Topic: carb question

[WFO]

I got a 1982 CB 650 SC iam just slowly going over everthing so i know it's done well after adjusting the cam chain tension i noticed that the pilot screw limiters are all point different directions and not locked into position, the bike runs like a dream and i pulled the plugs looking for any abnormalities. The plugs all look great so heres the question if i don't intend to redo the carbs should i go ahead and adjust them per the manual or leave well enough alone? also do you have to buy all new pilot screws or do those limiter caps come off. Also how would mis adjusted pilot screws effect the performance.

[ja_blur]

I think if it starts good , idles good , drives good leave it alone

[WFO]

Iam bumping this cause i really would like more opinions on the pilot screw positions they are all different and i looks like the last person to mess with them filed off the stops so he could adjust them which would lead me to believe they are not adjusted correctly. The other reason i bumped this was to find out if i have to get new pilot screws or do these limiters come off? and you install new ones after you dial em in. This is my first multi carb bike i just want it dialed in if it isn't only thing i do notice is a little popping when i go through the gears when slowing down.

[WFO]

.

[754]

Have you ever threaded 2 of anything and had the thread start in the same spot??


Its working now.. do you really want to mess with it,

&

 Be the next one on this forum that start their thread with..

 It was running fine, but I decided to make it BETTER..
 And now it is doing ****, and wont ***, and sometimes it ***.
 I know it cant be the *** cuz I cleaned them 4 times already, so it CANT be that..

 etc.. etc.. etc..

 etc.. etc..

 & then the answer will be ..

 you TOUCHED it.. that is whats wrong...






So  go ride it and enjoy it...

[WFO]

Ok i hear what your saying and i completely understand but let me re explain my concern, when one adjusts the pilots and dials em in they glue limiters on the screw head to keep them from turning counterclockwise so they all should be point in one general direction IMO. On my bike that stop on each carb are all pointing in completely different directions sure they might be adjusted right (but i don't know that) for sure since general logic is being questioned based on the directions of the limiters. Plus the stops are no longer doing their job since they have been filed off so the pilots are free to move at will i would hate for that alone to give me trouble down the road.

[eurban]

Why would you want to replace your pilot screws?  The stops (on the bowls I think?) are already filed off right? If they aren't, do so. So now you can easily turn the screws (the limiter caps are like handles)for adjustment. The limiters are there to keep the EPA happy not to keep the screws from "moving at will".  There is a spring on the screw assembly that keeps them from moving around.  It is much easier adjusting the screws with the limiter heads than using a mini screw driver on the bare screw!  You can pick a screw and screw it all the way in, counting the number of turns to seating.  And then compare the others to it.  Do the limiters all point in the same direction when you have the screws fully seated?  GET YOURSELF A MANUAL and read about the procedure for adjusting the idle mix screws after a complete carb overhaul.  Ignore the parts about needing to reinstall the limiters after you are done.  Typically you start with the factory recommended baseline setting and then adjust for maximum idle speed at a given throttle setting.  The settings might end up slightly different on each carb but they should not be much different.  If they are, you probably have function issues with the carbs, ignition or engine mechanicals.  Do a valve adjustment, and bench synch of the throttle plates before you mess with the mix screws . . . . If your bike is functioning well now then I can't see much point in worrying about the direction the screw caps are pointing now.  If you want to learn the processes of tuning your bike now, then cleaning and adjusting the carbs, with a manual in hand and advice from this forum at your fingertips, will be a useful experience as you will eventually have to do it.  If you simply want to ride for now, then stop worrying and go out and ride.  Your screws should stay put fine!

[Johnie]

Have you ever threaded 2 of anything and had the thread start in the same spot??


Its working now.. do you really want to mess with it,

&

 Be the next one on this forum that start their thread with..

 It was running fine, but I decided to make it BETTER..
 And now it is doing ****, and wont ***, and sometimes it ***.
 I know it cant be the *** cuz I cleaned them 4 times already, so it CANT be that..

 etc.. etc.. etc..

 etc.. etc..

 & then the answer will be ..

 you TOUCHED it.. that is whats wrong...






So  go ride it and enjoy it...

Dang it 754...you know that was real well written and just makes a ton of sense.  Sometimes we just get to anal about these bikes and that can take away from the fun of ridin' em.  Don't get me wrong, I get anal about these restorations and sometimes it takes me longer to get stuff done because I am so picky.  I agree...if it runs and rides nice...ride and enjoy. 

[greasespot]

WFO: None of this is meant in offense. NONE OF IT. If you accept this, then read on.

For your own good, I’m going to use your own words against you. First you said:

“... the bike runs like a dream and i pulled the plugs looking for any abnormalities. The plugs all look great …”

Then you said:

“… I am bumping this cause i really would like more opinions on the pilot screw positions they are all different and it looks like the last person to mess with them filed off the stops so he could adjust them which would lead me to believe they are not adjusted correctly … “

You are lead to believe from their APPEARANCE that they are not adjusted correctly, yet the bike (the most important witness) gives you the very real testimony that it, to quote you, “…runs like a dream …”

Then you said:

“Ok i hear what your saying and i completely understand but let me re explain my concern, when one adjusts the pilots and dials em in they glue limiters on the screw head to keep them from turning counterclockwise so they all should be point in one general direction IMO …”

There are three possible smart actions on your part:

1) Re-adjust them so the bike runs like a dream. Oh! Wait! It already does! Then maybe you should leave them alone.

2) Leave them alone. This, the fact that they are all pointed different directions even though the bike runs perfectly, will drive you nuts. (Did you ever consider that the manufacturing tolerances and idiosyncrasies of an assemblage of hundreds of parts – not just in the carbs, but in the whole engine – require these slight variances in adjustment, meaning they are adjusted properly, just not identically?) So …

3) From my past experience. (This will be a little vague because it was 30 years ago and I was never an audiophile.) My father was an engineer. A couple of knobs on different pieces of his new stereo didn’t align even though the performance and meters said they should. It was making him, an engineer, NUTS. So I told him to go make some coffee for us while I looked at the internals of the units. When he came back with the coffee, the knobs were aligned. He asked how I did it, I said, “I’m not completely sure, but I started turning screws inside the back and the readings changed and I think I got them right….”

You guessed it. I took the knob off and loosened the nut holding whatever it was inside, rotated the threaded stem 10 degrees, retightened the nut and put the knob – now perfectly aligned with its mate – back on. He was happy with that stereo for decades.

So, go buy four more limiter caps and glue them on so they are aligned.

Listen to your bike. It speaks the truth …

[WFO]

greasespot: I never took any offense i guess i wasn't asking the right question an just so ya know my old man was an electrical engineer at martin maritetta so i guess i get it from him 

And eurban i never said i was going to replace the pilots i just wanted to know if the limiter that are on the pilot screw (come off) after being glued which they are now i see what you mean know and that was what i was trying to get an answer for (thank you) i was thinking one had to install new limiters when you ever adjusted your pilots, that is a factory item (that i did not know) so iam learning and that's why iam here. And i do have the manual

[greasespot]

WFO:

No kidding?!? I was going to ask if you were an engineer or teh child of one, but that might have been offensive as a first comment.

Yes, you get it from him, just like I got it from my dad. Fortunately, lots of therapy and screwing up stuff a lot because of those inherited idiosychracies have broken me of most of those habits ...