It started!

[pstelter]

Finally got the re-assembled carbs installed into the bike...I wish I could say that they went in without a hitch, but that would be a lie. Fortunately, God was watching out for me tonight. After removing the assembly yet again, I noticed the assembly wasn't quite right.

The choke cable is not working properly, though. It engages, but does not want to disengage. Is there a way to adjust it? I did not do anything to the cable when the carbs were out and I know that the lever arms work smooth. Any suggestions?

I'm hoping that the balancing will go smoother tomorrow. Thanks for all who offered their advice.

- Pete

[bs175dths]

Congratulations!
Good Job!

How did the choke cable work before the rebuild?
You may just have the cable routed with a sharp turn somewhere. Disconnect the cable at the handlebars and try rerouting it.
There is a choke on each carburetor and any one of them may be encountering some obstruction not allowing them to close.
There is also a possibility one of them has some corrosion on the piston which is not allowing all of them to close.
Another test to do for the carburetors is to let the engine get to normal operating temperature (idling without the choke). Turn the handlebars from lock to lock and see if the idle changes. If it does, the throttle cable route needs to be looked at and addressed.
The 'pull' throttle cable has an adjustment as well as the idle speed at the carburetors.
These may need to be adjusted after the carburetors are synchronized.

Good Luck with the sync and again, congratulation on the rebuild!

(btw, the choke is actually an enriching circuit. It opens up to ADD fuel whereas a choke reduces the amount of air. Two ways of achieving the same results.)

[pstelter]

I can't catch a break on this overhaul...after warming the engine up, got the synch tool hooked up. I was dialing in the dampers and noticed that the top of the #4 damper valve had fallen off...off to the auto parts store to find a replacement.

As far as the choke is concerned, I used to feel tension in the lever immediately after engaging it. Now, it seems it moves about 1 1/4" before it engages. What does that mean?

- Pete

[bs175dths]

The cable has no adjustments to take up any slack.
It does have a clamp and a clamp screw which keeps the cable casing from moving when the choke is engaged.
There is a chance that the screw is not holding the casing when you engage the choke and allowing the casing to move before allowing the inner cable to engage the chokes at the carburetors.
The cable end goes to a lever which is attached to rods which attach to levers with two fingers which actually engage the individual chokes. Any bent rods or slop in levers will translate into a poor operating choke. Also, all these contact points can have resistance contributing to poor operations. Give them a bit of appropriate lubricant.

The bad is...... all of this is under the carburetor assembly.

Before removing the carburetor assemble to inspect the operation of the choke, look at each choke on each carburetor and see if they are still properly engaged with the lever with two fingers. They probably are but this can be marked off the mental list.
While looking at the individual chokes, operate the choke lever and see if they are all moving or engaging at the same time.
Maybe a choke piston is sticking. With the chokes open, add a dab of WD-40 or the like to each piston. Maybe this will help.

If you do remove the carburetors, operate and be satisfied with the operation of the choke before reinstalling.

-Ride On

btw - it sure did sound good that first time you fired it up.... didn't it?

[pstelter]

Sorry for the late post...

My trick for the choke was to ignore it (for now)...turns out I can manually adjust the enrichment circuit on #3 when I am stopped. (Yet another reason to wear gloves while riding). After losing the entire month of June, and, more importantly, having overdrawn my goodwill account at the Bank of Wife, I decided to live with it for the summer. Maybe not the best answer, but I was able to ride for the rest of the year!

And, yes, it did sound good when I fired it up!

[bs175dths]

hey, we all 'need' to ride.
Before addressing the issue of 'slow spinning starter when the engine is hot' my work-around was to open the throttle all the way, THEN hit the starter button.
She would spin fast and fire up!
That got old so I invested in the local branch of the Bank of Loving Wife, made some time for the bike and found my starter was lacking pliable grease in its gears. The grease was so old, it was more like dried Play-Doe. Brushes were still very long and the dust was very minimal.

Just be aware:
'just getting it to work' is not only a temporary gig, but it can be a hazard as well.

Make some investments in the 'bank' and then in the bike.

MAKE IT RIGHT IN BOTH PLACES.

-Ride On