'83 GL1100 Aspencade getting back on the road

[BIGmackie]

If I understand this just started.

Was the gas turned on?

Yes.

I followed my normal start procedure:

Gas on, full choke, no throttle, ignition switch on, push start button, fires in about 1-2 seconds.

 

[dan filipi]

Try a couple love taps with the handle of a screwdriver on the carb body's and the slider caps.
I slider stuck in the up position will cause this.
For that matter just one carb can cause this problem.
Check the cross over linkage and carb to carb linkage carefully for any binding.

 

[joedrum]

check the thottle cables ...sometimes the cable is replaced and has a two part end on it and somtimes this will slip in a sticking cable and cause it not bottom out like it sould ....caught on lip of the hole its suppose ride in ...... :mrgreen:

 

[slabghost]

Wait wait wait. Did you just set the mixture screws at say 2 1/2 turns the adjust synch? If so that probably splains it. You need to adjust each one to highest rpm with the air mixture screw returning to idle with the idle screw between each carb. Then adjust for synch.

Edit- It doesn't say it in the book but I usually adjust to highest rpm then back out a little maybe 1/8 turn to be sure I have enough fuel for wide open throttle.

 

[BIGmackie]

Wait wait wait. Did you just set the mixture screws at say 2 1/2 turns the adjust synch?.

I set the mixture screws at 3 turns out (per the Honda recomendations). The funny thing about it is that I've done at least 3 start and warmup cycles without issue. It's run for more than 30 minutes since the carb sync and it only decided that it was going to increas rpm last night.

When I get home, I'm going to try the screwdriver love tap thing and see if that does anything. If that doesn't work, I'll pull the carb rack again and go over it all with a fine tooth comb, try my hand at a idle screw adjustment and do another re-sync. Probably check all my linkage and cables while everything is out and accessible. Pulling those carbs is getting easier, but boy-o-boy is it still a pain in the rear!

More to come...

 

[slabghost]

My fine factory service manual covers 80-81 so may be different but-- it states in bold
Initial pilot screw opening: 1 1/4 turns
This is a base setting in order to get it running. Once warmed they are adjusted to the highest possible rpm at each carb. The Haynes manual notes that each carb may need adjusted more than once due to the effect of the other carbs working.

 

[BIGmackie]

My fine factory service manual covers 80-81 so may be different but-- it states in bold
Initial pilot screw opening: 1 1/4 turns
This is a base setting in order to get it running. Once warmed they are adjusted to the highest possible rpm at each carb. The Haynes manual notes that each carb may need adjusted more than once due to the effect of the other carbs working.

Yeah, the 80-81 GL1100 were 1 1/4 turns, 82-83 GL's were 3 turns. I checked and double checked prior to making this adjustment. There's a lot of parts and specs exclusive to 82-83 GL1100's this seems to be a transitional period for them before the upgrade to 1200.

I haven't done the idle drop procedure for setting the pilot screws, mostly because I don't have to tool to do it and haven't found a suitable substitute yet.

For anyone who was waiting patiently for an update, I wasn't able to do anything that I wanted tonight, I was helping a friend in need instead. C'est la vie!

 

[slabghost]

My fine factory service manual covers 80-81 so may be different but-- it states in bold
Initial pilot screw opening: 1 1/4 turns
This is a base setting in order to get it running. Once warmed they are adjusted to the highest possible rpm at each carb. The Haynes manual notes that each carb may need adjusted more than once due to the effect of the other carbs working.

Yeah, the 80-81 GL1100 were 1 1/4 turns, 82-83 GL's were 3 turns. I checked and double checked prior to making this adjustment. There's a lot of parts and specs exclusive to 82-83 GL1100's this seems to be a transitional period for them before the upgrade to 1200.

I haven't done the idle drop procedure for setting the pilot screws, mostly because I don't have to tool to do it and haven't found a suitable substitute yet.

For anyone who was waiting patiently for an update, I wasn't able to do anything that I wanted tonight, I was helping a friend in need instead. C'est la vie!

Are the screws inaccessible when the carbs are installed? Since there is not much resistance to the screws to adjust, You can make a long thin screwdriver with coathanger wire. Just hammer the end flat and file to the screwdriver shape.

 

[BIGmackie]

An update!

Three full start/ warmup cycles today. Once this afternoon (used my lunchbreak wisely), once as soon as I got home from work and once after it had cooled. First start this afternoon, idle was higher than usual, but not as bad as the other night; second start was about the same, so I adjusted the idle after giving the CV covers some love taps (didn't do anything). Third starts was peachy keen, so I made a video (ignore the messy shop).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK19Oe3e1Eo

I tried to move around a bit to get all the sounds possible in case someone with better ears happens upon this and can tell me something.

Thoughts?

I'm going to guess that maybe one of the slides was stuck and that caused an issue which resolved itself, possibly something was blocked in a passage that finally passed. I should probably pull the carb rack again and see if I have the scuffed slide issue...

 

[joedrum]

the oldwing sounds great ....im not sure what you did and i dont think you do either but it work :shock: :mrgreen: .....i think it like passing a kidney stone ...ithink you need to mix some ATF IN YOUR GAS ....about 8oz per tank to clean the carbs up and keep them that way....try it it wont hurt anything at all ....when i took my carbs off after five yrs ....they were cleaner than when i put them on after the rebuild ...ithought they would clean but even i was surprised how clean... :mrgreen:

 

[dan filipi]

It stumbled a bit on the second rev, but then it wasn't warmed up yet.

The valve adjustments (tappets) sound loose.

Otherwise sounds pretty good.

 

[jdegase]

sounded just a touch flat to me too...
valve adjustments. and be really picky with it.. it means alot.
those are so close and it makes a big difference in the sound.

otherwise it sounds great bro.

 

[BIGmackie]

I JUST adjusted the valves and I'm quite confident that I did them correctly. I do agree that it's a bit noisy in that video, but it seems amplified there from 'real life'. Same with the comment about the right exhaust "pop", I think that might be from the position on my cell phone behind the exhaust while on that side.

So far she's only gone up and own the alley behind my house. Before she's roadworthy, I'll doing another oil change, valve adjust, spark plug gap check, etc.

 

[joedrum]

heck everything sounds great to me .....i could tell that it was the mic poping from the exhast hitting it.....sounds to me as good as it looks :mrgreen:

 

[mcgovern61]

I finally got a chance to listen to the video. When you throttle up, it is stumbling a touch. My '81 did that before my carb rebuild. My CV slides were catching and my floats were not adjusted right. Once I fixed them it no longer stumbled when throttling up. I then swapped out my '81 engine to an '83 engine with the carbs corrected and it does not do that stumble any more. Here is a thread with videos of my engine after the carbs were fixed.

viewtopic.php?p=5186#p5186

You are doing a great job getting her back together!

 

[BIGmackie]

Had a bit of time between everything else today to warm the wing up and do the idle drop procedure and another sync. She wanted to be leaned out a tiny bit (maybe 1/2 - 3/4 turn per pilot screw) and the sync wasn't bothered. That hesitation that was noticed in the video is gone, and she runs/ idles like a champ. I could probably get the idle down to 700 rpm now if I wanted, but it would sound like a pile 'o rocks in a washing machine runnin that slow. I also put some seafoam in the fuel a few startups ago, so that could have contributed to everything.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it's running. I even took it out and put a load on the engine driving up and down the back alley. Got it into 3rd!! Tons of power, not lagging anywhere in the powerband! My only fear was getting nicked by the 5-0 since I dont have a headlight, turn signals, or a license plate on it.

 

[BIGmackie]

I'm just gonna throw this out there; but sometimes it seems like for every one thing you fix, two more decide to give up the ghost.

 

[dan filipi]

What happened?

 

[BIGmackie]

Spontaneous oil leak from left valve cover.

 

[slabghost]

Lets put this in perspective. If you had a car/truck this old you would expect to be fixing a LOT more. Difference here is when you get it right it's like new again.