Thanks everybody. Now a real dumb ? How do Goldwings perform

[Nightcorona]

Well thanks to everybodys help it lives!!!! Now since I have never riden these before I dont know what to expect? I am used to V twins and high reving V4 like a magna. It runs steady when idling and it backfires once when starting but starts without choke. But when i am riding it it seems to chug a little at start. It runs pretty good in first but i havent been able to get it out of first like in the neighborhood. It runs up to 30 mph and then I try to shift but thats too low.
How fast should I be going before 2nd gear? How much power should i have? Taking off in second gear would be impossible and the way it acting I would be at 150 mph before Overdrive even started worrying. It is idling ok so I would assume the carbs are synced.
The temp gauge never goes past the first smaller section.

 

[Terry]

"USUALLY"
a backfire when starting up indicates an out of time or ignition problem.

Chugging could mean it's not firing on all 4 cylinders. An easy non tool type check is to: Start engine and spray water on each individual exhaust header pipe where it exits the engine. It should sizzle and steam away the liquid when the cylinder is firing properly.

 

[ekvh]

You didn't tell us which model, but you should be able to shift to second at 3000 rpm or less and have good street manners. Chugging could be a rich condition, blacker smoke out the exhaust. Hard to see while operating. If you leave the petcock on for a while, look down in the plenum. It should be dry. Any wetness indicates a leak of fuel and can be dangerous to you and the motor. BTW, always turn the petcock off when not in use.

Many of these bikes that sit for extended times develop lower compression from sticking rings. They run rough for a few hundred miles, but heat seems to loosen the rings and compression usually returns to good numbers.

 

[slabghost]

When everything is right they perform very well indeed.

 

[Nightcorona]

Ok here is the latest report. When squirting water on the exhaust ports the right side of bike sizzled much more then the left, i then noticed the vaccum line was unpluged from the #3 carb tube. How important is that one because I am sure a backfire blew it off during test drive. It liked going slow. When i tried to take it up past 40 it didnt have much power. I havent tried syncing carbs yet. The gas isnt the best it has a lot of seafoam in it also.

 

[slabghost]

Open vac port will cause a lean condition.

 

[kerryb]

My first bike ('83 STD w 117,000 miles) ran horrible until I synched the carbs, then it gained power and smoothed out.

 

[Nightcorona]

Yes i am in the process of building a sync tool with the four bottles. Mine has 34000 on it so it is still a toddler. I assumed that would be an issue.

 

[joedrum]

if ignition is sub par ..you can get like weak spark on one side ...these are wasted spark systems ...and the parts are all old now ....could be the timing advance not working at all and certainly wont work with vac hose off 3 carb......carbs can be huge problem in many ways ...your in that zone where many things can cause the the running problems ...just have to go after it till you figure it out

 

[Nightcorona]

Any anybody had any luck with the 4 bottle and liquid method? All i have determined so far is number 3 is way up there vacuum wise and the rest dont seem to be very happy. I tuned it by ear as best i could. I noticed the K/N wasnt working very good and the valves tap if they are not synced very well.

 

[wedoo2]

If this was me I would get rid of any gas in the tank that has been in there for a while. Put some fresh gas in it. I assume that all the plugs are firing and you have checked that. Then I would do a compression test and see what that shows I agree that the carbs need to be in sync but I would see what the health of the motor is. There is so much that can affect the carburetors and a good cleaning is in order if the bike has sat for an extended time. You can play with the mixture screws until you're blue in the face but to no avail if there is crud in the jets.

Make sure that the valves are adjusted properly. Download the manual and start on the maintenance schedule. Don't get in a hurry and do things right.

What kind of bike is it?

 

[Nightcorona]

Okay that is 1984 Interstate 1200 I have pulled the heads clean out the cylinders cleaned valves took the bowls off the carburetors clean them all out soaked with B12 chemtool change oil and new antifreeze new timing belts.