[crimsontracer]

Compression is good. Header is cold at idle and hot if choke is pulled. Says idle circuit is bad.

Have no idea why it responded to ignition on off now. Also completely dumbfounded as to how the pilot could be plugged. Have soaked all brass parts in berrymans, clean passages w spray/wire, checked seals and turns, and synced.

Should I just run some seafoam before tearing into them yet again??

This bike is giving Occam's Razor the finger.

[92xjunker]

Did you soak the bodies?

[crimsontracer]

indeed. I just ran some seafoam for about 10 miles without incident. ill see how that does and post back results.

Does this ticking change its rate with road speed or engine speed?

Sorry I missed your reply. it has a constant rate and only audible for like a 200 rpm window. i think it might be slop in the gears. sounds just like the shift lever.

doesnt actually seem to affect performance in any way.

[crimsontracer]

second run w no problems after seafoam.

I'm betting the old cock was depositing bits of crap into the bowls even after they were cleaned multiple times. replaced the cock and filter and still had residual crap in the bowls.

Seafoam cleared up.

At least this is an educated guess.

Still no idea why ignition had anything to do with it - must have just been ill timed coincidence.
At least I did the relay mod though. not sure I notice any performance changes just yet.

One thing is for sure - the Kat can really keep you humble in DX skills.

[foxox]

I hope it holds together for you... it was the same thing on my bike, dirty carbs even after cleaning them over and over (and over and over and...). And I thought it was electrical ignition problems because I had messed with the carbs so many times that I just couldn't imagine they were still gunked up with some kind of deposits... did the relay mod and eventually also tried replacing a coil. Next up was testing with a different CDI unit.

I think what can happen is that dirt gets sucked onto the pilot jet, but doesn't really get physically STUCK there mechanically, so when you turn off the bike sometimes the speck of dirt falls out of the jet and back into the bowl, probably especially if you give the carbs/bike a shake while it's off. I think this is what makes the problem intermittent and mysterious.

If you don't already, get a clean glass jar/cup and drain the bowls into that, then you can see easily if there is any dirt. Then when you take off the float bowls, look inside them too. Sometimes debris settles down near the drain plug. It's a pain in the butt, but if you always get more dirt appearing, you want to take off the whole fuel tank, drain it, remove the petcock, fuel level sender, and lid pieces, pour some water in and shake it, repeat a few times, rinse off the fuel level sender in case anything is inside that mechanism, let it dry overnight with a fan blowing on it. See if there's any water in there the next day (give it a shake and look for drips on the inside), when it's dry fill up with gas you KNOW is clean. I did this by filling up with my clean glass jar and a clean funnel one jar at a time (actually more like 1/2 a jar at a time to minimize drips) and inspecting everything that went in and then went and got a couple more gallons at a local station which (I think) has ethanol-free fuel, just to minimize the chances of it being something ethanol related at play too (though normally my bike does just fine on E10)

[kdo58]

previous owner had installed aftermarket coil wires, one was loose at the coil, i ended up buy stock diameter wires, that solved my problem for me.

[crimsontracer]

Well. took the bike this morning and it only ran on 3. the whole time. I guess I'm taking the carb apart. again. cant wait to see what I dont find.

I think what can happen is that dirt gets sucked onto the pilot jet, but doesn't really get physically STUCK there mechanically, so when you turn off the bike sometimes the speck of dirt falls out of the jet and back into the bowl, probably especially if you give the carbs/bike a shake while it's off. I think this is what makes the problem intermittent and mysterious.

I was thinking the same thing with this issue which was why i initially tried the ignition test. (the on off while riding) Because if the bike was turning the motor, the vacuum would keep the "stuck dirt" in place and it would still be symptomatic when turned on again if it was a fuel issue. The apparent coincidence of it fixing the problem once lead me down the wrong trail.

I believe I have a blocked main jet or passageway in carb # 4. most recent test i did was getting to bike to run (or chug) on one cylinder at a time. 1-3 work as you would expect. # 4 will only run with choke. AND the throttle does nothing. Sounds like the the ONLY fuel it is getting is from choke circuit.

This test was before the seafoam yesterday and thought it was resolved after two successful rides w no issues.

This morning proved me wrong.

I'm hopeful that with the new cock and filter - this next carb teardown (probably tonight when i get off work) will be the last for a while.

[crimsontracer]

Alright. I hope some of you are still with me on this journey cause I could still use the help.

New results and not sure how to interpret the data.

-Completely disassembled Carb 4 cand did the berrymans soak
-Blew out all the passages like you would
-re assembled carb and tested on hole 4 to see if I could get it to fire.
-Would not fire
-Tried the carb on holes 1,2,3 and worked fine,
-pulled wire to hole 4 and used test plug to verify spark. strong spark
-pulled #4 plug and tested it for spark. No spark and soaked black. Not oily. just wet. cleaned and had no spark.
-Compression tested #4 and came it at ~150psi
-put new plug in hole #4 and tested with carb. Will chug along but blowing white smoke.

Is the white smoke just from a shit ton of fuel residue in the cylinder/down pipe?

Compression is obviosly good but something is causing me to foul out plugs.

Have my mixture screws at 3.5 turns as per the dyno jet kit.

Any advice?

[skjeflo]

How long was your soak in Berryman's?

I know when I did mine it was a 24 hour soak for all the parts, after I tore them all the way down. Jets, needles, needle jets, bodies, etc...all for 24 hours followed by spray cleaner, water and air.

Not likely but I have to ask: Is the vacuum line from carb 4 to the petcock in place and in good shape?