couple of quick questions about my new bike

[98_600]

Earlier this week I bought a 1998 katana 600. I got a pretty good deal on it. It has a d&d pipe on it and the carbs have been jetted. It runs pretty good, but shoots flames on deceleration. I'm pretty sure it is running rich. It has been sitting for a few months, so I drained the gas tank and put new gas in it. I put 93 octane with some seafoam in it. I put new plugs, NGK iridiums, in it, and changed the oil and filter. I have a bit of an oil leak from the oil cooler line, but that will be getting fixed later this week. Besides that, it as a great bike.
I took a video of the bike to show what I mean about the flames. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjMwH2Th0zc[/ame]
It also tries to hold the rpms for a second after I let off the throttle, which I assume is because of it running rich.
I am pretty new to bikes, my last bike was a 1982 honda cb900, which I didn't have for long. I have read quite a few posts and get some conflicting answers.
Is there any way I can check to make sure the carbs actually are jetted?
Thanks in advance for any help you provide.
Bill

[daslex]

Try getting your carbs balanced first, this should get your fuel/air mixture sorted out.

[md86]

No , and no . You're running LEAN most likely .

[overboost07]

No , and no . You're running LEAN most likely .

agreed, thats why youre rpm's are hanging

[chrisgreer23]

My bike was shooting flames once because one or two of the cylinders wern't fireing all the time. When they did fire, there would be access fuel that was collected in the cylinder for when they didn't fire that would cause a larger explosion and shoot out the back. A quick check found that the leads going to two of the plugs were bad and wern't holding the charge all the time.

[David F C]

What they said: Get the carbs synched

[Kreylyn]

......Is there any way I can check to make sure the carbs actually are jetted?

Sure, first check the needles to see if they have only 1 slot (OEM) for the E-clip, or multiple. Count the number if you have multiple, and note the specific shape of the tip (all gradual taper, or a sudden change in taper) to help identifiy which brand kit you may have.

Then check the main jet sizes, to help you determine what size jet kit.

As mentioned, your probably a bit lean atm. Not enough fuel in the mix for a clean burn in the motor, so the remaining hydrocarbons burn in the exhaust. A typical symptom of this is the rpms hanging any at all after blipping the throttle.

Lean can be caused by a variety of issues... vacuum leak, bad carb settings, not set up for the aftermarket equiptment, dirty carbs, etc...

Krey

[GregS]

Don't use 93 octane. These Katana engines are designed to run on regular grade fuel.

[Kreylyn]

Don't use 93 octane. These Katana engines are designed to run on regular grade fuel.

Has no negative effect on this issue of the OP... if anything, it's reducing the effect of running lean. Higher octane fuels will make the bike act like it's running richer than it is. There isn't any other major effect worth worrying about between them except... wasted $.

*1993 Kat run soley on 97 octane until mid last year... no issues at all, no build of carbon some claim will happen (yes... I've checked), and no negative effects performance wise that is any way noticeable to a rider not being timed on a track...*

That said... There should be no need to run more than 87, and be sure that is what your running before doing any tuning/adjusting. I ran it for so long because I did not know it didn't do anything for me...

Krey

[Tmod]

To identify the needles look in my sig and I have a image with stock, Ivan's, Dynojet and Factory Pro.

Tmod

[ThAzKat]

Some of what you are getting is common in these bikes! With that said, not the flames out of the exhaust or the hanging tho. You will have some popping tho

[98_600]

So what should I start with? Pulling the carbs off and cleaning them and synching them?

[David F C]

So what should I start with? Pulling the carbs off and cleaning them and synching them?

yep

[ThAzKat]

Definitely start with the carbs

[98_600]

Thanks, I will start that tonight.
I will post up when I get done and let you know how it goes.

Any tips/advice?