Oil Fouled Spark Plugs Question

I've currently got the carbs off my '94 for cleaning and while they're out I'm also replacing a few things such as thermostat, plugs, fuel filter, air filter, etc.

What prompted me to pull and clean carbs off in the first place was the fact that the bike sat for about 5 months. She ran fine before, but when I went to start her up after all that time, she would only run on choke; under throttle, she would die. In my attempt to "clear" this up, I ran her on choke for about 30 mins at a time for about 2-3 days... on my last day of trying to clear up this problem, I ran some BG 44k in there to see if would help matters at all. Nothing. Eventually, I pulled carbs, and cleaned them up pretty well, including clearing gummed-up slow jets (cause of my idle problem), as well as replace cracked/brittle float bowl o-rings...

Today, with everything apart, I pulled the back two plugs and they looked oil fouled.

Am I right in thinking that they look like this because of excessive choke?

 

yuppers, never run it that long on choke

 

Thanks for confirming, rjgti.

On another note, since bike ran fine before sitting, would I need to bench sync/carb sync after I put them back in? I'm thinking at this point a carb sync couldn't hurt...

 

might as well sync them

 

No real need for a re-synch if you didn't touch the screws or remove carbs from baseplate.

Your attempt to clear the problem was nonsensical; NEVER run a bike on choke for more that about 3 minutes, and don't let it sit idling for more than 10 ! :uncomfortableness: For sure black plugs usually mean too much choke. Oil on the threads can be caused by removing the plugs if you have a leaky, weepy valve cover seal that allows oil into the plug pockets, and it looks like that to me.

Next time drain the carb float bowls b4 storage.

 

Thanks, Squirrelman....dumb move by me, I know. I guess at that point I wasn't too keen on having to pull the carbs out and deal with it, but from the reading I've since done on this forum, I've mustered up the courage to tackle this myself - and in the process finding out that it's not too bad.

The residue on the plugs is quite sticky; almost like old varnished gas than greasy, filmy oil. I hope I didn't muck anything up too bad, though.

I'm happy to report that the carb cleaning went well, and I've since installed new gapped plugs and am in the process of cleaning the radiator (flush as well as straightening out the squashed cooling fins). I understand this happens when the front plugs are swapped - from swinging the radiator out of the way and then subsequently knocking the fins with a ratchet or kuckles, etc.

I'm having a great time going through the bike and it's definitely heightened my appreciation for my machine - with you guys' help, of course!

 

Yip! First time i removed my '86 700's front plugs for inspection (about 1991) i clumsily damaged a lot of fins. Lesson learned after taking the time to minutely re-bend fins into a semblance of original condition and appearance. You need small or clever hands to get in there without damage but it sure can be done. Maybe stick some tape over rad b4 plugs. I like to remove radiators from my bikes, wash em, then bring them to my favored offseason HQ seat in front of the TV all winter and pick away with small tools as i can and when in comfortable surroundings well heated and away from any cold, drafty, oil-stained workshop. Spend way too much time on this stuff but nothing much to do from November until April. It's slow, tedious, boring work, hard on old eyes, and needing steady hands. More easily accomplished with much time and sufficient lubrication........

:drinker: :drinker:

Radiator fin restoration, another skillset ! But i did it the hard way; easy way is to always avoid touching fins or carelessly allowing impacts or scratches during service. They can most often be restored according to how much time you want to spend after you have proper technique and tools. On a micro level it can become an obsession i guess.

You bend it, you fix it best you can.

 

Basically that was me with the fins... pulled the radiator, sprayed some de-greaser on the front to loosen up the accumulated bug guts from over the years, sprayed it down, then from the inside out, blew all small sand/stones out with compressed air. Had pretty good luck with a pocket screwdriver carefully bending them back into shape and now looks great. Delicate little things, those fins.

Some might see this kind of stuff as a waste of time or being somewhat obsessive about stuff, but I've always liked going over my vehicles with a fine toothed comb to make sure all is working as it should.