cabbott12321
1977 XS360
IF YOU WANT TO SKIP THE LONG STORY PART I HAVE A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE PROBLEM BELOW!
I have a 1977 xs360 and I've had a lot of on and off problems with it since I've had it. It has been good because I've been able to learn more about motorcycles and how to fix them through the process but this problem I just can't seem to solve. I have had it running perfectly at times but recently it has been acting up.
So what's been happening is, after riding the bike for a little while, say to work or something, the bike runs great! but, when I go to ride home it starts to bog down a lot to the point where I have to hold the throttle wide open and it'll sputter around at about 20-35mph normally just enough to get my to my driveway and then the bike will die and the battery appears to be drained.
It used to back fire a lot which I thought was the source of the problem. I cleaned the carbs though and realized the butterfly valves were not even. The left one was slightly open constantly. I assumed this was the cause to both the backfiring and the engine bogging. I got it all tuned correctly (to my knowledge) and rode it around the neighborhood to give it a test. It ran like a champ, probably the best it ever had. It wasn't backfiring except for maybe one small pop, it was accelerating without any bogging and running and sounding much smoother than before.
I thought my problems were solved. But then today when I rode to work it was doing great but as I neared work there were a couple times while it was accelerating where it began to bog a bit. I didn't sweat it and just prayed it would be okay. I went to ride it to a friends house and on the way, to my great despair, it began to bog and barely made the couple blocks to his house. The engine was bogging and basically shutting off. Simultaneously my battery was slowly dying. Luckily I was prepared and had my trickle charger in my backpack and after a very long process of starting and stoping got it home.
IN SUMMARY: The bike bogs down after being ridden for a little while during acceleration. It idles fine until the battery starts to die which only happens when it bogs down like this. If I let it sit for a while it'll start again but not for long and the more I start and stop while the engine is bogging like this the more the battery drains and the longer I have to wait in between starts and stops to get it going. It doesn't backfire hardly at all anymore after I adjusted and cleaned the carbs.
What I've done so far. I cleaned the the carbs, put new gas (with some sea foam to clean it out), fixed some fuse problems, I keep it on a trickle charger after it has sat for a while to make sure my battery is charged, I put new carb boots and pod filters on and am in the process of changing the signal lights.
I really need help and do not know what to do. I think it has something to do with my fuel/air mixture and or something to do with my spark plugs. Let me know what you guys think!
-Charlie
I have a 1977 xs360 and I've had a lot of on and off problems with it since I've had it. It has been good because I've been able to learn more about motorcycles and how to fix them through the process but this problem I just can't seem to solve. I have had it running perfectly at times but recently it has been acting up.
So what's been happening is, after riding the bike for a little while, say to work or something, the bike runs great! but, when I go to ride home it starts to bog down a lot to the point where I have to hold the throttle wide open and it'll sputter around at about 20-35mph normally just enough to get my to my driveway and then the bike will die and the battery appears to be drained.
It used to back fire a lot which I thought was the source of the problem. I cleaned the carbs though and realized the butterfly valves were not even. The left one was slightly open constantly. I assumed this was the cause to both the backfiring and the engine bogging. I got it all tuned correctly (to my knowledge) and rode it around the neighborhood to give it a test. It ran like a champ, probably the best it ever had. It wasn't backfiring except for maybe one small pop, it was accelerating without any bogging and running and sounding much smoother than before.
I thought my problems were solved. But then today when I rode to work it was doing great but as I neared work there were a couple times while it was accelerating where it began to bog a bit. I didn't sweat it and just prayed it would be okay. I went to ride it to a friends house and on the way, to my great despair, it began to bog and barely made the couple blocks to his house. The engine was bogging and basically shutting off. Simultaneously my battery was slowly dying. Luckily I was prepared and had my trickle charger in my backpack and after a very long process of starting and stoping got it home.
IN SUMMARY: The bike bogs down after being ridden for a little while during acceleration. It idles fine until the battery starts to die which only happens when it bogs down like this. If I let it sit for a while it'll start again but not for long and the more I start and stop while the engine is bogging like this the more the battery drains and the longer I have to wait in between starts and stops to get it going. It doesn't backfire hardly at all anymore after I adjusted and cleaned the carbs.
What I've done so far. I cleaned the the carbs, put new gas (with some sea foam to clean it out), fixed some fuse problems, I keep it on a trickle charger after it has sat for a while to make sure my battery is charged, I put new carb boots and pod filters on and am in the process of changing the signal lights.
I really need help and do not know what to do. I think it has something to do with my fuel/air mixture and or something to do with my spark plugs. Let me know what you guys think!
-Charlie
