Topic: 3 out of 4 aint bad...

[Chrisboden]

#1 Cyl appears to not be firing. When I start the bike the exhaust pipes are all *ouch*...um...damn hot in a couple minutes, but #1 is still cold.

Obviously the bike runs rougher then a cobb too.


Help?

[MetalHead550]

You know the old "take the spark plug out, re-attach the wire and hold it to the engine case, crank it over and watch for spark" thing right?  If not do that.  If youve got spark then move on to fuel.  Running super rich in that cylinder (ie. float is stuck open allowing way to much fuel in) could be causing it to remain cool.  To check that of course, ride the bike around for awhile, take it through the gears and cruize at 60 or so for a bit then shut her down and pull the plug.  Compare it to this http://www.dansmc.com/Spark_Plugs/Spark_Plugs_catalog.html.  TooTired posted this a couple times.  Very usefull for understanding your engines condition. 

[TwoTired]

Gee, I wonder what bike you have?
Anyway, pull the plug on number 1 and look at it and smell it, see if it is wet with gas.

If wet, lay the connected plug onto the engine, crank the engine over with ignition on to see if the plug sparks at the electrodes.  If not, swap it with another plug to see if it sparks in either position.

If dry, and the plug exhibits sparking, then that cylinder's carb is suspect.  See if the bowl is filling with gas.

Is the tank internal and the fuel clean?

Let us know what you find and we can take you to the next step of the either ignition or carburation troubleshooting branch.

[Chrisboden]

lol, I've never HAD this bike up to 60....we'll do that once the front wheel is round

I have stock ignition, and in examining the plug wires they are manky. I'm guessing that replacement of the coils would be a good idea regardless, and shouldn't be too terribly hard (pull the tank, a couple bolts, tada). What is a good set of coils and where can I find them? I remember some recent discussion on Ohm ratings and suchlike. Eventually I'm going electronic ignition, but likely not this year so let's plan on keeping it with the stock ignition for the time being.

And I'll pull the plug once I can find out what bleeding size socket to buy in a deepwell to get it OUT. lol

Chris "Apprentice greasemonkey" Boden

[Chrisboden]

Is this something I can get at Lowe's or something? My local Honda dealer is an eliteist prick who looks down on anyone riding a bike more then 10 years old.

[eldar]

yeah get the plug socket from sears, I got a craftsman and I never have problems getting the plugs out. I use an 18mm.

[MetalHead550]

As for ignition check this out..http://www.dynaonline.com/english/index.htm  I think for coils its 5ohms for 500/550 and up to 3ohms for 750.  Later!

[Chrisboden]

yeah, but I want to keep the points for now and use a stock rated coil, even an OEM is ok as long as it's new.

[MetalHead550]

From what I understand you can use Dynatec coils with points and electronic ignition.  Just make sure they are the right resistance.  Then when you go electronic ignition, you already have the coils.

[Chrisboden]

Swapped out all 4 plugs, it works Though I think the problem is the plug wires, not the plugs and that my twiddleing the wires got them working for a time.

The plug wires are hosed, bad, and I'm looking at replacing the coils.

The plugs are black, wet, and sooty so I'm guessing the mixture is way rich, but it runs VERY well and starts easy so I'm not screwing with it right now since I know tits about twiddleing carbs and I hear that's a high art.

[TwoTired]

If the bike is running as rich as you describe, and you don't wish to address that issue now, then I strongly suggest that you carry spare plugs and your spark plug wrench with you for every ride.  The unburned fuel builds up on the insulator of the plug.  This is called carbon fouling and effectively shorts out the plug and prevents it from firing.  A new plug will get you going again in short order.

[phylo101]

Hold everything! Unscrew the four plug caps and clip a quarter or an inch off the end of each, NO more. Either refit the caps, or buy now NGK ones, fit and install. Old plug leads corrade BAD even under the tiny rubber boot on the end of the cap.

phylo