Left cylinder is happy now!

[RDDave]

"Plug fouler" no longer applies to me and my RD.


With the help of this board; I THINK I GOT IT!

But first, you have to promise not to laugh. What I thought was an emulsion tube protruding from the main well on my extra carb turned out to be a pilot jet somebody had screwed in and tightened.

Now, I completely disassembled both my original carb and the extra carb. Went over every piece with a magnifying glass, blew brake clean through all the orifices, compared everything side by side and swapped everything possible from the extra carb to the original. Plus, I spent extra time with the choke assembly. I didn't do anything with the right carb or anything else on that cylinder.

Put the carb back on the bike, and at start up, the idle was way high.....too lean. Okay, that's a difference right off the bat. Took it for a 15 minute ride spending time at all throttle positions. It is crisper and the idle is still too high. Got back to the shop with both cylinders running. Another good sign. So, I checked the temps and lo and behold the left was hotter than the right. 208 to 190. Pulled the left plug and it was white. Obviously too lean. But given that I had pulled as much fuel as I could with the adjustments, that is to be expected, NOW THAT THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN FIXED. YAHOO!

I hate it when I change several things at a time and in doing so, fix the problem but do not know for sure what actually the problem was. But I was frustrated and just wanted to move forward. So, here is my suspicion on what was and is going on:

Either the pilot was too large or the choke was holding open on that left cylinder. That was why that cylinder was colder and fouled that plug. With the left cylinder down on power, the right was working harder, bringing it's temp up. Does that make sense to anyone else?

Now, the right cylinder is colder than the left because it is not working as hard anymore dragging the left. The left now is too lean due to me pulling as much fuel out as I could so it's temp has gone up.

I will readjust everything now and that should bring it all in. I do want to add fuel BEFORE I ride it any more because it is too lean.

Thanks guys. I wonder how long it would have taken me to get this lined out without your input? Maybe never. You gave me plenty to think about.

[m in sc]

yup. sounds like you got it.        

[85RZwade]

And there was much rejoicing!

[dgorms]

Dave, I'm guilty of the same thing. When you hear hoofbeats, think "horse", not "Zebra".