The background: I bought the bike in Sept. of 2004. The previous owner had put a very cool looking, albeit VERY loud V&H header with a D&D race can. It also started very hard. I mounted up a Mac 4-2-1 pipe that I had before and began having problems with getting the jetting right. I got the starting problem taken care of by clearing the choke tube feed ports in the bottom of the float bowls, but couldn't get the jetting right.
The problem has been a very pronounced stutter just off idle, really only bad when the bike sits for about 30 seconds or more. It was like it loaded up with gas or something. No matter what I tried with the jets (and I tried it all) the stutter was still there. Other than that the bike ran like clockwork- perfect except for the stutter. Being an anal retentive bastage that would never do.
At the end of last year I set myself to completely replacing all the stock components, in an effort to finally rid myself of the stutter. It took some time to gather up the pipes (Adam, your set of sweet pipes are going on next week, now that I finally got it mocked up right), the right airbox and the factory jetting components. Keep in mind all the GS's of my past were pretty altered- 4-1 pipes, pod filters, DJ kits, etc. By Feb. I had all I needed, but this friggin' stutter just wouldn't go away. I began to reach out to others looking for advice, and of course Keith spent tons of time answering my questions.
Now the key here is that Keith and others have to trust that you have done all the little stuff right. When it comes to carbs, there is a lot that may be wrong- it's not just a matter of jets. I was convinced I had the bone stock carb jetting, and couldn't figure out what was wrong.
You gotta keep in mind that I have so much carb parts around, it's hard to figure out what is what. Tonight I decided to change out nothing but the diaphragm springs. Well, I've been trying to get my carbs tuned with what must have been DJ springs, and I finally got the one set out of 5 that aren't DJ springs and if you ever wondered, yes, they make a difference. The stutter is gone. Those springs should be marked somehow, or at least a different color?? WTF.:?
Anyway, the point is this: Keith could never have fixed that problem- y'know, me being an idiot? He must have asked me 100 times if I was sure that everything is back to stock. He should have turned his PM option a long time ago. Or at least blocked me. Fortunately I learned a whole lot more about my carbs, and at least I got it running right.
Thanks Keith!
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