installed carb holder. How do the vacuum block-off caps look? Not dry rotted? How fresh is the gas? Did you bother to install an inline filter between the gas tank and the carbs? (Sure would hate to have spent all that time cleaning the carbs, only to have a peice of debris from the tank clog up a jet)

 

it has fresh gas and have already checked for vacuum leak(it has none) and has a inline fuel filter

 

From what i have read on here i would say you need to go back into the carbs and make sure all the small passage ways are clear, i had trouble cleaning the one in the bottom of the float chamber but got it eventually. I stand to be corrected but how i understand it is where you have the revs when it starts is about where the main jet and needle takes over and the slow running is controlled by the smaller jets and passage ways, so it may look clean but it doesn`t take much to cause a problem.

 

i'm sure the experts will be along shortly, but for now heres my 2 cents. did you adjust the idle screw in back of the carbs and what are the pilot screws set to?

 

In my experience, there have been two things that caused this problem.

The first, and seems to me, most likely one, is that there is still a small passage that isn't clear (as acergremlin said). You must make sure ALL passages are clear. Perfectly clear. It does sound like one of the smaller passages is blocked, so that the smaller jets aren't flowing right. Blow carb cleaner through all the holes and make sure it comes out of the other ends. You'll need the fuel flow diagram in order to do this, but it's worth it to go to the trouble so that you can do it 1 time, correctly instead of 7 times incorrectly (I am in the 7 times incorrectly camp...not a fun place).

However, I did have a weird problem where my battery was seriously low on fluid and caused this problem. It would start, but then when I came to the first stop and then tried to idle, it would die, not to restart for about 15 minutes. Turned out the battery had enough juice to turn the thing over, but if the engine wasn't turning fast enough, there wasn't enough electrical power.

Good hunting.