davidguzzi
Just got it firing!
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2012
- Messages
- 8
Sorry . Spelt stuff wrong! :dry:
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shabba said:I can pull the plug and boot, ground it to the head and see it sparking, but how would I measure how strong that spark is?
john zibell said:shabba said:I can pull the plug and boot, ground it to the head and see it sparking, but how would I measure how strong that spark is?
Without special equipment that is hard to find these days, you can't. Basically, if you have spark, you are good. In previous decades (1940s to about 1970), coil testers were common in garages, but with the advent of modern systems they seem to have gone away.
john zibell said:shabba said:I can pull the plug and boot, ground it to the head and see it sparking, but how would I measure how strong that spark is?
Without special equipment that is hard to find these days, you can't. Basically, if you have spark, you are good. In previous decades (1940s to about 1970), coil testers were common in garages, but with the advent of modern systems they seem to have gone away.
lucky phil said:Sounds like a blocked fuel tank breather to me.
Ciao
Trout said:john zibell said:shabba said:I can pull the plug and boot, ground it to the head and see it sparking, but how would I measure how strong that spark is?
Without special equipment that is hard to find these days, you can't. Basically, if you have spark, you are good. In previous decades (1940s to about 1970), coil testers were common in garages, but with the advent of modern systems they seem to have gone away.
Old school rule of thumb: With a points & cond system Spark should be strong & blue across the gap, on an excellent system you will hear cracking. Weak & yellow is just that: weak spark, but even with a weak spark a guzzi will still run. Electronic ignitions like the Dyna will often create a "thinner" spark across the gap sorta like small lightning bolts.
Is the shop you're taking it to a general repair type bike shop working on all brands?
Trout said:lucky phil said:Sounds like a blocked fuel tank breather to me.
Ciao
That was suggested earlier in the thread and it is still a good idea but that would usually affect both cylinders as it causes a vacuum in the tank decreasing fuel supply to both carbs. In a previous post the owner stated that one plug is fouled and the other clean & very hot so the problem is different on each cylinder.
I wonder if you got the slides back in correctly? They are square and can be installed backwards. The side with the "cut out" goes to the back. May also want to check the choke slide on the side that is running rich. The choke on one carb would give you rich and the slide in backwards would kill the other cylinder. Just a suggestion.
When I get home tonight, I'll test both and see. I was only checking the right side so that makes sense to see if they are similar in color and strength. As far as the cap goes, I'll look into that as well. As I recall, last weekend when the bike was running at it's worst (but still running), I took the cap off and the bike immediately died.Trout said:The breather / vent is in the fuel cap basically just an air hole, when they clog the bike runs out of gas. When you open the fuel cap the bike will run normal until it creates a vacuum in the tank and the fuel won't flow.
Sounds like a good shop, I like good all around mechanics, specializing is for insects.
Do I understand correctly that the bike is totally dead on the right side but runs on the left and the plug gets wet?
The spark description sounds normal for Electronic Ignition but bear in mind I have very little experience with them. Is it the same for both sides?
Trout
shabba said:Update: I've traded out coils and am sure now that my problem is fuel related. The coil swapping made no difference. What DID make a difference was spraying carb cleaner into the carb as the bike was running. Primitive, yes, but when I sprayed the cleaner directly into the carb, the bike ran on both cylinders for a moment. I pulled the carb off and fired the bike up to see if I was getting any fuel into the cylinder. Nothing came out (and yes, I left the fuel line on with the petcock on).
Am I on to something or just being stupid? Or both?
john zibell said:shabba said:Update: I've traded out coils and am sure now that my problem is fuel related. The coil swapping made no difference. What DID make a difference was spraying carb cleaner into the carb as the bike was running. Primitive, yes, but when I sprayed the cleaner directly into the carb, the bike ran on both cylinders for a moment. I pulled the carb off and fired the bike up to see if I was getting any fuel into the cylinder. Nothing came out (and yes, I left the fuel line on with the petcock on).
Am I on to something or just being stupid? Or both?
How can you get fuel to come out when the carb isn't connected to the engine? There must be airflow to draw fuel (Venturi effect) to the cylinder. Sounds like blocked passages so fuel isn't being drawn into the airstream.
Trout said:Back to basics and the beginning of this post. Fuel tank crud.
Make sure there is fuel in the tank.
Leave fuel hose off carb.
Open petcock.
Does fuel come out of hose? If not there is the problem: Fuel tank crud.
If fuel comes out and there is no fuel in the carb bowl the needle valve/seat &/or float is screwed. I think I mentioned this before.
If you have had the carb off and have been turning it upside down & all around then you most likely have screwed up the float etc.... ADVICE: take it to the shop before you cause more problems than you want to spend money on.
Trout
No wonder Pete Roper went pop fizz & is on leave.
Supaflee said:I reckon I should chime in about here.
I had precisely the same problem . Bike would idle , run ok for about 3km's then putter out on one cylinder .
My carbs are Mikunis.
The R/H carb had had the float activating lever fitted upside down .The bowl only ever got a piddly amount of fuel into the bottom , never enough to get near the Main Jet , I reckonned only about 3mm in the bowl.
Hell it caused me problems until I checked the float levels.
Once I fixed it , and it was installed as Mr Mikuni had designed it to be , the carb bowl filled with fuel to the correct level and the rest of the bike goes like a scalded Guzzi. (Suprisingly damn well actually)
Its worth having a little check to see that the Float valve actuators are both the same way up .
Betcha one is wrong.
Hahaha
Regards Supaflee