tubes_rock

Sorry it took me a while, I've been busy.

425 isn't a bad reading for a pulse generator. The actual number isn't so important. What is important is that the number is between 300 and 900 (a wide range!) and that both pulse generators are within about 10% of each other, which yours are.

The bike won't run worth a dang without the airbox on it. It MUST have it, or you won't even get it to idle right. I verified that by experience!

150psi isn't bad at all. Anything over 90 and the engine should at least run well.

The timing cannot be set on these bikes. It's hard set at the facotory and is not adjustable.

The white/gray smoke i can't speak to, but we'll worry about that once the engine runs decently. It might just be some condensation from the bike sitting so long and not really heating up when running the engine.

it sounds like you have everything you need for your bike to run except decent fuel metering. The carbs is where I'd focus 100% of my attention at this point.

--Justin

fuel pump works great, 12v getting to spark unit, coils tested excellent and plug wires good, pulse generator tested 439 front 425 back with ohm meter (on this the book states 450-550ohms is the standard so not sure if this is a problem, put in new plugs and they all spark when turning over engine. I tried to check the timing but just could not figure that one out. the bike cranks but will not idle and when trying to acelerate to ride it is very weak bogging down/wont pull much. another thing it is doing is smokeing grey/white smoke but I did compression test and am getting 150psi on both cylanders(front and back).can you help? will the bike at least run decent without the airbox connected while doing test? do you think the guy did a bad job with carbs? thank you for your help

hello, I have been reading several post and you seem very helpfull. My questions should be perfect for you because I have a 1986 honda shadow vt700. so I purchased it from a guy who said it had been sitting up and he tried to clean carbs but needs carb cleaned. i took it to a guy who said he could clean them and he did he said it ran great for two rides but then started to run badly (you should know that the boots that go from carbs to airbox had been cut to get them out by the previous owner and pretty much lets air right in and i temporaily sealed with duct tape till i can find replacements) now any ajustments to the air fuel screw makes no difference i really dont know if i still have a carb problem. he said he thinks it could be the ignition so i took it home and tested all as follows according to service manual. (cont in next message)

What thread?

please help me. looking some past post you seem very knowledgeable about the vt700. could you please take a look at this thread for me and tell me what you think?

I'm sorry, who are you? What problem were we working on? Refresh my memory, because I'm drawing a blank at the moment...

--Justin

compression test went as follows


front jug

1st hit = 30psi
2nd hit = 160psi

rear jug

1st hit = 60psi
2nd hit = 160psi

brand new wires (150 bucks)
newer coils from a part bike (free)

So now where does that leave me?

Im going to go through the carbs tomorrow...plugs from the front jug were dry...and rear was a little rich...but the rear is hitting hard...

i still have intermittent ticking


if cleaning, rejetting and syncing carbs doesn't help...then it could be vaccum hoses or what?/ internal stuff...tappets? help

Ah! (I don't check my visitor messages often, sorry for the delay!)

Those grommets!

I had a Nighthawk that leaked a little around those, and I tried just about everything to keep it from leaking. (Even Crazy Glue!) In the end, I wound up pulling the valve cover and replacing them, using some Permatex HPV sealant on them. Never leaked again.

The downside to this is that on the Nighthawk, pulling the valve cover was a 30 minute job and on the Shadow, you have to remove the engine.

Actually, I don't quite believe that, as I'm writing it. You don't need to remove the valve cover, just lift it enough to remove the rubber plugs. You may be able to do that if you remove the fuel tank. That may give you the 3/4" of lift that you'll need to get new plugs in.

My bike is an '86, and the geometry between the engine, frame and everything else it a different than it is on the 83/84/85 versions.

Let me know what you find!

--Justin

The grommets that are between the cylinder head covers and engine.

Which rubber grommet?

--Justin