Topic: just when you thought it was safe and reliable...

[Klark Kent]

besides an inablitly to get mercury sticks to read at a proper synch, i had my 75 550K running super well.  and then i left town.  so my poor bike sat for the better part of two weeks, while i was out making more money to spend on it.  A couple mornings last week where i tried to ride it to work, but it wasnt cooperating in the 40 degree morn.  then yesterday i try and start it in the middle of the day on a fully charged battery and i get no consistent idle and what seems like a dead number one cylinder.  the pipe from number one eventually started spewing white smoke when i twisted the throttle to keep it "idling" at about 3k.  let go and the bike eventually dies, number one pipe just leaking a little white smoke after everything else shuts down.  

so i took my carbs off expecting to find grime in my number one- but found all the carbs to be just as pristine as the last two times i cleaned them.  so now i am thinking i should bench synch them again and clean around that compartment, hile i have them off, but what should my next trouble shooting step be?

a friend suggested shearing off the very end of my number one plug wire to ensure i am getting a good connection there.

any other suggestions?

-KK

[Bob Wessner]

What does the offending plug look like? Might try to pull it and have a look. If the problem is intermittent spark, I would think you might see a good deal of soot or, perhaps even a bit damp/wet with fuel if it isn't running well enough to burn off.

[dusterdude]

mine does the same thing when i let it sit,run a can of seafoam thru the gastank.

[Klark Kent]

ahh forgot the plugs, all of them were black, but the 2, 3, and 4 had tan areas where the spark lives, and the number one was black all over and a little wet.  I put a full tank of gas in before i let it sit so theres no room for seafoam until i run it a bit, but I am pretty sure there is seafoam in the tank right now, as well as some "snot" my buddy threw in there right before i left town.  so my plan is to reinstall carbs, clean off the plugs with some carb cleaner, cut a bit of the number one wire, and hope for the best. 

DD- you lose number one and any smeblence of an idle every time you let your bike sit?  this cant be the way.

-KK