jmd_forest
Bldg 1980 XS400 Cafe Bike
So, since this spring, our 2 year old cafe bike will not start without starting fluid. The carbs were meticulously (and I mean meticulously) cleaned and rebuilt during the build 2 years ago (completely dissassembled and cleaned, replace idle mixture needle o-rings and throttle shaft o-rings, float valves replaced, float height set, new gaskets). The intake boots look in good shape. Full choke and a tiny shot of starting fluid in each pod and she starts right up although she will stutter and backfire regularly for about 3 minutes or so while you gently goose the throttle back and fourth until warm and then run pretty dam smooth. At that point the choke can be pushed in. Push in the choke anytime before that and she'll die. The mods to the bike include pods (we kept the factory exhaust and have not jetted the carbs), and Iridium plugs (NGK BPR7EIX) with zero resistance caps. I figure the carbs need to be cleaned again but since the bike will be down for a few days I figure I should also take care of anything else that might be causing it (adjusting the valves???). I recently replaced the plugs and despite the pods, the plugs look like its running rich. Any hints/advice would be appreciated.