Gas Smell on highway

[Dauntae]

A little expensive for my area but area to area it changes, I have a private mechanic that will do it for $50 but hes pretty busy and hard to get his free time but not super bad for price, Hope he won't go crazy charging if he finds anything else to fix though.

[adlowe]

That is what I would call a high price. But with the time the owner spent with you, I'd take the chance that this is a good shop and pay it. Given the age of the bike, he's probably included a few "unlisted" items in his quote. You'll find out when you pick up the bike. Given that you've got an unexpected $200 in your hands, take a chance.

[Scrapdog2grand]

sounds like it may have been jetted for aftermarket pipes. you just never know with people these days. curious to know what they find.

[Dauntae]

Yes keep us poster

[RockyG]

More research on the streets...If I roll the throttle anything but nice & easy, bike balks, and smells like unburned gas. Ease off, response returns and smell is gone. And, I'm now realizing that this is a safety issue, especially 2up. Last thing I want is to need to move fast and stall.

Since I'm not equipped to handle it I took it up to the shop for a diagnostic ($65. if I decide not to fix it there). Estimate to disassemble/clean, & synch carbs $215 plus parts. Now that's kind of big money for me, but realistically, I'll be lucky if they take the money, and do it right. If I add $300 to the purchase price I still would have bought the bike.

I sold my old 1972 cb500Four today, and my missing dog was found after 6weeks 4days, so the signs look good....

[Dauntae]

Best part is finding the pup I bet, If he fixes it for that I would say it's worth it.

[John Hopkins]

I think about $250 to cure your problem is a good deal..however If they find damaged diaphragms they will not mess about trying to find the cheapest supplier..

pay for this job this time but unless you are quite wealthy I would advise you to start learning to do a few jobs yourself.

When I started riding it was because a motorcycle was the cheapest form of transport, I'm talking about 1960 and much to my wife's despair I always seemed to have a bike in bits..I paid £10 about $15 for my first bike..

John.

[RockyG]

Originally Posted by John Hopkins

unless you are quite wealthy I would advise you to start learning to do a few jobs yourself.

I want to start learning how, I have a Clymer manual, and of course lots of info here. Any recommendations on basic/essential tools, beyond the Craftsman socket set I already have ?

[bikenut]

I have the same bike. This is not an internet diagnosis of your problems, but just state what I found with this model/year. Fuel system was gummed when I got it, since 1997 most of these bikes have been stowed and this one does not like to be idle for more than two weeks. I got it with a leaking petcock and when I replaced it with a newer chrome petcock I got on ebay, the old one had gummy deposits on the pencil-shaped fuel screen. It needed a new air filter as it was running rich. New NGK irridium spark plugs gave no noticeable difference in performance. Big improvement after I ran several tanks of Gumout and Chevron Techron fuel system cleaners; I did not need to get into the carbs.

Changed all fluids: oil, coolant, gear oil, fork oil, DOT4 front and rear, etc. Used what Honda specifies for fluids except a heavier weight fork oil plus a 1mm increase in the spring spacer.

I suspect your ACE needs a thorough fuel system cleaning, new fuel filter, and several runs of fresh 87 octane fuel with Gumout to clear things up. This bike does not like premium fuel. Try balancing the carbs particularly if you notice lots of vibration, and search this board for "manometer" as no fancy tools are needed. I routinely hit 100mph on the freeway and there is still plenty of throttle left. Make sure your tires are fresh by reading the date codes on the sidewalls before you do top speed test runs. Good luck.

[adlowe]

Originally Posted by RockyG

I want to start learning how, I have a Clymer manual, and of course lots of info here. Any recommendations on basic/essential tools, beyond the Craftsman socket set I already have ?

A genuine Honda Service Manual is the most valuable tool. It will save you more in parts than the Clymer cost. (If that's too pricey, at least get yourself a red pen so you can post corrections in the Clymer.) Honda's Common Service Manual might be worthwhile for you too. (There was recently a download link here somewhere.)

Note: Your bike has the single-pin-crank engine that was installed on ACEs (but NOT the ACE Tourer) and Aeros. Service manuals and fluid capacities are different than the dual-pin-crank engines on the other Honda 1100s.

You should have a decent set of wrenches and a couple of good screwdrivers. Honda recommends a couple of exotic specialty tools that you don't really need. A torque wrench should supplement that socket set.

Build yourself a manometer. You'll need vacuum port adapters to use it. If you can't figure out how to make your own from the picture then buy them.