Back on the road...running rich(?)

[Loose Seal]

Curious to hear some thoughts on this. Here's the deal:

82 GS750E
V&H 4-1
K&N pods, just cleaned & oiled (they weren't too dirty)
Dynojet stage III set up as instructed from the included directions
Carbs were thoroughly cleaned a couple years ago, new o-rings, etc.

New:
Just did the coil relay mod
Put in a new base & head gasket over the winter. Cleaned all the connections in the harness and put in new spark plugs.

Had it idling a few times in the garage just to ensure things were together and holding oil. Took it around the block slowly and it was running very choppy unless I romped on it. Pulled the plugs. 1, 3 & 4 were very black. 2 was somewhat black. Cleaned the plugs and pulled the pods just to see how it would run with more air. Wouldn't start with choke, started fine without. Ran better, but still not as good as it was when I put it away in the fall. Plugs looked like this after a couple laps around the block.




Am I overthinking this? Last year low/city speed riding was on the rich side but it wasn't horrible. Highway speeds were great. Now it's much worse. Doesn't make sense that it would run richer now with better spark (coil relay mod). Doesn't make sense that if one were to expect gummed up carbs from sitting over the winter that it would run like it does. Does it?

I've managed to fix quite a few things on this bike with the great help from you guys purely by searching/reading.... This seems simple but has me a little stumped. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Graham]

Clean the carbs and readjust the mixture. Sitting all winter with gas in the carbs can be the issue even if you start every once in a while. Always drain the carbs and fill the tank for winter storage. Check compression, some rings may be stuck also from sitting .

[OldVet66]

Put a can of SeaFoam in the gas tank and ride the heck out of it. Assuming everything on the gasket change was done properly, it's most likely the carbs sat too long and will either run clean eventually or the carbs might need going over again. Check all your electrical connections again and be sure to use dielectric grease in the connections. Inline 4's don't particularly like to just idle and putz around a bit unless you are trying to load it up and foul your plugs.

[Loose Seal]

Carbs were drained. Top end was recently put back together, rings should be fine.

I put a smallish amount of seafoam in the tank, maybe needs more. All the connectors were greased.

Might end up digging into the carbs....

Related question. Going back to last year....when it liked to run rich between 20-40mph (and is now worse). What's the recommendation for changing jetting? Needles are on groove 4, main jet is DJ130, pilot jets are stock. If I'm going to dig into the carbs, I might as well try getting it 100%.

[OldVet66]

It was suggested on this site to run the needles one clip lower than what DJ recommends. That didn't work for me, it was too rich trying to get through the mid range. I raised the clip one notch to lower the needles, and everything started working as it should. I have VM carbs. My plugs are usually a tad on the sooty side because I use it to commute to work and don't get to drive it the way should be driven. It suffers a lot of stop and go traffic. It loads up a bit after a while, so I take it out when I get a chance and drive it as hard as I can get away with. It always runs better after that. I'm not familiar with your carbs, so I can't really say. All bikes are a little different. Once I did get the needles where they should be, all the other adjustments started falling into place.