Bike not running right need carb cleaning help

[radley]

Read the thread..not sure if thats it.

Here is what I did this weekend.

1) Shotgun cleaning procedure found here vmax.lvlhead.com/tips/shotgun.htm
****I noticed that when I drained the carb bowls of fuel, the left side had gas come out. The right side front had ZERO gas come out. The right side back had very minimal gas out. Cleaning procedure as described did not change perfformance of bike. I dont think i fixed anything other than clear up any potential or very minimal crap in that part of carbs.

2) Crimp solder fix found here vmaxoutlaw.com/tech/crimp.htm
***performed fix as described and did a good solder on it.

3) I uploaded a video on Youtube demonstrating how the Maxx will run a healthy idle (choke is engaged...bike wont last long with No Choke).
In this video, choke is engaged, and throttle is engaged (bike bogs down,. almost dies every time...)

Here is video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpGjxLsKBFo

Do you guys have any serious suggestions? Pulse pick up coil?> I am not familiar with that....wouild need more info on symptoms if that is bad. Is needle and floats (roommate telling me) gummed up and stuck?
*******do i need to remove carbs completely, disassemble, clean, reassemble, reinstall?

Additional issue...battery will not hold charge.. had trickle charger on all night. No improvement. would expect juicier battery but not the case. you can hear how weak it is in video as well. have had bike run for a while.. has great gas in it...airplane fuel so that is not the case. tank looks alright. I also replaced fuel filter so that is not the issue. helped a little bit but issue in video remains! Help please all you VMAX gurus out there...

Also, how DO I DETERMINE LEVEL OF FUEL IN CARB BOWLS UPON REINSTALL?

IN ADDITION 2nd GEAR IS SHOT ON MY BIKE>>>ADVICE????

thanks

-BOO

 

[The Beekeeper]

First off, sounds like a fuel problem to me, could be clogged fuel filter or weak pump, but you may need to go into the carbs..........2nd, what is your charging voltage?...What are you reading at the battery at 3000 RPM?..........You should be reading at least 13.5V..........And 3rd, aviation fuel is not what you want in your Max's tank!!!.......in stock form it is very happy with junk 87 pump gas....................Tom.

 

[KansasBugkiller]

Well second gear need a tear down to get to the trans if you are going to do that then do you want to keep the motor that is in it or do you want a motor with low miles and a good trans.
If not rebuild the one you have. How long has the bike been sitting that will say a lot on how bad the carbs are.
The most taken off and gone through . Not dead but do able. Good luck

 

[Fire-medic]

If two cyl's have no gas exit the drain tubes, you definitely have to go into them to see wassup wit' dat? There are carb disassembly stickies in the appropriate section on here. Look at them a few times, take note & pics when you start your disassembly and do it in some-sort of tray to keep errant parts from disappearing forever.

You will also find info about the fuel level using a clear tube from the float bowl up past the side of each carb in-turn to set/check the float and fuel level.

Buy Damon's cd's of tearing-down & rebuilding a VMax engine. As-to the second gear issue, read lots first, then try to tie-up w/someone on here who is experienced or consider shipping your engine to one of the guys on-here who can fix it for you. Depending on the shipping costs and what you have done, i.e., parts-replaced while it's apart, and preventative work to make the transmission work better, as-in an undercut transmission, you are probably looking at $2K to send it out/get it back w/an undercut tranny, replaced worn gears, shift drum, shift forks, gaskets, & labor. Maybe more, depending on what you choose to have done & who does it. Or, you can try it yourself, after studying the cd, and asking questions. Of course, a machine shop does the undercutting, not something you do at home, unless you have a Bridgeport in the workshop.

Oh, and I guess Hutchinson took-delivery of the VMax a lot-sooner than other places, your "1981" is indeed a "rare-bird!"

 

[radley]

Thanks 1985

I think I am going to skip the tranny issue. not worth it.

I initially joined the other forum Vmax gen 2 and have gotten to the point that I am going to rebuild the carbs, reset floats, sync carbs etc.

I have already replaced fuel filter.

I measured current across battery before and after Crimp Solder fix described in initial post and it was over 14v each time.... battery seems to get weak quick as far as starting the bike goes..still a mystery to me....

 

[Fire-medic]

Well if you have a bad battery about to crash you need a replacement. Get it load tested at the store.

 

[radley]

Hi guys.

My bike has been starting better and idling better once I put airplane fuel in it. I think that some of the crap has dissolved and is working its way out of the carbs. In the meantime. I purchased 4 carb kits with gaskets and all, needles, etc. i may not have to redo the carbs right away, who knows.. thought i'd run some more high octane fuel through there and see what clears up. I made a manometer included pics. didnt think it was absolutely necessary to put the thing on towards the end since each hose is about 8' long....thoughts?
havent tried it out. planning on filling it with starting fluid to about 10 inches across the board.... i will include updated bike operation video soon. thoughts guys on all of above?

 

[naughtyG]

Manometer looks good. I would use ATF as the fluid - it's bright red and won't affect much if it gets sucked in.

You WILL need to put in flow restrictors in the hoses - an easy and cheap way is to use the plastic core of some TV aerial cable - just an inch in each hose near the end. If you don't there will be too much fluctuation to get a reading.

 

[radley]

Can anyone tell me where I need to hook the manometer up to on the bike...and which hose hooked up to which carb and where exactly? Are the hoses you hook the restrictors up to the black hoses 3/16" sticking out from under the circular carb cover plates?

Which carb is which number? To what hose left to right?...etc..


I cannot seem to find the location where I think I once saw this information before...

Thanks guys.

 

[Traumahawk]

Yes...where you hook the manometer up to is under the cover plates. Usually the first tube, will go to the first carb. It doesnt matter which carb goes to which hose....just make certain that you know which one goes to which hose....so that way you know which carb your making the adjustmet on.

 

[radley]

OK thank you.

Can you tell me where to find the carb sync screws?

I was told one screw (where?) will sync carbs 1,2 (which ones? while sitting on bike, lets address front carb left as Left Front, Left Back, Right Front and Right Back), as another screw (on right side?) will sync Carbs 3.4, while lastly final screw will sync sets (1and2) with (3and4).... i think this is on right side as well....
...
...all of this after fine-tuning mixture screws one by one around bike....

????

 

[Traumahawk]

Ok....first of all...the first carb on the left hand side...dosent have a sync screw. Everything else gets sync'd off of it. Both carbs on the right side (3 and 4) both have sync screws. So in a nutshell all the carbs need to be sync'd the same....but they all get sync'd to the first left hand carb. Just in case some one says something that is confusing the first carb on the left hand side (front carb) is technically carb #2.

The first pic is the left hand side...and you see the sync screw by the back carb disphragm cover...its silver. In the 2 pic...you can see BOTH sync screws.

Hope this helps

 

[m-cman]

If you haven't already, you should download a shop manual. They are available free. There are instructions on syncing the carbs. The Max is the easiest bike to sync ever. No special adapters needed. The ports to connect the sync tool are easy to get to. No removing the tank and getting a small tank to hang over the bike while syncing, etc...

 

[Rusty McNeil]

Airplane fuel?
Please elaborate.

Super high octane burns slower and makes less horsepower. Vmax runs best in 87


If your second gear is REALLY shot and you don't plan on fixing it I don't see why your bothering with all the rest if this stuff??

Just saying'

 

[radley]

Thanks for the comments. I found the manual. i found carb syncing process, thanks. I think I should measure fuel levels first and set fuel mixture correct.

----Best way to do so anyone?

Then I'll go ahead and sync carbs.

Rusty, second gear is shot, but I want to ride the bike,

Transmission rebuild will be another job for another time....

 

[invalidsession]

Carb cleaning. All manner of crap is on sale in various Auto stores from ultrasonic to plain Jane carb or injector cleaners. Gentlemen, let me enlighten you. Pinesol. Yep you read it here. Plain old Pinesol will knock out the crap that get's deposited by the nasty shit that our Government foists upon us in order to make Iowa farmers feel important and many and various legislators to get very wealthy off of the back of a completely useless fuel additive (Ethanol) that actually reduces the octane rating of regular pump gas and further reduces fuel consumption but I digress. Yank out your jets and soak both those and the carb passages in Pinesol. Available in Dollar General for $1.00/pint. Blast with compressed air and bask in the succulent smell of of an Alaskan Pine Forest. Trust me, it works.

Chris.

 

[radley]

Alright guys,

I pulled the carbs and am just finished disassembling the first one. I am going to clean them thoroughly as I put em back together.

I wanted to confirm what the float level has to be. I saw it somehwere on here, I think, and need confirmation on where to measure from, and exactly what distance to set the float to for my carbs.

can anyone help out?

I have a nice caliper to measure.

ALSO, I will be posting a vid soon up here with update on bike, before carb pull. I think my pump may be failing, can anyone help me with finding a new fuel pump (i am assuming that will be the next step once carbs are rebuild, cleaned, etc and reinstalled)????

I looked on ebay and a pump used was about 170 bucks. shitty! there has GOT to be a better way. i can't afford to do that.

 

[davesax36]

Check the how-to and the FAQ. There's a thread in there about checking float heights.

 

[dannymax]

Don't worry about the measurement, it's just a beginning point anyway. There are other factors that can affect fuel levels independent from a measurement.....you must do a wet level check to verify you have them right....with the carb upside down adjust the float so it just comes to the top of the small cicrle casting in the jet block....then do your wet level check and adjust accordingly.

Links to the 9 chapter VMax Haynes manual can be found by clicking VMF Links at the top of the page, it's all covered in there.

Here it is:

Vmax service manual

 

[radley]

Ok thank you,

In the service manual that i have, in Carb maintenance it does not address removing the "seat" that the needle sits in. Can someone explain how to remove the seat? I bought a carb rebuild kit and the seat and needle come with it, I am assuming I might as well replace them since I have new, but the old does look good and clean. Does the seat "twist" out? do i pull it out (the direction the seat sits in? Do i push it through the other side (there's a silver round flat piece opposite side of carb exterior)...