Right side pipe bluer than the left...why?

[xs400neophite]

Today I was able to get the pivot pins out and cleaned the needles,filters and orifices out. There was good amount of debris in there but probly not enough to starv the fuel supply. I measured the float height, upside down from the top(bottom ) of the float to the edge of the(top) of the float bowl. The tangs had never been messed with as they were in line with the rest on the float arms..the floats measured about 22mm from high point of float to housing. I adjusted to 26/27 + - 1mm just to see if that did anything.The Haynes manual said 32mm but that did not seem right. The floats had no boyancy at all.

The pet cock is seemingly becoming more of a possible culprit aswell as the butterfly sync as I havnt delved into either.

When I started the bike up again, as it did last time when I cleaned the carbs,it took alot of trys to finally get it to start. The battery ran down so I had to charge it but was able to get it started. I noticed when I moved the bike,more spcificly leaned it toward the right side,there was a jump in idle. Dont know if that is significant or also points toward the petcock.I dont believe the vaccum hose is pinched or is leaking but will dbl check.More investigating and cleaning tomorrow and begin messing with the sync screw and see if she wont idle with no choke.

Tell me more of this muffler cement!! I dont care what it will look like as both holes are on the bottom and you cannot see it at all. I posted pics of my mufflers on a previous thread. Honestly you cannot see the rust and holes at all! I thought of lucite for those holes but muffler cement sounds more appropriate.

Those burn rings in the right carb are probly from oil in the chamber? I will have to deal with the head gasket soon too. Also the right side seems to be noisy compared to the left side, also probly not a good sign. All that overheating on that side may be doing parts in...ugh! Thanks for your help. I will keep you posted.

 

[bcware]

The more you describe the more I suspect fuel flow is coming too slowly.

You mentioned hard starts after you work on the carbs, but what happens when you've worked on the carbs that could cause this? You've drained the bowls dry. I suspect that they are simply taking a long time to fill up.

Did you ever try running the bike on prime? Did you prime the bowls before initial start up with dry bowls? If the petcock is set to 'on' and the bowls are dry you'll definitely kill the battery before the starter can pump enough fuel.

If your symptoms disappear when prime is used your petcock vacuum hose is likely the culprit.

Muffler cement and other similar special epoxy-like substances are sold at most chain automotive stores for a few bucks. You smear this putty over the holes and, probably, cure it by running the bike. I have never used it myself, but the previous owner of my bike did liberally.

Something else I would take a look at when you get a chance is your float needles in action. By that I mean hold the carbs right-side-up with the bowls removed and wiggle the floats up and down. Watch the float needle move; it needs to open enough to let fuel in fast enough. If it's not opening enough you'll be starved and if it opens too much it can become stuck and flood. The float needle can be adjusted independently of float height.