Cylinder 2 Spitting Fuel

All, I bought a GL1100 3 weeks ago that wasn't working. It wouldn't start, after some troubleshooting I discovered no fuel was getting to the cylinders. I pulled off the carb, cleaned all the jets and completely cleaned everything. before I put it back together, I replaced the cylinder head gasket (anti-freeze was coming out the tailpipe). Once I put it back together, I replaced the timing belt, spark plugs, spark plug wires and boots (made them).

The bike will start, but it is really rough. It sounds like cylinder 2 is "misfiring" and fuel is spitting out of the exhaust. When I bought this I noticed the blinkers didn't work either. I replaced all the fuses and still no, go. I am wondering if I could have an electrical issue (because of the misfire and blinker problem). The guy before me was using a truck to jump his bike when the battery would die :shock: .

Any ideas?

I would say there is a problem in #2 carb, float valve hanging up not closing flooding the spark.
Start it then turn the gas off, as the fuel in the bowl lowers it should start running better.

That is a good thought! I actually have already done that. I turned my fuel completely off and my bike ran a lot better, but it was still not firing correctly. Ever after the fuel was turned off it ran for several min.

I also forgot to mention that I pulled the spark plug wire off and It was shocking me while holding the wire... That doesn't seem normal.

Getting shocked means it is getting a spark so that's good.
If #2 keeps flooding, the carbs need to come out to find out why it's not shutting off fuel.

You have 4 carbs bolted together each affecting the others and each a problem by itself. It's very difficult to get them cleaned and adjusted in one shot without having experience with this set up. You've made great progress with it just getting it to run. Keep at it. Check your float heights and needles and seats again. These are all adjustments that are easy to misjudge.
The electrical issues are a different beast altogether. Could be simply the flasher unit is bad or the bulb sockets are corroded or you may have a section of wire that is bad or not even connected. Welcome to the fun of Oldwings!

Ok great! I was hoping that I wouldn't have to pull the carbs out again.. I have a new main wiring harness on the way (hoping to help). I will check for bad connections in the flashers and the unit.

I appreciate the reply.

In the picture I have attached, the valve was stuck in the open position when I pulled it out. I was able to get it unstuck with WD40 and put it back in. It it is stuck (like shown in the picture). Could that be the problem? It was from cylinder 4.

If it is stuck again (open) it will pour gas into the carb because that float needle is what seals off the gas flow when the float level is correct.

Also, with the running rough, have you pulled the plugs wires and accidently switched them on the coils?

Yeah, I have double checked the firing sequence again and again and It is correct

Coil
4321

Cylinders
2 1
4 3

Would a flooding carb in cylinder 4 affect cylinder 2?

Depending on where in the carb it's flooding yes one carb can affect one or more of the others. That tiny pin on the float end of the needle valve is spring loaded and can be depressed. If it was depressed setting the float height it has made the float setting too high. The tiniest bit of dirt on the needle tip or seat will keep the needle open and cause flooding. Those can sometimes be flushed by running the bike with the fuel turned off. When the motor starts sputtering turning the fuel on can sometimes flush the dirt through and clean the needles and seats. Check your oil for a smell of gas. Flooding can allow fuel to get into the oil which can cause a lot of damage. Change the oil if it is contaminated.

I think pulling the carbs 2X is pretty normal if you are new to GL`s, There may be others that got it right the first time but more have not. Second time around I made a special wire tool for attaching the throttle cable and with the experience the job went much faster. I suppose you already know about removing the two right CV caps/slides and pulling them out the left side.
check the float height and the screens under the floats, inspect the float needles carefully for wear and also the little spring loaded pins on each needle, be sure the float stop isn't hitting the float pin riser before the float is closed, If you think it is OK before you re install fill the carbs with fuel off the bike, you need about 4-5 feet of fuel line elevated above the carb, a funnel to fill with and fill to the funnel and let them sit a few minutes or even an hour and look for leaks.
While your in there be sure all jets and passageways are clear and have even flow, one carb is identical to the other so each passageway should have the same amount of restriction is you use a small tube and just blow through it.
Good luck.

Welcome to the forum from Southern California! You're getting lots of good advice here. You'll beat this - cleanliness and patience are your best friends when doing carb work.

[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=134475#p134475:bsv0gu3d said:

sl8ern8er_60 » Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:18 am[/url]":bsv0gu3d]
I am wondering if I could have an electrical issue (because of the misfire and blinker problem). The guy before me was using a truck to jump his bike when the battery would die :shock: .

Any ideas?

Click to expand...

You need to have a good battery ( as new) to accurately diagnose your problems ( ignition, fuel and charging). If it was being jumstarted it is more than likely that you have a faulty charging circuit.

getting shocked could also mean you have a bad plug wire and its grounding on the block causing mis fire. Please describe how and where you are holding the plug wire.