Stella - 1977D survivor, back on the road.

Over the years, I have kept reducing the "clearance" at the worm gear and at the hand lever. These days, I leave zero "clearance", and find it works well for me. These clutches need as much plate separation as possible.
 
I am also down to zero clearance at the lever. Originally I had about 2 mm clearance but when I did a longer trip and the bike got properly warmed up it became difficult selecting neutral - zero solved all of this. A tip I took from Retiredgentleman last year.
 
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Daniel, I just went through the whole adjustment process on my clutch after reading this post. I adjusted it to tighter clearances and less free play at the lever. It feels much better and neutral is easier to find. Great post!
 
Oh, I haven't gone anywhere, just not much to share. Stella's plugging along as my daily ride, a bit overdue for an oil change, but no issues to bring forward.

And for all of you who were jealous of our weather back in February and March, I must tell you the tables are turned. I'm still riding, but it is no fun. No fun at all. We've broken 105°F/40°C and the mercury won't drop until late October.
 
Oh man! You tell em Daniel. It's way too early to be so hot. I tell people from back east all the time, our summers are like your winters. We stay inside as much as possible.
 
Service sent me to places where I either fried or froze. One learns to adapt.
 
Hello, my good sirs.

I've been quiet for a while, but Stella and I have continued to slowly rack up the commuting miles. 3000 since purchasing her in September.

Here's a bit of an update on how she's doing.

Way back in February I started the process of zeroing-in on Stella's preferred jetting for her stock 76/77 BS38s, OEM-style K&Ns, and stock exhaust. Beginning with stock jets, needle, and needle position, I've been going up step-by-step on the main. With both the one- and two-ups I felt an increase in power over the last with no discernable breakup through the mid/main transition at full throttle. This improvement was huge on the first step, less so but still there on the second. There was no significant change to MPG.

The 127.5s (2up) felt good, no complaints at all. I ran them for quite some time, but recently bumped up to 130s to see if I could feel the tell-tale breakup. Nope, still can't feel any. But, the bike does seems to vibrate a bit harder at all RPMs including idle. Maybe just a touch more power, maybe. The exhaust note might be a tad lower, but she's always had a pleasant growl. I don't know, it's all so subtle. I'll run them a bit to get some numbers on mileage.

That's going to take some time, though. This busy season is just about over and I'm headed to the woods for three weeks. 'Tis time to re-create this weary soul.
 
So glad to hear from you DB - I was getting worried that some voluptuous but evil actress had kidnapped you and run off to her lair with you!

I am sure not an expert in carb tuning but it sounds as though you are becoming one! I'll be following this process with great interest. :popcorn:

Cheers,

Pete
 
Daniel, good to hear from you again! I'm happy that you and Stella are both doing well.
Like you, I increased my mains one size up, but would like to try the 127.5 size.
Also like you, work is getting in the way of my fun right now, and projects for my bike are backing up. Plus I have a new intake air leak that's popped up that has to be found and rectified.
Hope to see you around more, ...after you emerge from the woods that is.
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Bob
 
Glad to see you jet tinkering and in the proper manner, incrementally without skipping sizes. As you've discovered, one size can make a real difference. If you were skipping all around, you might miss that one. Most of these only need a size or few above stock so there's no reason to skip any. We're not talking a large number of jets needed or a huge cash outlay here. And the unused sizes may come in handy in the future for you or a riding buddy on another project. If you did take it somewhere, you would probably end up paying 2 or 3 times what you've spent on jets and then only come away with what they put in the carbs. A little compartmented plastic storage box will organize your jet collection and carb parts quite nicely .....

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