Topic: 73 cb500 Not Running

[Jgossen93]

This is my first time posting, though I have been a follower for awhile.  This forum has been very helpful for many jobs.

I picked up my cb500 last September from a guy that said it had been a project.  It great for the month or so that I had it before storage. When the season changed this year, everything seemed to fall apart at once.

The laundry list of parts I have put on are as follows:
5.0 ohm Dynatek coils with new copper wires and caps
LED signals, tail and headlight conversion
Dyna Electric ignition
copper crush gaskets and collars for the exhaust
Refurbished Carbs from carburetorkeith with pod filters

Since the bike sat dormant until the carbs arrived, I put in new gas and she fired right up. The problem was that i could bare;y get it to rev past 5000rpms.  After that it would bog down and try to die. It would idle just fine. I took it out on a residential road and got it up to about 35mph before loud popping came from the exhaust on accel and it would bog really bad.
i contacted Keith and he thought it was a timing issue so I static timed it again. I bought a strobe to check dynamic and that is where my real problems started to rear their heads.  I cannot get the bike to run.  It will barely start and then immediately die no matter what I do.  I pulled the plugs, saw they were sooty and black. I didn't even bother cleaning them. I just went out and bought new ones. When I gapped and put them in, same problem. They got black and sooty almost immediately.

I admit I got very discouraged as I killed the battery while trying to get the bike to turn over so a solid 20 minutes was spent trying to kick it over.
I'm honestly not sure what could be going on right now. I admit that I am no skilled mechanic. Most of what I know was learned here on the forum and youtube.

[Scott S]

 The first two things you're gonna hear are ditch the pods for a stock air box and get genuine Keihin brass.

[Jgossen93]

I got the pods in the first place because the bike didn't have all the original parts for the air box. The guy I got it from tried to wedge a different filter in it with a piece of wood.  From what I've read, it is difficult to get the original airbox parts.

[Scott S]

 And find out if he used Keyster kits in the carbs....

[nicks2319]

Keith does great work. I have a set of his refurbished carbs on mine since 2012. Fires right up after every winter.

[WildeJ]

I have three bikes and am just learning a lot about them, but i will tell you about my experience with vintage cars as it relates to your bike:

I have a few vintage cars and I remember i had the same exact issue you had, sooty spark plugs not matter how many times you change them out. Somehow, some way, one aspect of your issue is fuel is not being ignited. I took apart my 62 409 chevy carb and found out a float had a hole in it, and was keeping the float de-pressed / too heavy / so too much fuel was flowing. Check your floats too.

J Wilde

[WildeJ]

...one aspect of your issue is fuel is not being ignited.

This would be accurate if his plugs are "wet". Sooty and black is an indication of combustion, but too rich a fuel condition. So you're on the right path with fuel level, but the symptom description is off. 

Thanks for correcting me. Its really good to know what I DONT know. Much appreciated...seriously

[Jgossen93]

"They would have been 100 mains and 40 pilots." -Keith
The clip is on the top position as well.
I'll have to do the fuel level check in a few days. My local parts store only had 5 plugs in stock. I have to wait for the order.
Is there any specific length for the clear line? How far past the bowl should the line travel?

[Jgossen93]

I will have to double check the needle position then. What should it be set to?

Looks like I have a bit of shopping to do.

That is the exact way I have been running my choke, so that is good

[Jgossen93]

Any idea where I can get the valve that attaches to the float bowl for the test?

[Jgossen93]

Ok got it!
Should i turn the fuel on for this or just measure what is already  in the bowl?

[Deltarider]

Having read what you've changed (which is a lot) I wonder if timing is correct and advances as it should. Is there a way you could reinstall the old ignition and see what that does? Is there still an advancer and can it move freely? Not that long ago somebody here had installed an electronic ignition and mounted it so that the advancer couldn't move anymore.

[Jgossen93]

I replaced the points because the 2-3 condenser was shot. I was going to check on the advancer with a strobe to see it was advancing correctly. This was when the plug fouling started. I might take it apart and oil the advancer just to see if that will help. It seemed to work just fine when first installed.
I'm currently waiting on plugs to arrive. This evening I will post results of the "clear tube" test.

[Deltarider]

I might take it apart and oil the advancer just to see if that will help.

If you take it apart, if, make sure you reassemble it correctly, meaning the minute carve in the rim will face the little hole, as shown encircled in white in the pic below.