Help

[bsimmons]

I'm not angry or frustrated with anyone on here I'm glad this is here or my bike would be in a shop and I'd be paying someone.


But I'll go back threw the valves and double check them as we'll as the timing.

It's starting up now without the starting fluid it's just not idling for me.

And for the valves not being set right how am I to tell?

And I still need to get the new plugs to see if that makes any difference

So thanks for the help so far. Like I've said this all new to me

 

[I am Carbon]

You will have to let the engine cool off completely.
1.Remove all four tappet covers and the
generator cover.
2.Turn the crankshaft to align the rotor
mark with the "T"mark on the stator.
3.This places the pistons at the top dead
center and the valve clearance should be
checked and adjusted at the top dead
center on the compression stroke by
observing when the valve adjusters have
clearance.(The side that has loose valve adjusters is the side to adjust first.)
4.Use a feeler gauge to determine the
clearance.
Exhaust valve clearance (cold): 0.15mm(0.0059in)
Intake valve clearance (cold): 0.10mm(0.0039in)some like to set intake a little tighter
5.Loosen the valve adjuster lock nut. Turn
the adjuster in or out to obtain the
correct clearance. Hold the adjuster to
prevent it from moving and tighten the lock nut.
6 .Recheck the clearance after tightening.
6b.rotate 360° and repeat 2 thru 6
7..I like to spin the engine over a couple times and Recheck all again.
some videos provided by littlebill

 

[bsimmons]

Yea I've got this but threw the clymer Manuel is says for me to run my intake valves at like .05 is that to close

 

[5twins]

Place your Clymer manual in the bathroom for emergencies when the T.P. runs out, lol. Get a factory shop manual. Valve settings changed over the years but it is accepted practice to use .003" on the intakes and .006" on the exhausts. In order for these bikes to run right, EVERYTHING must be set correctly. This means cam chain slack, valves, points gap, timing AND finally carbs. I don't think you've done all that yet, only some things. And it should be done in the order I listed them.

 

[bsimmons]

Ok I'll go threw all those again but I'm not running points I have a new electrical pamco kit that's got from mikes

 

[peanut]

its not just a question of setting the valve gaps right!....

its essential that they are only done when the piston in that particular cylinder is brought up to TDC top dead centre on the compression stroke and by turning the crank anti- clockwise only .If you turn past the TDC mark on the stator then go round again ...don't ! turn the crank backwards

If you set them any other way, although the gaps might be correct they won't be correctly gapped at the right part of the cam timing which will throw everything out and make starting and running difficult.

Attention to detail is really important when setting everything up if you want to avoid all this hassle. I may be wrong but I suspect that the reason the bike is not running right is probably because you are saying 'near enough is good enough' ?!

Follow 5twins sequence bit by bit and double check you are doing it right by using the guides we have given links to in this thread,

 

[5twins]

Even with the Pamco, it still needs to be set initially and exactly with a timing light. Then, a few hundred miles later, it's not a bad idea to re-check the timing. New parts have a way of settling in and a minor re-adjustment may be needed.

 

[bsimmons]

Well went over everything double checked the chain tension it was good
Had to reset the valves to what you guys suggested plus the left side was off a bit
Cleaned the carbs again

Put the carbs back on and new plugs in 2 kicks later its idling awesome.
It's idling good no choke on but as soon as I give it gas it just dies out so I'm assuming jetting the carbs a bit?
But it does run with the choke on and giving it gas it does not die out.

So thanks again for getting me this far

 

[peanut]

brilliant ! well done for getting this far .

Sounds like you now have an under fuelling issue.

 

[bsimmons]

So not getting enough fuel then?
Coming from my carbs or getting to my carbs

 

[retiredgentleman]

Well went over everything double checked the chain tension it was good
Had to reset the valves to what you guys suggested plus the left side was off a bit
Cleaned the carbs again

Put the carbs back on and new plugs in 2 kicks later its idling awesome.
It's idling good no choke on but as soon as I give it gas it just dies out so I'm assuming jetting the carbs a bit?
But it does run with the choke on and giving it gas it does not die out.

So thanks again for getting me this far

Your pilot circuit is partially blocked.................pilot jet/mixture screw/pilot passage ways.

 

[bsimmons]

Ok gonna look into this one and see how it goes thanks

 

[bsimmons]

Ok we'll it went good I was able to take it for a ride round the block but its still bogging a bit when it's five gas gotta keep gassing it not to die out.

Still thinking it needs to be jetted up a half or maybe full size

Another issue I noticed was possible oil in my right side exhaust pipe

 

[peanut]

Another issue I noticed was possible oil in my right side exhaust pipe

thats bad

have you re-torqued the cylinder head nuts since you built the engine ? you could have an oil leak into one of the cylinders which would account for the engine not running properly.
Did you check your spark plugs and compare them ? and is there any blue smoke from the exhaust ?

 

[bsimmons]

Yea they've been re-torqued but ill double check them to make sure and I haven't checked the new plugs yet but will and I didn't notice any smoke from the exhaust at all

 

[XSLeo]

Have you read www.amckayltd.com/carbguide.pdf ? This carb guide explains how to clean your carbs. It also has a tuning section.
Before you get into tuning your carbs you need to identify the year of the carbs. They did changes every two years that effect the jetting. So getting the carbs identified is important.
With the Uni Filters and an open exhaust one up on the pilots, maybe two will be needed as well as two maybe three up on the main jets. You need to tear down the carbs and see what you have to find out what you need.
Once you find out what you have get both one and two up on the pilots as well as two and three up on the mains.
Then follow the tuning section of the carb guide.
Change just one thing at a time, test to verify any changes. Make a change then test.
This will lead you to where you want to go.
Yours are BS38's then this will help ID them. www.xs650.fi/pohja_files/fi/XS650carbs.htm it was translated from Dutch to German then English so some of the words are not English but even so it describes the changes over the years.
Leo

 

[grizld1]

The factory service and parts manuals are available as free pdf downloads at www.biker.net . Heaven helps those who help themselves.

If you rely on the feeler gauge only to set valve lash on an unknown motor you may wind up reading the edges of a cupped valve stem instead of the actual contact point. At least the first time around it's a good idea to set up a dial indicator on top of the rocker arm to check.

 

[XSLeo]

On the valve clearances, they tried several over the years to help quite them down some. The tighter they are they run a bit quieter but are more apt to leak or burn.
With some experimenting by myself and others .003 intakes and .006 exhaust is a good setting. Not to loud but work well.
Yes, as Grizld1 mentioned the ball on the adjuster and where it rides on the valve stem wears both the ball and stem. It wears flat spots on the ball and pits the stem. This won't let you get an exact clearance. Doing the Porsche elephant foot mods to your rocker arms puts a large flat surface in contact with the stem. This lets you get a more precise clearance. They also don't need adjustment as often.
Leo

 

[bsimmons]

Ok we'll I tried uploading a video of the bike but it won't let me for some reason

But it's still idling good just when I hit the gas it's still wanting to die out.

I rechecked the bolts on the motor and tightened them to spec they where a little off but where good there

So I'm just still dealing with the gas issue I went ahed and ordered new jets for the carbs I got 2 different sizes for each that I needed so will see what that does when I get them thanks so far

 

[5twins]

Do you know what year your carb set is and what jet sizes are in there now? Without knowing that, you can't buy new jets and be assured they will be what you need.