RVF400 in the off-season

Today I finished the wiring for my aux gauges and roughly mounted the upper fairing. Bike starts great and idles fine on the bench but if I blip the idle hangs. I went and tightened down all of the insulators again. But that made no difference. Must be a carb setting? Axle due Wednesday so no test ride but the rest of the bike is ready.

 

Generally speaking, it's a lean condition that causes that. Air leak? Vacuum line still connected to the petcock? Throttle cables not returning completely? Lean jetting situation with the pilots?

 

Not sure where else air would get in. I did tighten the insulators about as much as I am willing to go and that didn't make a single dif. Vacuum line is new connected to the tank. Throttle cable is new and set appropriately, but I will verify tomorrow. I did switch out the mains, but not the pilots. Went a little smaller on the mains.

 

Also completed the rear brake master bleeding with the rear wheel off. Cleaned and replaced the wheel nut to a nice anodized blue. All lights and signals work. Almost time to come off the bench!

 

Hmmmm. Slide hanging up? Totally spitballing here...as you can prolly tell.

 

I appreciate the input. I think I won't hit the panic button until after the test ride.

 

As NB suggests, usually this.

 

Hell yeah, thank you CMSNL! The cross reference was perfect and for $25 I fit a front axle from a 1997 Blackbird 1100xx. Front end complete, down to either a test ride, try to adjust air/ fuel mix screw (if I am not mistaken) or just re-jet to previous jets.
Then she is complete on the rebuild. Almost but good for now. Last thing would be a full front caliper rebuild, but that is more money than I have. Lol

 

Fack, no matter what I do I end up with a hanging or stuck 5k idle.


-Set back to 118 main- no change
-Replaced air/fuel o-ring and set to 2 turns out like it was before- a little change. Should I add more turns or take away turns?

-Insulators are new and tightened- no change
-New throttle cable with 0 pull - no change
-Choke- not engage and stalls when I add choke
-Air box on or off makes no difference

-Idle adjust does make a difference only if I leave the vacuum tube that is supposed to go to the tank unplugged (I think). Should that be plugging that while running on bottle?

-I didn't touch the vacuum ports on the cylinders, but I guess I could spray some fluid on there to see if that changes idle?

- No fuel leaks on carbs, but would a cut vent cross tube o-ring cause issues?

I just dont' know enough about functionality to diagnose. Help me Obi-wan your my only hope...

 

1.) Operating the choke creates a rich, or enriched, condition. Is the engine cold or hot when you operate the choke?

1.) Should be plugged...it is an open vacuum leak, if not plugged into the petcock.

I would start with plugging the vacuum line and go from there.

 

I did need a little choke when it was cold, but just to verify if it was holding on I would add more when the bike was warm which would kill it, like I would expect.

I was holding the vacuum line in my hand and plugging. I also verified that the tube was not cracked even though it is new. Seems in perfect shape.

I may need to just pull everything apart and start over again. Could the o-ring between the plenum and carbs be the issue? I didn't have new ones of those. I will try and spray a little carb cleaner while running and see if the carbs gain or loose idle.

Really not sure what else to do. Gonna be a long Sunday.

thanks again for trying to help.

 

Fucking found it.. The FACKING spring-loaded throttle assembly was not returning to full off on its own. 1mm of movement left, making the idle hang.
Bike has all of the same symptoms until I push down with my finger on the assembly you connect the throttle cable to. Jeeeezus!
That is the first time I have ever had that stick on a carb in 33 yrs. crazy. Can you lube that?

 

Always try the most simple things first.

 

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk

yup. Well at least I built the carb correctly.....ish?

 

What should the butterfly look like when closed? Should the little holes be covered?
Or a slight gap? I would think closed all the way.

I think i answered my own question searching on this forum...lol Maybe too much Redbull.

 

Alright, I think I know where I messed up. I had the 2/4 carbs wound so tight on the sync (I must have rushed this part) that the #1 butterfly couldn't close all of the way. I went back through and loosened everything and started over. Now #1 is closing and they match inside each bore.
I referenced squirrels post about setting base.

Bike is now running correctly. f yeah!! more red bull

Oh and the biggest lesson learned is how to properly install and remove V4 carbs. Getting good at it now.

 

Whew, she is running good down the driveway. Not sure I even need to work on the clutch. The new cable is helping out really well.

 

Nice job. So you did the bench synch out of sequence?

 

It would seem so. I didn’t really consider the fact that it would be in sequence. Newb for sure. Even at this age I am still learning. But I learn best from mistakes so now I should be good for a lifetime. Hahaha

 

As the Mandalorian's say......this is the way.