Normal Speed?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the information. Is there any specific sort of cleaner to use on the filter?

[gspaul]

Nothing special,you can use kero and a gentle use of toothbrush.

[Anonymous]

Be really careful if you disassemble the petcock. The vacuum-powered diaphragm that controls the on=off function and the tap handle o-ring (which really is NOT an o-ring) are delicate. You'd be better off to have a petcock rebuild kit on hand before cleaning yours. Don't ask me how I know this. Otherwise, I concur with gspaul - and don't use an inline filter. If you still have problems, clean out the float bowls as you have a good chance of finding some sediment in there still.

[Anonymous]

A bit of an update...

I haven't had any time to mess with the bike lately, and after washing the wife's Explorer yesterday I thought I would start the bike and see if anything had changed. It was running about the same as before, and I figured the tank was going to have to come off so I could clean the filter. Before I shut the bike down I decided to check the header pipes, and lo and behold the #3 cylinder pipe was cold! So, I shut the bike down and pulled the #3 and #4 spark plugs, cleaned and swapped them. Lit the bike off and the problem had moved to the #4 cylinder. It was warm this time but not as hot as the other three. Maybe I'll get off easy and fix the problem with a new spark plug. Could this have been the problem all along?

[Travellin' Jones]

I'm pretty sure you have an ignition fault. Fuel system faults don't just come and go like that.

Spark plugs are a logical beginning. You should also check the ignition points and condensers, and coils. The plug connectors screw onto the ends of the wires. Remove them and check for corrosion, and if ok, screw them back on securely.

Make sure the coil connections are clean and tight. If they use spade connections, give the female connectors a slight squeeze with pliers. Replace the ignition fuse, and all the other fuses too. Check for corrosion on the fuse panel.

While I'm sure your bike is due for a valve adjustment, that's not likely to be the cause of your problem.

[HiSPL]

Sometimes ignition problems show up like that. You have some corrosion or a break somwhere that prevents the spark from reaching the spark plug. When you rev the bike up you make more power at the stator, which suppies the coils more power for making spark. All of a sudden you have enough voltage to jump the gap that is preventing the spark in the first place and the bike takes off.....

Clear as mud?

Often times this problem is with 25 year old plug wires that are all cracked and funky.

[Anonymous]

I think there is only the one fuse on this old girl. I didn't know the plug boots screwed on the ends of the wires. I'll check those after work this afternoon. The points and condensers are new. I checked the coil connections when I replaced the points. Funny thing is I also put four brand new plugs in at that time as well, but just like anything else, I suppose one can go bad quickly.

[Anonymous]

HiSPL;

Thanks for the reply. The problem wouldn't switch cylinders in your scenario, would it? Don't get me wrong, I'm not discounting your theory, just trying to understand. Looking at the coils, are the plug wires able to be changed, or are they part of the coils themselves?

[Travellin' Jones]

The plug wires are not replaceable separately from the coils. If there's a poor connection at the plug connector, it's possible that just removing and refitting it to the plug could make it better, or worse.

Now that I think about it, the end of the connector that connects to the plug is screwed into the connector, and that can work loose as well. Use a flat-bladed screwdriver to make sure those are tight.

[HiSPL]

If the problem was in the plug wire it would.