You can tune a piano, but you can't...

I got a lot of things done on my bike today. First things first. I got my Carbtune II! I am amazed it arrived so quickly. That and the colortune were both on my porch when I got home from FTMS. But first...

So I tested the primary and secondary coil resistance. Everything is within spec. Getting to the wiring wasn't so easy. I had to shift things around a bit, and it was closer to the handlebars than I thought it would be. It was wedged behind the radiator cap housing. I was finally able to check everything, and it looks ok. The other setting was 3.2ohms, but I am not going to post that picture. It looks just like this one, 'cept the numbers are different.

I then removed all the spark plug caps (thanks Hap, for the terminology tip) and tested each one for resistance. The lowest number I got was 8.2. (It's within specs, but still a tad elevated for something that is supposed to be rated at 5kohms or less). This one, however, was tested at 32.0kohms. I'm surprised it was even sending a spark to the coil (probably wasn't.) Another tested at 18.6 so I decided then and there to call Hap. He recommended getting new spark plug caps, model # SD05F, so I hustled my butt up to FTMS and picked up 4. I could have gotten away with buying just 2, but I wanted everything even steven.

Here is the new cap. Just for giggles, I tested it's rating and it tested right where it was supposed to. The only problem: These caps are for a 14mm plug, and I have 12mm. I was assured by the good folks at FTMS that this one would work, and the 14mm (the B in the code) was for the threads. I switched orange boots and slid them into place. The clickety click click of the plug being seated was a clue, as was the fact the bike fired right up.

I also ordered the 12mm from them, and will probably return these just because. I ordered the iridium plugs, which will be in on Wednesday. No sense messing with size differences when I don't have to.

Here it is, sitting snug as a bug in a ... well, spark plug. The plug is seated firmly and the bike turned over sans problems. All four were easy to install, and had no problems with the wiring. I was warned it might be too short, but things have worked out so far, and have a bit of slack to spare. I am hoping the 12mm fit as well.

Man, that engine looks dirty.





So, I got the Carbtune all put together, hooked up my gas supply (made by yours truly) and hooked up the carbtune to the bike. Easy cheesy. This first pic is a shot of my carb vacuum before doing any adjusting. The bike is running at operating temperature, (app 1100rpms) and seems to only have a problem with carb #4. I was really expecting things to be way off, but lo and behold, only that one had a problem. I haven't hooked the colortune up yet, this is just the carbtune.



Kind of anti-climactic, to be honest. I was really expecting armageddon with massive changes needing to be applied. So much for that. This bike is really surpassing all of my expectations as to how it's holding up. Little corrosion, mostly quick fixes, inexpensive. It almost made me think this was an expense I could have done without.






Here it is after adjusting one lousy screw. One screw! And only about a quarter turn (if that). Running like a top. I gave it throttle, and it dropped right back to where it was supposed to be. I don't really know enough about reading the settings... the manual states the levels aren't important, and to check with your vehicles manual.

The colortune is another issue. I don't think I can use it correctly yet because the caps are 14mm and the colortune plug is 12mm. I tried hooking it up, but saw nothing down the tube as far as the pretty blue bunsen burner color was concerned. I guess I am going to have to get those 12mm caps after all.

All in all, an excellent day of tinkering. I have learned a lot, like: stochiometric: the perfect mixture of fuel and air to form the perfect explosion. (14.7 air:1 part fuel)

Tomorrow, more tinkering. I may even hit other motorcycle shops and see if they have the 12mm SD05F caps I need. At least then I'd be able to work with the color tune. I am hoping the hard start problem might be corrected as well, but that may be a lot to ask for. Hey, I can dream, can't I?