Last weekend:
Took apart the carbs, because the left cylinder wasn't getting any fuel. They were full of dirty rust sediment, so I decided to ditch my temporary fueltank and prep the big one.
Inspected and cleaned the petcock, checked the vacuum function, and attached it to the manifold, cut a fuelline to size and voila, looks factory standard.
Meanwhile, I spraypainted the steel bits on the carbs because they had started rusting already.
Everything back together, I couldn't get a decent run out of the engine, so I decided to check the timing, which I adjusted some time ago. Turns out the left was somehow firing early, which explains the blowbacks. Set it all back to spec with extreme care, kick it round and round, but no music. Eventually around 11pm, I found the culprit, a faulty ground-wire.
I try again the next day. Nothing. Check timing, way off, I'm going crazy, set timing, try to run it, fail. Have dinner, come back to a cooking ignition-coil, curse myself, check for sparks, find spark, try to start, fail, spill oil all over the pavement, go absolutely freaking MAD.
When it does run, only on full choke and it dies instantly with the slightest amount of throttle....
Abandoned the bike and relaxingly built me a seatpan.
Not exactly a succes story but all work is good work I guess.
Next plans:
- check manifolds for leaky attachment, maybe get new ones as these are all cracked up on the outside.
- Check engine advance for wear (xs650 seems to have a spring-issue, same on an 400?)
- Maybe get some new contact breakers
- Try and get it running for dynamic timing
-Build a seat