Carb help!

[teamhypoxia]

Japanese V-twin
sitting for 2-3 years
got her started, but ran like crap so I drained the tank and put some fresh gas in.
still runs like crap.
discovered by pulling the wires that it's only running on the number two cylinder at idle.
I can get it to start and run on only the number one cylinder, but only if I pull the choke fully out, or give it half throttle or better.
so I'm thinking it's got to be a carb issue.
Tried taking it out on the road and running through the gears WOT a few times to see if I could get it running right.
Same story...

I know just enough about carbs to be a danger to myself and others

If I understand things correctly, this is the way it works....
The pilot jet is responsible for providing the fuel/air mixture during idle.
The main jet is responsible for providing the fuel/air mixture with an open throttle.
The starter jet is opened by the choke and adds fuel to the mixture coming from the main bore to enrich the fuel/air ratio for cold starting.

So now I'm thinking there must be something wrong with the pilot jet in the carb for the number one cylinder (like a clogged jet?)

I also know that the carbs need to be synced, but I have no idea what symptoms are generated by out of sync carbs. So I don't know if that's an issue or not.

I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction with this. Am I on the right track? Should I try syncing the carbs before tearing into them?

Anybody want to buy a '96 Suzuki Intruder?

[Clarkie]

blocked pilot jets

[teamhypoxia]

blocked pilot jets

that was my thought...

still don't know about syncing though
what kind of symptoms will out-of-sync carbs exibit?

[usmcab35]

that was my thought...

still don't know about syncing though
what kind of symptoms will out-of-sync carbs exibit?

they kinda run out of sync..... sorry i dont have a clue either:dunno:.... good luck...:slap:

[irdave]

The power comes on smoother when they're synched. But that's not the main concern. As Aaron said, pilot jets.

[Jim_Vess]

You state you messed with the wiring and discovered it's only running on one cylinder.

What do you mean by this? Is it getting spark on both cylinders? If not, then the issue isn't carbs, but ignition. Probably coils or wires.

If you've got spark on both cylinders then it's a safe bet the carbs need to be cleaned. Since the bike sat so long the pilot jets are probably plugged.

The best thing to do is pull the carbs and give them a good cleaning. It's not as bad as it sounds. I just finished up the carbs on my Seca. It had two plugged pilot jets.

Out of synch carbs will cause the bike to idle rough, but it will still run.

There is probably an Intruder forum on the web somewhere that will have loads of info and folks that can help you get that bike running right.

[teamhypoxia]

By "messed with the wiring" I mean I pulled the spark plug wires. I pulled the number one wire at idle and nothing happens. Pulling the number two kills it. So, I brilliantly deduced that it was running on only the number two cylinder.

Both wires get spark. In fact, if your genius enough to pull them while it's running and handsome enough to get your finger near the end, you too become a spark plug and get shocked both at the wire, and at the grip where your other, rich hand, is resting.

I'm sure it's a clogged pilot jet, I was just curious about the syncing. I'll be tearing into it this weekend, removing the offending particle from the number one carb's pilot jet, and bragging about how clever I am. Just trying to anticipate a need for syncing (or not)

[Jim_Vess]

You'll probably need to sych them. If you don't have a synch tool, you can get them pretty close by bench synching them.

You may want to run some Sea Foam in a few tanks of gas to clean out anything else that might be waiting to clog something up.

[teamhypoxia]

Success!!!

Well mostly. Tore everything apart, pilot jet was indeed clogged (some kind of yellow/green residue), cleaned it up, put it all back together, and she runs like a champ! With the tiny exception of WOT. Stutters a bit at WOT. Could this be a carb sync symptom?

[Jim_Vess]

Success!!!

Well mostly. Tore everything apart, pilot jet was indeed clogged (some kind of yellow/green residue), cleaned it up, put it all back together, and she runs like a champ! With the tiny exception of WOT. Stutters a bit at WOT. Could this be a carb sync symptom?

It could be, but it's more than likely crap in a main jet. Dump half a can of Sea Foam in a full tank of gas and go for a long ride.

Sea Foam is great stuff and it could clean it up for you.

[JustSomeDude]

Success!!!

Well mostly. Tore everything apart, pilot jet was indeed clogged (some kind of yellow/green residue), cleaned it up, put it all back together, and she runs like a champ! With the tiny exception of WOT. Stutters a bit at WOT. Could this be a carb sync symptom?

Could also be bad A/F mixture. Was the bike originally setup at sea level, or Denver elevation? First things first... get the carb sync'd before worrying about any other problems. If the stutter continues after sync, then it's time to dive into the fun game of toying with needle heights, jet sizes, etc. to get your A/F setting correct.

I'd loan you my carb sync, but I sold it when I got an FI bike. :(

[teamhypoxia]

Thanks for everyone's replies and input. Got the bike running great and sold it Friday.

I love craigslist!