[skatetokil]

I got a motorcycle like this for free off craigslist:

and I've been screwing with it trying to get it running for the last couple months.

So I had the carbs off for the 10th time this afternoon trying to get them jetted right and finally, like a bolt of lightning from the collective unconscious of the ridemonekey, an insight occurred to me: these carbs need moar shimz.

I took a boxcutter and a drill to some plastic and 15 minutes later the bike was back together and running beautifully. Just needed those needles raised a bit. The maiden voyage was glorious.

 

[jonKranked]

I approve.

 

[sstalder5]

So I assume after trying it now, you added moar shimz and tried it now again?? Still looks flexy...

 

[Quo Fan]

Where is the wok?

 

[w00dy]

 

[TheTruth]

do a wheelie!

 

[sanjuro]

Is that a Harley? Can I ride it?

 

[Sonic Reducer]

on a cv type carb needle jets come into play in the midrange part to full throttle based on vacuum so its funny theyd help the bike start. the pilot jet is for starting/idling. generally to jet a cv first you dial in the main with full throttle pulls, then do some fine tuning with the needle jet height and air screws if you can access those on your carbs(some you have to drill the carb body to expose them or non adjustable).
have you tried to synch the carbs?
but you can't argue with moar shimz as a solution.

with that frame you should build the bike brat style

 

[DirtyMike]

Nice find... I love old projects like that, we did one two years ago 83 verago 920. Was a hell of a good time rebuilding and moding with my brothers.... Well I did most the rebuilding and electrical, My older brother did most the body work, my younger brother did alot of cleaning work.... But we all had something to do.

Started with this...

Ended with this

 

[skatetokil]

on a cv type carb needle jets come into play in the midrange part to full throttle based on vacuum so its funny theyd help the bike start. the pilot jet is for starting/idling. generally to jet a cv first you dial in the main with full throttle pulls, then do some fine tuning with the needle jet height and air screws if you can access those on your carbs(some you have to drill the carb body to expose them or non adjustable).
have you tried to synch the carbs?
but you can't argue with moar shimz as a solution.

with that frame you should build the bike brat style

Your theory is sound. I had already gotten it to run, just really badly. Crazy bog and flat till 4500 at which point it surged like crazy. The shimz evened things out and made it rideable. Pulls pretty good, but I still think I need a bigger main. It still kind of sounds lean if you know what I mean.

 

[Sonic Reducer]

Your theory is sound. I had already gotten it to run, just really badly. Crazy bog and flat till 4500 at which point it surged like crazy. The shimz evened things out and made it rideable. Pulls pretty good, but I still think I need a bigger main. It still kind of sounds lean if you know what I mean.

what leads you to believe the bike has the wrong jets in it besides how it runs? was it running previously, or came from high altitude? for a stock looking bike that has not been piped, and has been in that area since new i would not be so quick to rejet and would look for other possible causes for the lean running. unless you did something like hack the airbox in which case rejetting is a good possibility. youve cleaned the carbs very well correct? other things that can make for hard starting and lean are vacuum leaks especially at the carb boot. youll have to pull the carbs back off and flex the boots around, checking for cracks, and make sure they seal to the head. carb boots go bad by getting old and hard like any other piece of rubber that is exposed to a lot of heat and chemicals. other possible vacuum leaks could be from the crankcase breather setup, depending on how it is plumbed. i know **** all about that particular bike so i couldnt say for sure.

 

[skatetokil]

Also, thats a pretty nice looking rebuild. I don't think I'm going to put that much work into this thing as I'm just hoping to ride it this spring and then flip it for a dual sport. I do like tinkering though.

Check out this virago build. Totally insane:

 

[skatetokil]

what leads you to believe the bike has the wrong jets in it? youve cleaned the carbs very well correct?

Yeah, they're pretty clean. I know it's already jetted on the lean side stock and I put on pods in place of the filthy mouse infested airbox.

It wouldn't even get off idle with the stock 125 mains, and it currently has 135s in it. I'm waiting on the 140s to see if I can't get it perfecter, but for now it rides.

 

[Sonic Reducer]

Yeah, they're pretty clean. I know it's already jetted on the lean side stock and I put on pods in place of the filthy mouse infested airbox.

It wouldn't even get off idle with the stock 125 mains, and it currently has 135s in it. I'm waiting on the 140s to see if I can't get it perfecter, but for now it rides.

ah makes more sense now.
pods can often make a bike harder to get dialled in than an airbox. one thing to definitely watch out for(especially on cheapos) is that they have a little lip on the inside where the clamping surface is, and this can block the air ports on the mouth of the carb. possibly even affecting things like the ability of the slide to raise. pull the pods off and check the inside of the pod to see if its possible that this lip could be blocking anything on the carb.

 

[skatetokil]

Yes, I have heard many pod horror stories, but on the forum I found for the bike the people have had good results.