| Author | Message | ||
     Sanchez |
Ok, maybe I didn't get a new bike, but it feels like it. I finally fixed some nagging problems with the Chicken Nugget. No single issue was huge, but the cumulative effect really put a dent in my enjoyment of riding it. Item 1: Clutch cable. My clutch has been getting stickier for a while, and the other day I felt it pop on my way home. I picked up a new clutch cable, and it's a good thing I did:  Item 2: Clutch lever. My clutch lever has felt kind of sloppy since I low sided at Barber Motorsports back in July. I had a spare XB lever laying around, so I threw it on, and it feels much better. Now I just have to get over having one black lever and one silver one. Item 3: Spark plugs. My bike just rolled over 10k miles, so picked up some new plugs. My old ones were a "bit" fouled:  I suspect my bike is running rich because I haven't rejetted the carb since swapping to X1 cams. It may just be the long warmups with the choke on since the weather's getting colder, though. I'll have to keep a closer eye on the new plugs. The new plugs are Buell Pro splitfires. Anyone have any advice on gapping them? The terminal is so wide, it covers the whole range from .038 to .043. Should I line up the marks on the gapper with the left side, the right side, or in the middle? I put it in the middle to start with, and it feels good, but I'm wondering if I can get away with widening it out some. Item 4: Shift linkage. I removed my shift linkage using the pavement at Barber in the same lowside that damaged my clutch lever. I put it back together on site with a drill, some fuel line, and a few assorted bolts.  For a ghetto job, it worked really well, but it feels much smoother with a real linkage back on it. Item 5: Mystery rattle. I FINALLY found it! My instincts were right, and it was the exhaust. My muffler is a bit odd. There's a mounting bracket that bolts to the frame, and the muffler is meant to bolt to the mount. Instead, the mount is welded to the muffler, and the bolts holding the mount to the frame must be removed to get it off. One of those mounting bolts (the hard to reach one, of course) had come loose, and the muffler was wiggling around. | ||
| Firemanjim |
Sanchez, regarding your long warm-ups. If you have rejetted your bike you might not even need to use the choke/enrichner. I have not used mine in years--a couple squirts with accelerator pump and fire the bike up,keep rpms up a bit until it idles on its own. You will not be fouling plugs anymore. | ||
| Leftcoastal |
Try to find a wire-type tool for gapping the plugs instead of the 'ramp' type. Much more accurate! Those plugs in the photo don't look all that fouled - the color on the electrode tip and the end of the insulator looks about right. I think Jim has a good point on the long warm-up with the enrichener on. I think that is the cause of most of that carbon on the plugs. AL | ||
| Sanchez |
After going back and reading the service manual, I do think I tend to leave the enrichener out too long. I definitely can't get by without it, though. How's this look? http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/238919.html After I put the new plugs in, I took the bike out for a few miles and some WOT runs. I see a bunch of soot on the base of the plug, but nothing on the contacts. Edit: I have a larger slow jet and a stock main jet. Some on this board have advised me that I may need to lean the mixture out since swapping to X1 cams. Other mods on the bike: Buell race kit air cleaner, headers, and muffler. (Message edited by sanchez on November 05, 2006) |
