dies after idling for a few minutes and leaks gas from exhaust

[mdills981100]

Thanks for the info...

I'm making sure that measurement is right sometime after while, and it says mine should be 9.2mm.

(2) things I would like to mention about what I've noticed while digging through my carburetors.

1. The vacuum chamber springs are two different lengths. The left carb spring is about 1" or so shorter than the right side carb. Is that a big deal...?

2. The left carb jets are stamped / numbered 42S, 62, and 165. The right carb jets are stamped / numbered 42S, 62, and 160. Shouldn't those numbers be the same...?

MED

[John Hopkins]

Originally Posted by mdills981100

I've called a few places locally, and they all say that there's not a "rebuild kit" for the carbs on the bike I own. It's a 1998 Honda Shadow VT1100C2 ACE. They say I have to order the parts separately, one by one...? Is that pretty standard or should there be another solution? The only thing I haven't done is talk to Honda about the kits I need, and I'm calling them tomorrow, so I'll know then. I was just curious if it was common not to have a "kit" for certain models??? It's going to suck trying to pick out what I think I need.

MED

It's usually called a repair kit..not a rebuild kit..should cost about $20 each carb..

it contains the big rubber gasket.
a tiny o'ring for the pilot jet
a small o'ring for the drain
an oval o'ring for the air cutoff valve
a float needle and spring
a float seat and filter
and a couple of o'rings that you don't use if you don't split the carbs.

John.

[John Hopkins]

Originally Posted by mdills981100

Thanks for the info...

I'm making sure that measurement is right sometime after while, and it says mine should be 9.2mm.

(2) things I would like to mention about what I've noticed while digging through my carburetors.

1. The vacuum chamber springs are two different lengths. The left carb spring is about 1" or so shorter than the right side carb. Is that a big deal...?

2. The left carb jets are stamped / numbered 42S, 62, and 165. The right carb jets are stamped / numbered 42S, 62, and 160. Shouldn't those numbers be the same...?

MED

The springs should be the same length...you could gently stretch the shorter one..and the difference in the main jet sizes is probably due to some past modification of the exhaust pipes.. they will be ok.

John.

[mdills981100]

Is it OK to have two different main jet sizes because one exhaust pipe is shorter thant he other...? What would be the reasoning for the different sizes, technically? I understand exhaust mods require (usually) some sort of jet adjustment, but wouldn't it normally be the same for both carbs...?

MED

[gat803]

Originally Posted by mdills981100

Is it OK to have two different main jet sizes......?

Yes it's OK.
It is actually very common to run two different main jets on multi-cylinder motorcycle motors. The idea being that the rear cylinder on VTwins, and the center cylinder/s on inline motors run hotter than the front or outboard cylinders, so they need a little more fuel to keep them in line with the other jugs.

As long as the plugs are burning good, don't worry about it.

[NORVIN]

Yes it is very normal to have two different main jet sizes. I ran your bike using the calculator at CarbJetKits.com and came up with 180 front and 185 rear with 45 pilots and one shim on each diaphragm needle.

[mdills981100]

Ok, cool. I think I'm going to leave the jets alone, since the bike runs good and doesn't give problems on the highway. The only problem I have is "flooding", which has to do with the float valve needle and seat.

Also, I couldn't see through the 42S jet when I took it out. I ran a short piece of guitar string through it (plenty of guitars around the house) and it cleaned up nice. I'm putting it all back together, after checking the float level settings, and see how it goes. I'll keep you all posted...

Thanks,
MED

[mdills981100]

OK. NO MORE GAS LEAKING FROM THE EXHAUST PIPE...!! One of my floats was at about 7mm instead of the 9.2mm insisted by the book.

That's one down, many more to go. With the initial start-up of the bike, fresh out of the carb cleaning, it started up perfectly. I let it idle for a few minutes, and away I went. It ran great - all the way to the gas station and back.

I got on it this morning for the ride to work, and just out of the driveway, it hesitates. I keep going, and as long as I take it easy on the throttle, it'll pick up and go. If I gas it, it tries to die on me. BUT, when I get up to 50 - 60 mph, I can be cruising in 5th gear and it hesitates and tries to die, spitting and sputtering. Eventually, that "bad spot" in the gas goes away and it'll pick up and go. The pick up and go lasts about a minute or so, and it starts spitting and sputtering again. After that "episode", I'm good for about 45 seconds to a minute. Then it repeats itself. It seems like a cycle of too much or not enough of something.

I made it to work, and I'll see how the ride home goes. It's a 17 mile trip, so it has ample time to warm up and act like it should. It was about 34 degrees this morning, but that shouldn't affect the running after it's warm, should it...?

Anyways, I'm doing a legit "spark test" and "compression test" when I get home today. Hopefully, that will help me in the pursuit of a decent running bike.

MED

[mdills981100]

Scratch the "no gas from the exhaust anymore" statement above. The bike ran great yesterday on the way home. I let it idle for about 6 or 8 minutes after I got home. Everything was good. I tried to start it back last night, about 4 hours later, and I get gas from the exhaust pipes....!!

Sounds like Honda Service center here I come...

Thanks for the advice and everything I read on this site. A lot of good information here, but I can't seem to get this one right. You know the feeling of having to cut grass and knowing the push mower just won't run right...? It takes 20 pulls to start it and it runs like trash when it is working. Well, that's how I feel about this bike. I dread every ride because I know something is going to be wrong.

Anyway, thanks again. When I do find out what the problem really was, I'll post it back...

MED

[mdills981100]

I know I've had the last 3 posts already, but I want to keep a tally of my thoughts, so I'm adding them as they come to me.

I decided against the Honda service center idea. I figured that if I want to keep the bike and love and nourish it for many, many years, it's best if I learn to work on it. I'm ordering everything I need for a proper carb rebuild - including (2) 16011-MAH-000 which is the FLOAT VALVE SET from indyoem.com that should take care of the carbs overflowing, given the float levels are set right.

When I get it all back together, I'll post back on the results.

MED