Topic: 1974 CB200 - Running SUPER rough, NEED HELP (Done everything I can)

[Maxaye]

<SOLVED READ LAST PARAGRAPH>
Hey all, I've owned my CB200 for almost a year now and its really taught me a lot about patience, hard work, and that even though you might've fixed it doesn't mean it'll work. I've been in a constant battle with this bike as the previous owner abused the hell out of it and I got it on its last leg. After purchasing it was when I found out how no one in my town wants to fix it because of how old it is. I can't even sign a waiver saying "I don't care if you break it just try to fix it". Maybe it's been for the better though as I have become a pretty good self taught mechanic using Google, Reddit, some other old forums and youtube. Mind you this is my first motorcycle and it is also my daily driver; not the best choice but I live with my mistakes.

Now here's my dilemma, over the past two weeks its been really trying to put itself in the grave. I had a mishap where the bike got knocked over, a few things broke like the Chinesium clutch lever I have on it and the spark plug snapped and also broke the spark plug boot. No biggie, replaced everything that needed to be fixed and it ran pretty good.
Come last week (10/14/19), it started running super rough. Wouldn't idle properly anymore (idled around 1300 - 1500 before mishap) and always wanted to stall and just didn't like being alive. I went through the entire bike searching for the problem. I checked to make sure everything was connected, made sure the plug gap was correct, checked ignition timing, tappet clearances, cam-chain adjustment, checked electrical connections, made sure I was getting gas and a spark. Nothing seemed to be the error.

From there it went further downhill. I was getting a lot of throttle lag and the idle was around 2k, no good. I use this bike to go to school about a mile and a half away from my house and where I live its still pretty warm in the mornings mind you. I had struggled all last week to get to and from class and finally this previous weekend decided to clean the carbs. The last time I had done this was about 5 months ago so this was probably well needed.

Got some carb cleaner at O'Reilys and tore em' open. They weren't too dirty except for the outside and jets and holes seemed clear so I didn't understand why it was being so uncooperative with me. I finished those, synced them up, and made sure they were exact on both sides (1 1/4 Air and gas til it idled fine). Problem is I couldn't get it to idle fine. I also took the liberty to soak my pistons with some Seafoam while I was doing the carbs and also added about 2 ounces to the gas which had about 1.3 gallons left in it. Once I got the pistons cleared out and everything back on the bike it just wouldn't idle and the lag was still there.

Come tonight (10/21/19), I redid ignition timing and cam-chain adjustment just in case they got out of wack somehow and since according to the manual the symptoms I was having stemmed from that. Nope, seemed right. Next I took the air filters off and tried to run the bike like that. BINGO. Throttle lag gone from what I could tell and seemed to have good power, I could just feel it. Took it around the block and it felt good. Got back into the driveway and it quit, no good constant air I thought. Decided to try and tinker with this now that I know it was just getting too much gas and not enough air. I put the filters back on and opened up the air screw a good amount, 5 - 6 full turns out. Idle was still 2-3k and now throttle lag was back, also exhausts were puffing. Put air back to normal and took filters on and off testing what would work. After about 10 tries got it to start again. The exhaust exploded with a massive bang about 4 times while I was trying to start it (coming out of right exhaust) and left exhaust was puffing a bit, idle was rough and any adjustment made it quit. Now this is just giving me a headache and I have class tomorrow and can't waste the night away trying to follow dead ends. The right exhaust even spit flames a few times! This is a stock exhaust and stock jets, carbs, and needles! Really surprised me.

So now I am asking for your help. I really need to get this bike back on the road and I can't force it to run like I have been. If anyone knows what this might be please let me know! I am still researching but I can't find out what this might be. I recorded a few videos of my issue (not the best) and am figuring out how to post them so everyone can see. I am very open to answering peoples questions as I could be here all night typing all my experiences. If you want to know something to help aid me don't mind asking. Will post updates as they come.

<SOLVED> It's now December (12/23/19) and its been a few good months since I've updated this posting.  After about a week after the last comment I made here I just didn't have the time and energy to keep screwing with things. I took it to Eastside Performance Motorcycles (http://www.eastsideperformancemotorcycles.com/) and they were able to figure out that my jets were drilled out! The right side was more drilled out than the left and that explains why my right cylinder was running so much more rough than the other. Along with replacing the jets with correct ones, I got a new gasket kit, carburetor cleaning, and new spark plugs. After about 2 weeks of waiting for parts and $300 dollars later it's running better than ever! I swear I checked the jets about a million and one times but I guess since they were drilled out in the first place I didn't have good ones to compare them too and the right side was drilled larger by just a hair (yet caused all those issues!). They did warn me that this bike is EXTREMELY cold blooded and with that it needs some help in the mornings (especially right now being so cold). The choke being on or off doesn't make any difference so I'm not quite sure what is up with that. I do know that the return spring on the right-side choke door is broken but even if I take the air filters off, put it down correctly and start it back up it doesn't change much, shame. Either way after riding around the block a few times it idles fine, revs normally, throttle response is good, and has get-up-and-go. I do have the idle at around 1600 - 1800 rpm just because sometimes it's iffy on staying alive in the mornings and since my choke doesn't operate like it should this idle speed works in the mornings keeping it running and works in the warmer afternoons topping at around 1800.

I appreciate everyone's time in helping me get it back to running condition, even if I had to end up taking it somewhere. Thank you to everyone who commented!
-Maxaye

[scottly]

Max, my first question is what do your spark plugs look like? Please post pics using the attachment feature.

[jgger]

Did you trim back the ends of the plug wires before the new caps were installed?  Also drain the fuel in the carbs into a glass jar and check for water. Remove the sediment bowl from the petcock and see what is swimming around in there, water or dirt. Check that your carb connections are tight and no leaks.

AND what Scottly said, that will, or at least can send you in the right direction.

[Maxaye]

Should've got a picture before I put it away for the night. I want it to be clear that the new plugs were as follows: Left cylinder was white on the inner electrode and the right cylinder was blackened all over after about a week of usage. I had swapped plugs a few days ago to see if it would help at all so they are both probably black now. I understand that white means super lean and black means rich? Brownish is what I want. Will get a picture tomorrow!

Also, I didn't trim back the ends before I put the new ones on as I thought they would be okay and felt tight in the wires. If I am going to trim back wires how far should I trim back?

I'm sure there is no water in the gas but I can check tomorrow evening. Bowls should be cleaned out as I checked the jets and holes when I got home and there was a bit of black bits probably from tank cleaning but I cleaned that all out and jets were clear so nothing got there. Tube connections from tank to carbs are tight, all rubber in the carbs are tight and I just replaced rubber grommet from carb manifold to engine as it was melted. Bowls to carb body rubber could be a bit more flexible but I don't have a spare set right now. Seemed tight and held good.

[jakec]

Hey welcome to the forum. /r/HondaCB kinda sucks I'm not gona lie. Really only good for looking at photos of bikes. You should get on hondatwins.net since you have a twin.

I would bet that you are running one cylinder or one cylinder intermittently. That would explain the puffing and throttle lag (two symptoms which are linked to a single cause). It would also explain the backfire in the muffler and spitting flames. What this means is that you are shooting gas through the bike but it's not igniting. Just collecting in the muffler. Eventually all the heat and compression causes the gas collected in the muffler to explode. This happened to me on my 400 and it actually busted my muffler open on the bottom.

It probably would have been easier to diagnose the problem before you started working on it because now who knows what you may have done to make it worse, no offense. Not a lot can happen from the bike falling over. It's totally possible that you have a throttle slide in backward (done it before a few times). Maybe you've have the choke on the last few days, you idiot! (also done that once when I was a noob).

Since you can get the carbs off that bike in like 15  minutes, check the slides and make sure they are on right. Make sure the carbs' round tops are screwed on nicely and not cross threading. Make sure you aren't missing a slide spring. Redo the sync (pretty easy to get good enough to make it run/idle just by listening to slides closing. done it many times on CL175).

Then get a pretty full tank of gas and make sure your fuel line routing is not too twisty. If you have inline filters take them off so you know you have fuel flow. Start the bike up and then touch the pipes to see if they're hot. I bet one side (probably right side, in my experience ) will be firing intermittently.

Then you can check the plug wires like another person said. Since it's a wasted spark engine (right?) only one set of points so no need to check there. I am not sure how but there's a way to check the coil to make sure you're getting power at both wires. Only one coil right?. 66Sprint is a user on Hondatwins and he would know what to tell you.

[jakec]

If I am going to trim back wires how far should I trim back?

Cut off about 1/4" or more if needed. Trim away the sheathing and carve out the old melty plastic. Get some copper showing. then forcefully push the screw end of the cap into the wire and you twist it on.

[scottly]

Should've got a picture before I put it away for the night. I want it to be clear that the new plugs were as follows: Left cylinder was white on the inner electrode and the right cylinder was blackened all over after about a week of usage. I had swapped plugs a few days ago to see if it would help at all so they are both probably black now. I understand that white means super lean and black means rich?

Black means rich, and probably fouled, and if you swapped a fouled plug into the good cylinder, and whatever caused it to get fouled in the "bad" cylinder still exists, then yes, probably both plugs are now fouled. I wouldn't worry about trimming the leads; carbon fouling is caused by too much fuel/too little air. You mentioned a change after removing air filter element(s). Plugged paper elements car indeed cause running issues. Start by either replacing both plugs, or burning the black off with a propane torch, and checking the plugs again after running the bike. I would also leave the element out for now.

[Maxaye]

I would bet that you are running one cylinder or one cylinder intermittently. That would explain the puffing and throttle lag (two symptoms which are linked to a single cause). It would also explain the backfire in the muffler and spitting flames. What this means is that you are shooting gas through the bike but it's not igniting. Just collecting in the muffler. Eventually all the heat and compression causes the gas collected in the muffler to explode. This happened to me on my 400 and it actually busted my muffler open on the bottom.

It probably would have been easier to diagnose the problem before you started working on it because now who knows what you may have done to make it worse, no offense. Not a lot can happen from the bike falling over. It's totally possible that you have a throttle slide in backward (done it before a few times). Maybe you've have the choke on the last few days, you idiot! (also done that once when I was a noob).

Since you can get the carbs off that bike in like 15  minutes, check the slides and make sure they are on right. Make sure the carbs' round tops are screwed on nicely and not cross threading. Make sure you aren't missing a slide spring. Redo the sync (pretty easy to get good enough to make it run/idle just by listening to slides closing. done it many times on CL175).

Then get a pretty full tank of gas and make sure your fuel line routing is not too twisty. If you have inline filters take them off so you know you have fuel flow. Start the bike up and then touch the pipes to see if they're hot. I bet one side (probably right side, in my experience ) will be firing intermittently.

Then you can check the plug wires like another person said. Since it's a wasted spark engine (right?) only one set of points so no need to check there. I am not sure how but there's a way to check the coil to make sure you're getting power at both wires. Only one coil right?. 66Sprint is a user on Hondatwins and he would know what to tell you.

To start with Jakec, I am for sure that the throttle slide is in correctly as if I had it in backwards it would rev to redline! I've actually never ran the bike with choke on as it is too restrictive and will quit with it all the way closed. I've never had the need to in the past so its always wide open. I can confirm that they are both set to standard needle settings and that both have a spring that has the same length (so one isn't more compressed than the other).

When starting the bike up both pipes get hot pretty fast so it could be that it is firing intermittently. You are correct that it is the wasted spark principle and I have one set of points and one coil bunch.

[Maxaye]

Black means rich, and probably fouled, and if you swapped a fouled plug into the good cylinder, and whatever caused it to get fouled in the "bad" cylinder still exists, then yes, probably both plugs are now fouled. I wouldn't worry about trimming the leads; carbon fouling is caused by too much fuel/too little air. You mentioned a change after removing air filter element(s). Plugged paper elements car indeed cause running issues. Start by either replacing both plugs, or burning the black off with a propane torch, and checking the plugs again after running the bike. I would also leave the element out for now.

I'll have a go at cleaning the plugs again. I tried running both cylinders on old clean plugs and same effect. Nevertheless I will clean them with propane.

I did have a MASSIVE improvement initially when I removed both of the air filters. I don't have anything in the meantime to cover the carb holes while I'm using it so I just put them back on for tomorrow.

My right cylinder was the one with the black plugs initially and my left cylinder was bone white on the plug ends. Polar opposites on cylinders?!

[jakec]

Right ok, but don’t skip the other parts of my message. I’ve worked on a lot of 175’s which is essentially the same bike (just not as cool looking). I have even seen my friend who is in his 40s and way more experienced than me get stumped on a 175 carb issue just like yours. They are tricky sometimes.

The only reason I can think of for the bike running better with air filters off is if one is punctured or very dirty creating different air flow. Like I was saying before I would bet money you are at the very least starving one cylinder or dumping it with too much gas.

Try popping the bowls off (Petcock off first) and see if they have the same amount of fuel. I bet one is almost empty.

[Scott S]

 And adjust the valves before you do anything else.

 CB200 air filters can be hard to find or expensive. If yours are dirty, there are tutorials where people have rebuilt them with foam.

[Maxaye]

@Jakec I totally understand what you mean, I was replying at 1 am last night so I apologize for skipping things . I do think that one of the cylinders is either getting too much gas or not enough. Just not sure since the thing isn't see through. Like I said, both of the pipes get pretty hot fast and the lag is periodical, sometimes it'll respond like that and other times it'll take a second.

My air filters I've rebuilt myself, it was the first thing I did when I got the bike. The rubber from the filter to the carb was really cracked and so I cut that off and replaced it with thick automotive line, I'll show pictures. It doesn't look to dirty and I've just recently cleaned it. It never caused me an issue in the past so why now?

When I was cleaning the tank and petcock out last Saturday there was a lot of sediment in the bowl at the petcock and I cleaned it all out. I'll take pictures this afternoon and show how they look now. When I pop the bowls off they both seem to have around the same volume of gas, I have the float height set to 21mm like the manual requests.

[Maxaye]

@Scott S, exactly why I tried to rebuilt them intially  . I had used automotive line to replace the old rubber and attached it with automotive grade silicon and some waterproof rubber tape. I think they're clean as they can get but I'll show everyone this afternoon.

I'll check valves today, didn't get to it yesterday before it got dark out.

[Maxaye]

https://imgur.com/a/42a5UEG <-- This is the link to the images of my bike this morning (10/22/19). The spark plugs are titled right and left sides, right side was wet and left side was dry. The image of the air filter is of the right side but left side is identical. There is some black gunk at the bottom of both filters from kicked back gas maybe? Both smell very potent of gasoline but are dry. Pulled it out this morning and the engine was cold. Put the gas to reserve just in case and it started right up second kick. It idled around 2k rpm dropping to 1700 a few times but it never quit and I only had a little lag in the throttle. Happy with the results of this morning and look forward to getting back to top notch.

[Maxaye]

Get out of class in a few hours and am planning to do the following when I get home: redo cam-chain adjustment, recheck ignition timing, (when the bike cools down enough) tappet clearances, and make sure points gap is correct. I'll also plan putting the battery on the charger and to clean spark plugs with open flame (can I use my stove top or does it have to be propane? I have a camp stove with propane/butane and can use that if necessary as well). I'll check plug gap once clean (enough as I can get them). I'll start the bike and see where its at after all that, hopefully either better or the same and I didn't screw something up messing with so many variables.

[scottly]

Both of your spark plugs are fouled; The dry one is still able to generate a spark, and the wet one is probably not sparking at all. If you don't have a propane torch, just suck it up and buy two new plugs.
Remove the filters!! The filter modification mentioned is to remove the pleated paper part of the element, and replace it with foam. The paper tends to get plugged up, and doesn't flow air well, even after blowing out with compressed air. My first Honda, a 1966 C200 90, started fouling plugs, and this continued even after spending a lot of money a the local Honda shop to have the top end rebuilt. I only figured out that the problem was a plugged up paper filter after I took it for a test ride without the rubber boot attached: the bike ran great!! Whoo hooo!! The tenth time of taking the carb apart finally fixed it!! I replaced the rubber that connected the filter to the carb, strapped on my helmet, and started out for the first spirited ride in months, only to have the motor start sputtering before I had gone a block...    

[754]

 MAX, FROM REPLY 14, I SHOULD tell you what it makes me think,
 Valve and cam chain adjustments, are a seldom done  thing , I mean once or twice a year. Not going to change in an hour or two of running.
 What it also tells me, is you are not gaining an understanding of what area needs attention,  rather you are grasping at straws and guessing. Which means you are wasting energy and time 're checking things that could not be the problem.
 Your plug cleaning, I have maybe used heat once in 40 years of working on Hondas. Blast them to clean or scrape or file Ior sand them..  Sandpaper or emery cloth works, but be careful as it can get grit in your motor, if you don't clean  it off after use.
 If you are low on compression, you can't fix it from the outside. So I would be trying to check the compression.  A LEAK DOWN TEST is even better
 Oil consumption ? Is it smoking ? pipe oily ? That can contribute to fouling.
 Just a few thoughts..
Your idle screws, don't run them 4 or more turns out,  they could fall out, and you are way past normal adjustment
 

[seanbarney41]

I just skimmed this thread, and don't know much about cb200, and am assuming cb200 has cv diaphragm carbs.  Have these diaphragm been carefully inspected?

[jakec]

they are round top carbs like the early 750 carbs.

Also I share the same sentiment with 754. I think because you have already touched the carbs and don't want to go back, you're looking for other solutions in the wrong places.

[754]

Not only that it seems to be one cylinder, if that's the case, stop touching ANYTHING on the good cylinder..

[Maxaye]

Sorry for the delay in response I've been busy the last two days and just got back to doing stuff today.

@scottly, I cleaned the plugs with sandpaper and steel wool and it made a world of difference in look. https://imgur.com/a/Kl21eNT <-- this is them before and after. I don't want to destroy these original filters as they aren't in that bad of condition so I'm looking into pods. I have found some more info that I will get to later in this post.

@754, you are correct as I am fairly desperate to get it running good again. I did the plug cleaning and the imgur link is too how good I got them. About compression I'm not sure if it is or not (it may be low just because how it's running!) I believe someone was right when they said it was just intermediately firing as when I put the plugs back in, I ran it for around 5 minutes and then felt both pipes and the left was HOT and the right cylinder was warm. I could put my hand on it whereas the left one I could burn myself on. On the topic of oil, my oil level hasn't changed since I changed the oil 3 months ago. There is no smoke coming out of either pipe even when full throttling. The pipes are black and sooty on the inside but they've always been that way. Not wet or oily. Still screwing with carbs and I found some info on why it might be doing what's it's doing. Also it's not just the right cylinder even though that one is the most prominent. The left cylinder is having issues as well. When I put the bike on the side stand it just quits and it didn't used to do that, the idle would just rise.

I did the carb adjustment to the left side and grounded the right side so it was only running on the left side and it would idle and get to 1200 rpm just like it should (idle not riding, still having issues there). But when I went to do the right side, just like always, it didn't want to stay on no matter what. So I tried talking the filter off on that one side and seeing if that changed anything. While screwing around I noticed that when I put my hand over the carb air filter hole the bike would drop to 1200 rpm idle and then the carb would start to spit gas up, back onto my hand. I have a video of it and if someone knows where I can post it before I figure out then please let me know. I don't think this is supposed to happen and might explain problems with airflow and such. I know the issue is too much gas in that one cylinder but I have nothing to change it. Taking the filter off just on the right side had brought the idle to 2200 rpm running on both cylinders and I believe that's because now all the gas that's flowing is getting a lot more air,  this bigger boom for that cylinder. However, gas screw doesn't change much.

For the time being I have that one jet pin on the leanest setting and the left side on standard still (might change to richer if it'll help) I'm having some bogging issues when riding like it'll sputter while going 40 but won't quit (had super bad bogging issues when starting off from stopped but redid ignition timing and it improved). I have it right now at around 2000 rpm and it rides good enough for going a few miles a day. This isn't a long term solution though and there are still issues!

I appreciate everyone helping in the comments. I ask that you continue to help me out and that together we can get my bike in tip top shape!

[jgger]

If it started to run different on the side stand, plus given the playing with the carbs, I would suggest doing a clear tube test on the carbs. I think that if the floats are too high or if the needles are leaking it could cause your issues.

Have you been getting any fuel leaking out of the overflow outlets?

[jakec]

I ran it for around 5 minutes and then felt both pipes and the left was HOT and the right cylinder was warm. I could put my hand on it whereas the left one I could burn myself on.

When I put the bike on the side stand it just quits and it didn't used to do that, the idle would just rise.

You should always work on the bike on the center stand. otherwise more gas is going to go to the left carb. You need the bike to be level to diagnose this problem.

when I put my hand over the carb air filter hole the bike would drop to 1200 rpm idle and then the carb would start to spit gas up, back onto my hand.

You're just mimicking how the choke works using your hand. not really any point to doing this unless you want to ride with your hand over the intakes.

[jakec]

You need to try everything listed in my initial post - this is from experience working on these carbs. If you haven't tried this stuff yet you're wasting your time!

Since you can get the carbs off that bike in like 15  minutes, check the slides and make sure they are on right. Make sure the carbs' round tops are screwed on nicely and not cross threading. Make sure you aren't missing a slide spring. Redo the sync (pretty easy to get good enough to make it run/idle just by listening to slides closing. done it many times on CL175).

Then get a pretty full tank of gas and make sure your fuel line routing is not too twisty. If you have inline filters take them off so you know you have fuel flow. Start the bike up and then touch the pipes to see if they're hot. I bet one side (probably right side, in my experience ) will be firing intermittently. You already confirmed this, so you definitely need to check the above and below items.

Then you can check the plug wires like another person said.

Also, reset all the screws to their position from the manual. You want the air screws to be at the manual setting to start.

finally, like someone else said you need to make sure your floats A. float (the brass ones can leak and become useless) and B. they are set at the right height.

[Maxaye]

@jgger, I made sure the floats were set to manual spec (21mm) when I cleaned the carbs. I can redo the height I suppose and take photos. You mentioned fuel leaking out of the overflow tubes. When I initially put the carbs back together the left carburetor had began leaking gas from the overflow tube when the gas was on. However, I just took the bottom of the bowl off and put it back on and ever since I haven't had any leaking issues. I hope this answers your question well.

@Jakec, I think you misunderstood what I said. I do all the work on the center stand but after riding the bike, I put it on the side stand to open my gate and it would quit. This is after doing the work. While doing any work on the bike I always have it on the center stand . About putting my hand over the intake, my point was to show there is too much gas getting to the right cylinder. With the air filter off, the rpms rise because of the excess gas now getting an even amount of air. When I mimic my air filter being put back on (putting my hand over the carburetor) the rpms drop and gas just keeps flowing and shooting back into my hand (the filter), effectively overflowing the cylinder with gas and causing it to bog. By the way, all the work I have done so far has been with the chokes fully open. Just to make it clear. I have a video I had taken but it won't let me upload it to imgur. Might try to make a unlisted youtube video.

@Jakec, I will go ahead and try everything listed in your initial post. I will take photos and update you with my findings. I will reset the screws to their suggested position again. Lastly, with the floats, I tested if they work or not by leaving them in a bowl of gas for like an hour and neither of them sank or were anymore heavy then starting weight was. Like I said, the height in the manual states 21mm height from the inside edge of the carb (where the gasket sits, measured with gasket off) to the top of the float (resting on the float pin). I had adjusted the height of both floats to 21mm and checked on both sides to be thorough. I will recheck and get back to you.

[jakec]

Hey max, sounds good. Sounds like you are doing good. Have you tried A. full gas tank and B. direct (no filter), new fuel lines that are plenty long to ensure fuel flow? I struggled with fuel flow on my first CL175 for weeks.

You could get a petcock rebuild kit and flush your tank as well to ensure you're getting good flow to both carbs.

Also, make sure you're using OEM brass parts in the carbs. Not the crappy stuff you get in a rebuild kit from 4into1.

[Scott S]

 And you are 100% sure the slides aren't in backwards? I had a CL175 that was like this. I got it cheap because the guy couldn't get it to run right. I struggled with similar sounding issues and discovered that he had accidentally swapped the slides and installed them backwards.

[HondaMan]

And you are 100% sure the slides aren't in backwards? I had a CL175 that was like this. I got it cheap because the guy couldn't get it to run right. I struggled with similar sounding issues and discovered that he had accidentally swapped the slides and installed them backwards.

...and I won't even mention how many times I have seen this, even in the SuperHawk, the CB750K0, the CB160/175/200...

#1, #2, and #3: go get new sparkplugs. Then pull out the slides and make sure they have the high cutaway side pointed back toward the air filters. Then set the air screws where they below, about 1 to 1.5 turns out. Remove the paper air filters for now. These are the first 3 things I would do if it were in my garage...these engines tend to be self-healing in the compression, if they are tuned to load the cylinders equally. This takes about 500-1000 miles, but works unless there is a broken ring or scratched bore, or bad valve (VERY rare). The CB160/175/200 engine is one that can literally be run at redline all day long in 4th or 5th gear and it won't even break a sweat.

[Joewago]

Make sure the floats, float... Lol

Glad you're here on this forum man, the folks here are super knowledgeable and real helpful. Your plugs were *reeaally* black. I've never seen them get that dirty up on the threads... It sounds like it's stupid rich. I hate to beat a dead horse but yeah you oughtta take a look at those slides again. And go out and buy a handful of sparkplugs, not only to replace those but for the just in case.

I would also like to add: did you rebuild that carb with new jets or are the original ones still in there? Could the ones on the right have been cleaned with a needle brush or something and been damaged?

I'm intrigued with it dying when you tilt it, by the way. Next time you run it, sit on it and lean it hard left and right and see what happens, I'm curious. I have a 650 and not a lot of carb experience, I'm sorry I can't offer much but I like learning from reading these threads.

Oh, and do you other 200 owners ever replace the paper filter with a different media altogether? I think y'all mentioned it. Don't do pods by the way. Are the 200 filters like, a flat sheet of pleated paper? Anyone ever butcher a modern air filter and shape the media for this application? Might be nice. Foam or something, idk.

[Joewago]

Did you fix it??? I'm on pins and needles!

[Maxaye]

Hello everyone, I forgot about this thread until now.

Did you fix it??? I'm on pins and needles!

To answer your questions in one sentence, it's running like it should and I am happy with this little thing! Read the updated original post for the reason why it was running so bad! There are some quirks I would like to know more about them if anyone has the answer.

I have noticed that my gas mileage has gone down even more. Before all the issues (back in June/July) I was getting around 60 miles to a normal tank of gas before turning it onto the reserve. Now, I get about 50-55 miles. Not the worst. I know my speedometer/tachometer need new cables as they are worn, have holes, and are all mechanical so it could just be a reading error (also I have thicker/wider dual sport tires than the originals so for every mile I actually go the bike thinks I've gone less; if my math is right). I also believe I may have a "High Reserve" petcock but I wouldn't know. The main pipe is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches above the reserve so if that helps at all.

A few months after I originally got the bike it's leaked a little oil or gas out of the engine breather tube. I did research and I can't find a way to fix it or stop it without an engine rebuild and it never seemed to be super detrimental to the bike and so I left it alone and let it mark is spot; I've never been low on oil from this and so I just chucked it up to be a "45 year old motorcycle" thing. The reason I say all this is because recently its been a different color sometimes having a bit of greyish-yellow substance in the puddle (picture: https://imgur.com/a/0r591aO). I don't know what this is. Is it gas? Oil? Just random goo from inside the tube? Is it bad that it looks this way? Also is it okay if it smells like burnt gasoline? I know my oil is good cause I just gave it an oil change not 50 miles ago. Also, the oil didn't have any bits of metal or anything when I changed it so I don't think my engine is falling apart. It looked like a normal used oil color too so I don't think it had a bunch of gas in it (could be wrong). If anyone knows what this is and if it's bad or not please let me know.

If anyone has any questions please let me know and I will do my best to get back to them timely!

-Max

Image of whatever is coming out of engine breather tube ---> https://imgur.com/a/0r591aO