80 550E Difficulty Starting...

[Vanlande]

Recently purchased this bike, and it's been giving me some trouble starting. Mainly, it's hit and miss with the choke on and off, and the idle screw wildly turned in different directions. Most of the time, it'll start and gradually climb up in rpm, so I turn the idle down gently, then it dies. It runs decent (I think, anyway) when it IS running, but what I really need is to know how to tune these to some kind of base setting so I can play around with it from there.

I'm going to run some AVGAS/marvel mix through it tomorrow to see if that'll clean it up. If that doesn't work then I'm going to pull them off and rebuild/clean them. Only thing that scares me about that is how to tune them once I get them back together.

Here's a link to it doing what I'm talking about

http://youtu.be/hIYUyr2ftew

If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it.

[jesustheplumber]

put a stock airbox on it. the carbs cant meter the correct amount of fuel if they dont have the correct amount of vacuum from the airbox

[cowboyup3371]

Welcome to the site. Running avgas through them is not going to clean anything. Basscliff will be along later but go to his site, http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff, and read up on how to properly clean your carbs. Also take care of the valve adjustment. You'll do fine, just trust yourself.

[Nessism]

Crazy chit man. Check the Newbie Mistakes thread linked in my signature.

[Vanlande]

put a stock airbox on it. the carbs cant meter the correct amount of fuel if they dont have the correct amount of vacuum from the airbox

Looking on ebay right now.

[Vanlande]

Welcome to the site. Running avgas through them is not going to clean anything. Basscliff will be along later but go to his site, http://members.dslextreme.com/users/bikecliff, and read up on how to properly clean your carbs. Also take care of the valve adjustment. You'll do fine, just trust yourself.

Wow, that's a wealth of information I'll have to sit down and sift through, but I'm glad it's there! Just what I was looking for.

[Vanlande]

Crazy chit man. Check the Newbie Mistakes thread linked in my signature.

I did, and took note of the tips. I think I should also add that, while this is my first bike, I've restored and worked on classic cars since I was 16, and have a decent bit of mechanical knowledge. I'm just a little more used to old school domestic V8's. I'm pretty excited to learn the ins and outs on this baby, though.
Thanks!

[Gonzo]

Odd idle indeed! Odd that you got it to idle at all without box or filters. :P

I started watching it and immediately thought "air leak" and then once I seen your hand where the air box was, I kind of giggled at the size of that "air leak".

[FiremanBob]

You will enjoy the process of cleaning/rebuilding/properly adjusting your carbs. Also get new o-rings for the carb boots (where they meet the head) as sealing that joint is critical. Everything you need to know is here, especially the link to the photo tutorial on Basscliff's site. I just did the ones on my 1980 550, so pm me if you want to talk on the phone through any aspect of the job.

[Vanlande]

You will enjoy the process of cleaning/rebuilding/properly adjusting your carbs. Also get new o-rings for the carb boots (where they meet the head) as sealing that joint is critical. Everything you need to know is here, especially the link to the photo tutorial on Basscliff's site. I just did the ones on my 1980 550, so pm me if you want to talk on the phone through any aspect of the job.

That's a fantastic offer and I'll take you up on it if I get stuck on anything. I really appreciate it!