Parking it up for the winter.

FrankenDesmo · 06-03-2020, 08:13 PM

Drained the tank this evening and put in 5L of Esso Supreme 97 - but as I am in Scotland, they put the 5% ethanol in there. I'll just have to make sure I don't let it sit again!

Unfortunately not much changed - as it warms up the idle moves up to 3k and stays there, and it hesitates significantly around 3.5-4.5k (possibly from 'normal' idle all the way to 5k, if the idle were where it should be), and then pulls more or less strong all the way to ~8k (maybe one or two hesitations as it's pulling up from 5k). Cruising at speed at 4.5k+ is smooth, but low speed stuff where I find myself holding ~3.5-4k it is all over the place.

Pulled the plugs - top cylinder is dry and white around the tip, black around the thread. Front cylinder is dry & black all over. White = lean right?

I need to wait until I've got a new air filter as the one in it really is quite filthy (or has yellowed with age). I'm not sure how old the fuel filter is, either, so I'll get a replacement. I was thinking of attempting running it without the air filter to see if that improved anything, but I think I risk leaning it out further, so I don't think it's a good idea.

Otherwise I think it might be time to invest in a set of carbtune gauges and get to balancing them, adjusting the pilot mixtures, and going from there.

And I guess I should probably strip them off and give them a clean, first.

Time to learn a whole lot more about carbs!

06-03-2020, 08:13 PM	#11
FrankenDesmo Member Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Glasgow Bike: M900 Posts: 108	Drained the tank this evening and put in 5L of Esso Supreme 97 - but as I am in Scotland, they put the 5% ethanol in there. I'll just have to make sure I don't let it sit again! Unfortunately not much changed - as it warms up the idle moves up to 3k and stays there, and it hesitates significantly around 3.5-4.5k (possibly from 'normal' idle all the way to 5k, if the idle were where it should be), and then pulls more or less strong all the way to ~8k (maybe one or two hesitations as it's pulling up from 5k). Cruising at speed at 4.5k+ is smooth, but low speed stuff where I find myself holding ~3.5-4k it is all over the place. Pulled the plugs - top cylinder is dry and white around the tip, black around the thread. Front cylinder is dry & black all over. White = lean right? I need to wait until I've got a new air filter as the one in it really is quite filthy (or has yellowed with age). I'm not sure how old the fuel filter is, either, so I'll get a replacement. I was thinking of attempting running it without the air filter to see if that improved anything, but I think I risk leaning it out further, so I don't think it's a good idea. Otherwise I think it might be time to invest in a set of carbtune gauges and get to balancing them, adjusting the pilot mixtures, and going from there. And I guess I should probably strip them off and give them a clean, first. Time to learn a whole lot more about carbs!