TOPIC:

Re: the Spark plug cleaning station !
What a blast from the past. When I was kid working in "Service Stations" (late 60's - mid 70's - $2.35 hr) we had one of these State of the Art pieces of equipment!
and......does anyone remember when a "Service Station" actually gave you service ? Greet the customer, Latch the nozzle for a fill, clean all the windows, check the oil, P/steering (if applicable), brake fluid, air-filter, accessory-belts, and tire psi if requested. Coolant if cool enough and it was not uncommon to replace headlights wipers and a belts right at the pumps. Vehicles were that simple and we were that good !
THEN, it would be back into a work-bay to repair flats, stud tires, wash customers car, change out tires and help the mechanics as required - unless the "DING-DING" had you running back out to the pumps again. They were good years to actually learn a lot of things in a lot of various areas.
Now - you're lucky if you can speak to anyone over a freakin scratchy" intercom - if the intercom even works and if "the Attendant" even gives a crap !

Ah, the memories !

Yup, Was there , dune that !! I used to be the top saleperson at the pumps @ $4,000 a month. guy comes in for gas and leaves with a new set of tires, wiper blades and 3 cases of pop. We got a 10% commission for sales, so some of the partimers made more than the freaking mechanic!!!

Hi i rode her at the weekend after tidying up the wires she ran like a pig this could be many things Ie flat battery it just started after the auto electrical guy tidied up the wires i believe it dropped on to 4 cylinders .I have tested the spark and this seems fine i had the Carbs rebuilt by a Weber specialist who seemed to think with the K&N and the exhaust i have she would run very lean and he ordered a Sigma kit on net i am sure he told me he had put 115 mains and raised the needles as high as they go i think she is running very rich and may have fouled the plugs any suggestion what i should do with the carbs i plan to dyno tune it but would like to put a few Ks on her first .Also after i charged the battery she started fine but was popping in the air filters again it was mentioned that tight valves or valve could be the problem do you mean to tightly shimmed as I can return to the guy who built the engine and get this sorted thanks

I remember looking in to this issue when I rebuilt my carbs for my conversion project. I have a DG pipe going on and I've also ported the head. I might get a set of camshafts ground to 280 deg. duration. In the past, I too have always had the thinking that with better flowing intake and exhaust, that during valve overlap fresh fuel would be exiting the exhaust and you would have to accommodate that by richening up the mixture. I remember this topic coming up before and I believe Scotch or Trikebldr advised against richening up the mixture and suggested that the stock jetting was the ticket. In the end, I've left mine stock for now and will spend some time on a dyno when it gets running and do the sparkplug color checks.

Sparkplug color checking- With a new set of plugs in the engine, fire it up and do a high speed run at operating engine temp and once you get it run up to like 70-80 mph immediately shut off the ignition switch and coast to a stop. Pull the plugs and check the color of the center electrode ceramic. It should be tan brown. If it's to the whiteish side, you're too lean. If it's to the darker side of tan or blackish, your too rich.

The ultimate is to run it up on a dyno with a CO meter up the tail pipe. Then you can see exactly what's happening at all throttle and load points and have better knowledge which will help you tune the carbs right across the full range. It should also be noted that barometric pressure, humidity and air temperature need to be taken into consideration during your testing.

For the record: This is not directed at anyone specifically. It is an opinion based on observing the problems, issues, questions that are regularly presented here and follow a pattern that invariably leads to guesses and assumptions requiring 15 pages for one thread and leads to nothing most of the time! Progress is then zero and the issue leads to too many unnecessary and ill-gained adjustments and alterations.

I tend to agree with KB's remark about jetting. My "80 has a DG header and a GM six-pack WITH the ballast. Everything else is stock. "Middle" groove on the needle! Have tried it both ways (up & down) and always return to the middle groove ! Light "Tan' color on all the plugs with this needle setting. 3 1/2 turns on the idles screws. Valve tolerances and ignition-timing within specs.

I don't discount the installation of aftermarket "jetting" kits but I have to question: Why ? With the exception of the '79 which had a non-adjustable needle the jetting and factory 5-slot needle is more then adequate to accommodate any necessity for fuel-tuning.
A highly modified engine - That's in a different league of requirements all together.

I also must agree with KB and his opinion regarding those who feel they must arbitrarily replace stock parts with aftermarket 'this and that" with NO understanding of what the real issues are to begin with other than frustration with the inability to correct the problem. In my opinion: unless you have a solid understanding and assessment of a problem - throwing money into alternative parts compounds the original problem(s) and makes diagnostics almost impossible.

The vast majority of concerns and questions seen in this forum suggest to me that few are technically proficient to facilitate multiple modifications and those that choose to, end up with bigger problems then they started with due to the masking effects of anything other then known stock parts. It is essential to diagnose in the correct sequence. Not understanding where a problem originates and simply throwing part after part into the bike in a helter-skelter attempt to "hopefully fix it" demonstrates a greater capacity of the wallet than that of a basic ability to follow a manual and understand the basic elements of diagnosing simple mechanical and electrics. Ultimately these bikes are technically simple !

Those who have built-up highly modified 1300's have the expertise and RESOURCES (AND/OR access to that) and have the skill-sets and intuitive abilities to facilitate such work.

The average weekend warrior who has little if any mechanical aptitude are fooling themselves in believing that they too can mimic such challenges.
Making a change or modification simply on the merits that it "worked" for "joe" is no guarantee it will work on your own. These bikes are what they are and any unwarranted change (changes) will almost always have a negative "domino" effect.

Unless you are one of the few who have the expertise and access to skilled professional technical support from experienced people- keep it stock and keep it simple or suffer the consequences of spending more time on this forum than on the bike !

And I will re-iterate this: Asking why your bike does "this or that" or doesn't "do that or this" when you have randomly and without validation and qualification "tinkered with this" and "added that" and bolted on "that thing" that someone else said worked but can't substantiate, makes diagnosing your problem IMPOSSIBLE ! For anyone !

Read the manual. read the FAQ's, Google the problem "to death" and learn to discriminate between those who know what they're talking about and those who think they do !

Pet peeve: ie - Anyone who responds by starting out with: "I've never actually blah blah blah but I think I know a fellow who told me once blah blah blah." or "How do I check if a coil is bad" when the answer is clearly in THE MANUAL !

Keep it simple and make a concerted effort to learn via the manual, the internet and by following the forum. Your enjoyment of the project will benefit exponentially as will your credibility. The benefit is you'll become proficient, you'll appear interested in learning and and the desire from others to actually help with be far more forth coming.

Thanks