runnin horrible on left cylinder

[mikeybikey82]

ok this is driving me NUTS!! here is the situation:
i got the bike in november-ish, from a guy i have known for a handful of years. it supposedly ran very well 4 years ago, until he layed it down and broke the clutch cable. since then it has sat, and i acquired it for $100. so, apparently nothing has happened since it ran fine except for sitting for 4 years.
so, i get it, take the carbs apart, clean everything, put them back in, and, i get a pretty bad backfire out of the left cylinder, even coming up out of the carb itself.
i took it back apart, cleaned everything with cleaner, air gun, etc....still same thing.
i have replaced the plugs twice, just in case. adjusted the mixture screws (per drewpys recommendation), cleaned tank, inline gas filter, replaced the pod filters.....still same thing.
so i figured maybe it was just lean. the jets are 135 and 42.5 on both carbs, and after researching on here and the manual, figured something was off. so i upped the left to 145, and left it a 42.5 on the pilot.....still same thing.
so, what the hell?? could something be causing the intake valve to not seat properly? i havent REALLY ridden it because i dont want to screw something up. any ideas guys?
sorry for the super long post...
Mikey

 

[Travis]

What's the compression on both cylinders? Do you have good spark on both sides?

 

[mikeybikey82]

i have not done a compression test. it *looks* like i am getting the same strong spark from both sides.

 

[cturek]

I vote you have too high a float/fuel level or a faulty float needle. What color are the plugs after it runs? Are they black? You could be simply dumping in too much fuel in that cylinder.

 

[xschris]

sounds like a timing issue. maybe valves are not adjusted right or a bad seat. do you get a lot of blow back out of the carb on the bad side? that would be a intake valve.

 

[mikeybikey82]

the plugs are black when i pull them, both look the about th same. the floats sit at the same level, but i have not measured them, which i should.
i do get blow back out of that carb when it back fires, and you can see the flame come up into the carb. maybe some gunk from it sitting is causing the intake valve on that side to not seat properly?

 

[drewpy]

its needs a damn good thrashing! (italian servicing is what us Brits call it)

 

[mikeybikey82]

haha, you think i should just take it out and give it some throttle? it kinda seems like it runs really good for a second or so then cuts back out when i go 15-20 up and down my little road...

 

[drewpy]

yep, I've suggested that before and it worked.

sticky float causes that, get some fuel flowing ithrough the carb.

 

[mikeybikey82]

haha sounds good, i will do that when i get home then. i think ill put the 135 back in though seeing how it didnt seem to make any difference when i upped it.

 

[xschris]

hope it turns out ok

 

[OliverB]

"Italian Tuneup" - look around, adjust the mirrors and go wide open throttle! I use that excuse on my wife every time I merge onto the Interstate with her RX 8.