Right exhaust only gets warm? Horrible acceleration.

[projectxs650]

My bikes a 1980. I've had some trouble with acceleration the last few weeks. The bike struggles to speed up, at times I almost don't know if it"ll make it up a steep hill, even with my hand holding the throttle wide open.

So I cleaned up my carbs a bit, and got a brand new battery. When I was working on all this I noticed 2 things that I think are significant.

The first, is that my right float does not hold nearly the same amount of gas as my left. At times when I needed to flush them out through the valves on the bottom of the bowl, my left bowl would gush out for a good bit, but my right bowl would only have maybe 50-75% of what my left did. As in what came out was not nearly the same amount. Now it was on it's kickstand tilting to the left, but I dontthink it would make that much of a diffrence?

The second thing, is that my right exhaust doesn't get as hot as it should. My left exhaust is scorching hot, as it should be for a exhaust pipe. However my right exhaust only gets warm, and I can actually wrap my entire palm around t. For reference, it's get as hot as a coffee cup, so If I had to I could hold onto it for quite some time.

Any idea guys as to what's causing these 2 things, and dO you agree that it is the main factors or contributing factors to why I'm having horrible acceleration? All the help I can get is appreciated.

 

[5twins]

It sounds like you are running on one cylinder (the left). The right may be starved for fuel as indicated by the small amount that comes out of it's float bowl. You probably have that float set wrong. Yes, running on one cylinder, the bike will barely get out of it's own way. You're riding a 325, not a 650.

 

[BZNrider]

You are running on one cylinder. What does your plug in the right cylinder look like?

 

[projectxs650]

Haven't checked the plug yet, will do that first thing in the morning.

How difficult is this problem to fix?

 

[bbillington]

Check the plug but you'll surely be pulling your carbs to set the float height as 5twins stated. Read through the carb guide so you'll be ready to tackle the issues. Does the bike ever have full power, such as once it is warmed up?

Also would suggest you park the bike til this is repaired. Not safe to ride one one cylinder or worse still a bike that has one cylinder only firing intermittently IMO

 

[Tomterrific]

My gosh, check the right plug! Have a new NGK BP7ES to go back in. The problem may be as easy as a fouled plug.

As mentioned, the different amounts of fuel tells something is wrong with the carbs. The float/needle may be stuck in the right carb or the arms bent so the level is off. Be extra careful removing the pin that holds the float. I've seen many carbs ruined because the fragile tower that holds the pin is broken due to the pin sticking. Best if you don't need to remove that pin.

I'd probably try a test to see if the right carb is actually getting gas. Hold a clean container under the right carb to catch gas and remove the drain plug. Put the petcock on prime and see if the gas dribbles out the same speed in both carbs. Look for dirt and decant the valuable gas back into the tank.

tom

 

[projectxs650]

Thanks everyone for the help.

Here's what I'm wondering. Are these 2 problems independent of each other? Some of you are saying it could be as bad as a spark plug, which might fix the problem; but would it fix the fuel issue with the float?

While on the opposite side, I could see the float bowl issue fixing the cylinder issue. Meaning that it the spark plug was not the problem.

Then again. It could very well be a combination of both.

 

[5twins]

Yes, you need to investigate that right carb. It doesn't seem to be filling with fuel enough to run that cylinder. Even if that plug has fouled for some reason, replacing it isn't going to cure your lack of fuel problem.

 

[projectxs650]

UPDATE:

So the deep socket I have that i thought fit the spark plug is a tad to small. Went to my local hardware shop to find out that their sold out of the one i need. I'll have to make a longer trip out later when I have more time.

What i've found though on this short trip is a few things.

1) My spark is confusing......I started my bike, let it warm for a few minutes and then when it was all good to go, I shut it off, pulled the cap off my right spark plug and tried starting the bike. It started just fine.......But.....I rode the bike to my local hardware shop, probably just a 8 minute ride, parked it, went inside for about 10 minutes, came back out and did the same thing. However this time it would not start with the right spark cap off, but it did when i put the cap right back on. Odd?

2) I've got some backfiring now, i don't think i had any before i cleaned up the carbs. its of course coming out the right exhaust. Its only happening when i'm idling, at a stop and what not. Never when i'm accelerating/decelerating or even just cruising higher than my idle rev. EDIT: i'm not sure if backfiring would be the right word, i would say its more of a pop.

3) the right carb is making a odd sound, and even though i'm not familiar with the sound, it sounds like its starving for gas. Kind of like a gasping sound, almost a little sputter too?

4) This i think might be the key....when i got back i looked over my carbs. I was confident I didn't mess with the floats when I cleaned them up, so I wanted to see if their was anything else that might be odd. Got real close and looked at every angle, that's when I noticed my mix screws. Their at the top, and for my year (1980) theirs supposed to be a cap on them, but i know the previous owner got rid of them so that it would be more accessible. What i noticed is that my left mix screw was higher than my right one....significantly. My left screw looked leveled/flush with the carb casing, but the right screw was probably a few turns in, so it was noticeably deeper into the hole. I know that this screw is what controlls the air/gas ratio, any chance that it could be whats causing my lack of gas in the bowl?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[5twins]

What I've learned in this short thread is a few things. You own a bike but don't own a spark plug wrench (I'm calling Ripley's). You were told to park the bike until you could sort the problems but you continue to ride it. It's half broke now, within a few days it will be totally trashed. Running with one plug disconnected can fry your coil or ignition (if it hasn't done so already).

The mix screws have nothing to do with the amount of fuel in the bowls. For your carb set, they should be set about 3 turns out. Turn each one in until it GENTLY seats, then back out 3 turns. They should be matched carb to carb. The fact that yours aren't could be contributing to your problems but as I said, it will have no bearing on the amount of fuel in the bowls. You need to investigate that problem separately and the sooner the better.

I hate to see a perfectly good 650 bite the dust because of owner incompetence and feel that's just what I'm watching happen here. Projectxs650 indeed, you'll have a project on your hands alright, a major one. Your badly running bike will be a non-runner very soon.

 

[ippytattoo]

If you drain the left carb first you will definitely see more fuel come from that carb than the other due to the amount of fuel in the line and tee. But what you are describing definitely sounds like an issue. You need to get it sorted out asap and not ride the bike until you do, especially with a plug wire off as this is a way to press your luck at having properly functioning electronics. Put in a set of new plugs, clean the carbs completely and set the float heights correctly, do your normal maintenance items such as cam chain tension and valve lash adjustment and do a compression test. These things will help to prevent you chasing your tail.