hey all. I have a friend with a 99 WG with 6K miles on it. It's got V&H long shots, he says the carb was jetted by the dealer, and he still has the stock airbox and filter. He bought the bike new, then started having kids and hasn't had much time to ride it. He hasn't ridden it since last summer and he tells me on his last ride the carb was farting alot.

We started it up the other day and it fires right up with the enrichner pulled out, but it immediately dies when you close the enrichner. I tried to keep it running with the throttle but it just stumbles and dies. We didn't have anything to spray to check for air leaks, but that's how it sounds to me. My EVO did the same thing and I had to replace the carb to manifold gasket.

Long story short, I was looking for ideas. I pulled the plugs and they are a little sooty. I am going to help him this week yank the carb and pull it apart to clean it and check the diaphram and the jets. I'll check for air leaks at the carb/manifold and the manifold/cylinders before I take the carb off. I forgot to check the exhaust to see if that was loose so I'll do that too.

This is where I'd start with my EVO. I assume it's the same for a TC but I've never worked on one so I thought I'd toss this out there. Am I missing anything?

His kids are older so if I can get his bike running well again He'll have no excuse not to get his *** out there and ride with me.

Thanks

C-

 

Sounds like you have it pretty well covered. Are we talking a stock CV carb here?

Running the SE intake and V&H Longshots, I run 50 & 195 jets in my CV carb. I think that may be on the rich side, but it runs great.

I imagine some tweaking and cleaning will get him back on the road, no problem.

 

Sounds like a clogged pilot jet/idle circuit. The enrichener bypasses and adds extra fuel to the idle circuit. When parking the bike, as preventative maintenance it would be a good idea to turn off the fuel petcock with the engine running and let it run for a few minutes or even let it shut off on it's own...if the bike will sit for an extended period. If there is no fuel in the float bowl, the float and valve is hanging down and not jammed up against the seat reducing the chance of float valve problems. Also if there is no fuel in the carb there will be no fuel to turn to varnish and clog the tiny passages in the idle circuit/pilot jet. Putting stabil in the tank would be a good idea before doing this for longer periods of no use. He may have to remove the carburetor, take the float bowl off and remove the pilot jet and carefully clean it out with carb cleaner and compressed air. I would also look at all the jets/passages and clean them while inside the carb. The above procedure will prevent a clogged carb every time. I wonder why he didn't go with a high flow air cleaner assembly with the pipes....before the rejet!? He has opened up the exhaust for more flow and still has a restrictive intake. He's not getting the full benefit from the exhaust.

Tech23

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Yeah Tech23, I asked him why he or the dealer hadn't put in a high flow air cleaner. He put his faith in the mechanic at the dealer that set up his bike for him 11 years ago. He doesn't know what his jet sizes are but he is sure the carb was rejetted when they put his pipes on. I don't think he has the extra cash to buy a high flow assembly right now, but I know he is going to cut some more openings into the stock back plate to try and let it breath better.

C-

 

Well if he has to remove the carb and open it up to clean the pilot circuit, that will be a good opportunity to see what jets are currently in it. I would record this information. A magnifying glass may be helpful to read the tiny stamping on the jets. Make sure he opens up the air box on the outside of the air filter. He may need that information after opening up the airbox if it displays a lean symptom.

Tech23