Carbs for sale

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Adjustments

The day I fashioned the rear end, I noticed that one of the "frame rails" had rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise but it was so hot out, I just said "Oh well, it's temporary anyway." and screwed it down. Since I'm going to have to take some of it apart, I'll fix this as well.

Here's the plan:

1. Rotate the righthand frame rails 90 degrees clockwise.
2. Add strapping to connect the two frames much like the one holding the license plate light.
3. Connect the brake light to the strapping.

Shouldn't be too big of an ordeal. The license plate holder was attached to the plastic end.

Here's what it looks like right now with the tail light removed. You can see the right side is rotated.

The new strapping will run from the plastic end, diagonally up and forward to attached to the strapping holding the license plate.

Almost

I have no metal fabrication skills or tools to speak of. Well, a hacksaw might count for something but that's about it. My goal here was to find any way to mount the tail light, license plate and its light and the rear turn signals. I really, really just want to ride this thing.

I didn't take any pictures because it was 102 degrees outside and God knows in my garage. I slapped together the following using some scraps that were lying around. I can honestly say that this additional cost a full $0.00.

Update: Well, it turns out that I forgot to factor in my weight. I rode it down the street and around the block and each time I hit a bump, the tail light hit the tire. I'll need to find a way to mount the tail light a bit higher up.

License plate and blinkers and tail light. Oh my.

Now that the bike runs better than ever, I need to do something about where the rear frame used to be. The previous owner was quick to hack off the part of the frame where one would normally mount the license plate, rear blinkers, taillight and rear fender.

The pictures below attempt to capture what's left of that area and ultimately, what I'd like it to look like [The silver grab bar won't be there. It's just holding stuff up while I worked on the blinkers]. Now, I just need to find someone to bend a piece of steel and weld it on along with a few places to mount the aforementioned items.

It currently looks like this...

But I'm hoping it could look more like this....

Image via: 650rider.com

I've been told it idles

After a few months of reading and learning quite a bit about how carburetors work, I decided I needed some help. As much as I wanted to fix this bike myself, I want to ride it even more.

I called Brad Bayley of Bayley's Repair who said he could come by and pick up the bike on Saturday. After running it a bit in my driveway, we decided to pull off the aftermarket Mikuni VM32 round slide carburetors and rebuild the stock ones. I happened to have two sets of BS34s in disrepair (one from the XS650 that was collecting dust on a shelf) and Brad said he could likely combine the two into one well-running set. Before he left, he said it would be a few weeks before he could really get to working on it due to some other projects and that he'd let me know if he ran into any issues.

You can imagine my surprise when he called me a few hours later and said that because I seemed so excited about finally getting to ride it, he had spent the morning rebuilding the carbs and that it was running quite well. I would need to get a new throttle cable and air filters (there is a size difference between the VM32s and the BS34s) but the bike was running. Before dropping it off, I asked him to check out the valves for adjustment and change the oil.

Now, I just need to:

• See if the XS650 throttle cable will fit. If not, I'll be ordering one when the budget allows.
• I'd like to test the manometer that I built and see how well it works now that I know the carbs are synced.
• Find someway to build up the rear end/seat. There is currently nowhere to mount the tail light, blinkers or license plate.

Almost there.

Will it ever run?

1981 XS400SH (Heritage)

Quick summary

This bike starts with a tap of the starter button even when it's cold. I've read that may be a sign of it running too rich. If I don't touch the throttle, it'll die. Without fail, I'll pull the spark plugs and they're black, wet, and smell of fuel. The right side seems worse than the left. It'll run if I give it some throttle but it has never idled on its own.

Things I know I'm doing incorrectly:

• Have not thoroughly cleaned the fuel tank. I know fuel flows really well when the petcock is set to PRI and in my defense, I have installed an inline filter.
• I have not checked the values (The valve covers are really stuck on there and I'm afraid to strip them out).
• I have not checked the float height.
• I now feel dumb after writing this section.

Info

VIN: JYA4R4007BA013075

Frame: 4R4-013075

Engine:
Compression: 135 p.s.i. (dry test; both sides)

Stock pipes

Pod air filters
Electronic ignition (TCI? I'm still learning here.)

Miles: 10,994 (as of 06/12/2015)

Carburetors

The previous owner purchased dual Mikuni VM 32 round slide carbs from Dime City Cycles after the guy he got it from broke of one of the arms that holds the float pin on the original carbs. He purchased both Left and Right (and pod-style air filters) but did not get a chance to sync them. Dime City's site says they have the following: “Jetting: 185 Main, 35 Pilot, 6DH7 Jet Needle, 2.0 Air Jet, and 159 P-5 Needle Jet” and that they are "pre-Jetted for: CB/CL450, CB500T & Other 400-650cc Twins".

I have visually confirmed the items marked with an ‘x’ below.

[x] Main Jets: 185

[x] Pilot Jets: 35 (I've stepped these down to size 30 during my troubleshooting)

[x] Needles: 6DH7

Needle Jets: 159

[x] Needle Jet clip position: P-3

Air jet: 2.0

I purchased spigot mount carb holders (w/ vacuum barb) from MikesXS because the old ones were a bit cracked and I kept reading about vacuum leaks and they issues they can cause. 

I've synced the carbs using the drill bit method and can confirm that both slides begin to move at the same time when the throttle is turned. However, even with the idle screw turned all the way in (I know you wouldn't want to do that anyway) the idle is too low. Additionally, I built a manometer (not my video) and, no matter what I adjust, the water is always pulled to the left side.