Topic: 78' 550K blowing white smoke, yet plugs look normal?

[rsvp9146]

Update:

 took off the carbs and checked no. 2. The idle jet had clogged up again. I cleaned it out with a guitar string and put the carbs back on.

 She fired right up with no choke. Ran a LOT better. I let it sit at idle for a good 10 minutes. Almost none of the smoke from yesterday. No. 4 still has a slight puff on acceleration. But it seems to rev real easy and just seems happy. It does have an oil leak somewhere as it's now dripping off the starter cover. I think one of the tappet covers may have a bad seal.

[TwoTired]

I would stick with 10/40 oil for now.  Change it at 500 miles, or earlier if the oil starts looking muddy.

If you let it sit and idle in place, be sure to put a big fan in front blowing on it.  It's an air cooled motor, remember.  Too much heat and the valve seals will cook and harden.

Cheers,

[ieism]

So we're getting there eh? Told you it was the no. 2 carb. 

Do you have a pic of the oilleak?

Now might be a good time to clean the fueltank and -filter (if there is one) to prevent any more jets getting clogged.

The tappetcovers seal with a rubber o-ring. These usually last a long time, but you can buy new ones easily if you're sure it's the ring. Sometimes it's not the ring, but the aluminum cover that leaks. I've had two on my 550 that leaked because someone tightened them too much and they cracked. You should be able to see the crack if you look closely.
Now if the oilleak is not too bad (a few drips ain't too bad if you keep an eye on the oillevel) take it for a nice long ride. Honda's are selfhealing, but you do need to ride them.

[rsvp9146]

Well, it seems as though only no. 4 cyl smokes a tiny bit on acceleration.

 However the bike bogs down when you try to speed up. I nearly have to hold the bike at 5K to release the clutch and speed off.

 I think it might be running a bit too rich, but I'll know more once I get home, fire it up and pull the plugs.

[ieism]

Remove the top of the airbox and the airfilter, and run it without. Does that make it better or worse?

[rsvp9146]

I havent put the airbox on to begin with. I wasnt going to install it if I had to pull the carbs again to change adjustment.

[ieism]

So you're running the bike without any filters or box attached to the carbs?  That will more likely lean out the mixture. Don't ride it too long like this, it will be too lean and can overheat.
If you apply partial choke, does the bogging go away?

The box and filter restrict the airflow into the carbs a bit, without it too much air is in the mixture. Opening the choke a little adds some fuel, hopefully making for a better air/fuel mix.

There's not much point pulling plugs and adjusting carbs without any airfilters.