Did de-smog and now i've got problems...

[YoungPUP]

Did the pair removal, tubes and all. Put it all back together, checked for pinched & disconnected lines, and that the carb intake boots from the airbox to the carbs were all connected,( pushed all the way down and onto the tops of the carbs from what i could feel and see) and now Ive got backfiring under load (especially if a little too low in a gear.) from the left bank  and ALOT  of popping from the same side under decel.  Don't know where else to look as this is a new problem and the pair removal was the last thing done.   Any ideas?   Thanks for the help in advance...

[Chillerman]

Does it happen to be a Cailfornia model?  You can tell by the canister under the frame and the extra ports on the carbs.  I have been fighting popping on my California model since I desmogged.  Sometimes I wish I hadn't!

[dago mooserider]

I have a standard cali model also. I had slight popping on decel before de-smog. I did de-smog and k&n (no pre-filter) at the same time and now have lots o poppin'. I have been told that the de-smog can lean it out slightly and lean can cause the decel popping. Mine runs great with the exception of the decel popping but the plugs do seem to confirm lean. I was instructed adjust the pilots to partially correct but I'm waiting till I do the exhaust to touch the carbs. I'm assuming that's my problem it may be yours as well. Most have done the de-smog and not had to touch the carbs. Maybe its a Cali thing....

[ricoman]

Air leak is my guess.
Check all gaskets, and the replacement plugs (where the hoses came off), also intake runner o-rings.

[Farther]

And header bolts.

[YoungPUP]

No not a Cali Model. Got lucky in that aspect. About the intake runner o-rings?  I didn't see any o-rings. loosened the band clamps on the carb boots on top of the carbs and pulled the boots off from there.  is that correct or did my ham hands syndrome jump up and bite my seat cover again.

[Six Guns]

 Loosen the band clamps on the carb boots on top of the intake runners and pull the intake runners out after you remove the the 2 bolts. The O-ring is on the bottom of the intake runners. You can't miss them. If you look at the bottom of the intake runners, you will see a grove where the o-ring sits.

[YoungPUP]

Sorry. By intake runners I'mm assuming that you all are refering to the black plastic piece on top of each carb that the intake boots clamp onto?  If I didn't disturb those is it possible to have messed up the o-rings, or am I missing something obvious???

[Patrick]

The intake runners are the round chrome thingys the bolt[2 bolts] to the cylinder head..
As far as the popping, it kinda sounds to me like like you have a leaking vacuum line or cap.. The caps are little black rubber thingys on the back side of the intake runners.. The exhaust gaskets/rings on these monsters can leak and can be a son of a gun to fix.. If you did a 'real' desmog then you removed the exhaust to eliminate the middle/underside tubes.. Did you change the exhaust rings??[I prefer the Viking fiber gaskets over the copper rings] Even if you did change them, they'll loosen and require tightening a couple times..
Where are the pilots set?? 2.25 turns works fine with 35 jets..

[simon]

I did a de-smog recently on my Valk without removing the headers as most instructions say to do. I just used an Allen wrench and slipped in between the exhaust pipes. Works great. It's a little tight but it beats pulling the exhuast system off. I figure, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Simon

[YoungPUP]

Ok didn't have to remove the exhaust to remove the lower tubes ( ball-end allen wrenches are a beautiful invention )  Was poking around on it today, and found that the carb boot on the rear carb on the left side wasn't on all of the way. ( a bit crooked, and the clamp had pulled up a bit) Guess I should've looked a bit closer than I did before I bothered ya'll. Sorry about that...  Thanks for all the help though.