[SeanM]

like I told ya in pm, the bike is apart and I won't be needing those things anytime soon, so if they can be used to hunt down your problem, it is the least I can do. it breaks my heart to see a fellow rider stuck in a situation like this.....so I just gotta make the offer.

I appreciate this more than I can say. I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow.

[gennabirman600]

.

man i read this entire thread like a novel lol, i have an older kat (91 600) and im constantly paranoid a key piece of it is going to crap out and im not very mechanically inclined (just the very basics). anyway keep us posted on your progress i really hope you find the problem and start enjoying your kat.

[SeanM]

Thanks man. I sure hope I can enjoy this bike one day. It's super comfy, rides amazingly well and I can tell the power is there.....but right now, it's unbearable. If the wife and I want to go for a ride, it's only a short back-road journey because it won't maintain a decent speed on the highway. If I'm out with the boys, I get humiliated by 15yr old 600's......I'm so...I dunno....drained....
I will keep you all posted on the progress. I'm at work tonight, tomorrow night, and Wed night so it'll be Thursday or Friday before I start doing much to it...

[DClark]

Pick me, teacher, pick me (I am waving my hand in the air).

First, remove tank and propped it up. In a dark garage at night, run your bike and watch, watch, watch! Do you see any bluish sparks? If so, you have bad connections.
Do you ahve after market coils? If they are Dyna coils, look at the connections. On mine, the wire tabs from the igniter are real close to the frame. if they are too close, vibration from the bike can cause them to contact and short.
Look at your plug caps- they are old! Are there any cracks? I found one that was cracked. It was actually about to have a chunk fall off. A little JB Cold weld fix it 5 years ago.
If you have stock caps, what kind of wires do you have? Stock wires are 7mm, most aftermarket wires are 8mm and won't fit in the stock caps unless you do some cutting that comprimises their intregity.
The reason why rain is a problem for you bike is that when the water hits the engine, it turns into steam and just finds its way into any connection that isn't up to snuff.

[Mojoe]

ditto on DC's suggestion to inspect it in the dark. like he said, you really gotta watch. even jiggle the wires a little bit if nothing is obvious. those "sparks" can be mighty small.

[suzy1052]

I had the same problem on my 92 Sean and it turned out to be that the rubber on top of the carb slides were not sealed and the slides would not raise at higher rpms.I took the caps off and made sure they were all fitted in.You have to take off your airbox or pods and rev it to see which one.It only takes 1 bad one to do this and it doesnt happen until you get on it.Another problem I had was the solenoid that mounts down by the rear shock had fallen off the mount and every time I hit a bump the bike would miss and eventually crushed the solenoid.Another problem was a broken wire that would touch the chain and short out the bike.This was the point where I said pos Kat too.After I fixed this last problem I never had anymore.

[BIGKAT1100]

Had a friend that had the same issue with a Honda VF1100 Magna. Turned out to be the CDI box. Check your electrical system front to back to look for shorts or wear issues.

just my .02

[DClark]

I had the same problem on my 92 Sean and it turned out to be that the rubber on top of the carb slides were not sealed and the slides would not raise at higher rpms.I took the caps off and made sure they were all fitted in.Y

You could get some starter fluid and spritz it around the tops- if you have a bad lead, it will change the idle.
You could also take the carb tops off and see if the springs and washers are aligned. I once had problems when I installed a jet kit on my bike and the springs bound up, causing, you guessed it, bad running above 4000 rpm.
However, the mention of the bike running real bad when it rains screams ignition problem.

[SeanM]

Ok, so I only had about an hour or so to look at it tonight. Will do more tomorrow depending on the weather (don't have a garage).
So, sprayed the carbs with the bike running, couldn't see anything obvious.
Dumped A LOT of water on the plugs, coils, wires, anything electrical I could find while it was running, nothing seemed to change...although it hiccup'd a little when I poured it on the carbs.
I removed the K&N and put the stock filter back in, this seemed to actually give it quite a bit more power...so obviously there is still a jetting issue. God, I wish I knew what size jets I needed.
I took it down the road and it was cranking along rather well, then...the cut-out. Just no power what-so-ever, no matter how hard you twist. Make like 2rwhp. Just maintains. Stopped the bike for about 2mins. Fired it back up, and it cranked well the whole way home...although it still bogs out a bit...but I'm sure that's related to the jet's still being outta whack.
I also put a new D&D 4-1 on this last week and tonight I discovered a couple of leaks that I will need to fix.
SO, this is where I'm at with it now.....

[SeanM]

Oh, and another thing. How many turns out should the pilot screw be on the carbs? I currently have them about 2.75

[ThAzKat]

on the 750 it is 1 3/4 to 2, I personally would start at 2 but Mojoe can answer this one better on the 1100

[SeanM]

It was at 2, then I went to 2.75 and noticed a difference, wondering if I should go further....3....3.5...4....etc..

[Mojoe]

on the 750 it is 1 3/4 to 2, I personally would start at 2 but Mojoe can answer this one better on the 1100

actually, I have to admit that I can't answer that offhand. I never played around with carbs too much cuz I always had a guy with some pit crew experience who does it for me. but I think 2 sounds about right.

[DClark]

As I understan it, your bike was running like crap, then you put a 4-1 on it and I guess a jet kit too.
Wow, that really wil make it hard to trouble shoot as you won't know if it is an electrical problem or jetting problem.

[SeanM]

As I understan it, your bike was running like crap, then you put a 4-1 on it and I guess a jet kit too.
Wow, that really wil make it hard to trouble shoot as you won't know if it is an electrical problem or jetting problem.

Starting to see why I'm so frustrated? LOL