Carb help

[BrettB]

My 2000 tourer (25000 miles) has been running rough at low speeds for some time now.  I had an earlier problem with a fuel line disconnect and in line filter I installed, but removed it due to low flow problems.

The bike seems to run fine at highway speeds, but from 2000-2500 rpm in town it is not smooth.  No popping, but I can hear the miss in the engine.  The problem is especially noticable upon cold start up. 
I do most of my own maintenance, but I am afraid to work on the carbs as I know nothing about them.  My problem is that I  cannot find anyone  who knows Valks and their carb system.  Several months ago I had a shop check them.  The mechanic said he was familiar with valks. He adjusted them as best he could, but didn't have the tool necessary to make the final adjustment to get the low speed miss taken care of (of course, I was not told this until I went to pick the bike up).

I am wondering if anyone knows of a good mechanic in my area (central Illinois) that is familiar with Valks.  I know several people who say they have worked on 1500 Goldwings and the Valk "should be" the same, but that does not give me much confidence!

Also, just for my info, how much work can be done on the carbs without removing them...............I see all the posts about other owners working on them...........a lot on the low speed jets, but I don't recall anything about how hard it is and if the tank and air box has to come off to do it.

My riding buddies are trying to talk me into a fuel injected Goldwing so I don't have to mess with the carbs.  No offense to Goldwingers, they are great bikes, but they don't have the classic look of the Valk.

Thanks in advance.

[Mikey]

Mine sounded like it had a miss, or a tick, or something... I tightened my exhaust bolts, the noise went away, it runs better at idle, and it only took about 5 minutes to do. So i would reccomend checking that quick.

[98valk]

check all of your vacuum lines, usually they crack. change out the intake manifold o-rings. http://home.everestkc.net/richyrich/
then check all coil connections. check ohm resisitance all plug wires, which have a resistor in the plug connection, which could go bad.
first thing I would check is the vacuum diaphragm of the OEM petcock. search my posts for part #s and installing a snubber in the vacuum line. If its crack/worn near the center it is not fully opening causing low fuel flow look with magnification or u might not see the wear.

[Ricky-D]

I guess the first and best thing would be to give it a bunch of massive doses of Seafoam and/or Techron to see if that helps.

You can look at the plugs for some telltale signs and changing to new plugs would be warranted here.

If the carburetors are not synchronized closely that can be a contributing factor.

Definitely determining that it is a true "missing" problem would help since that determination would eliminate one whole side of the equation.   Electrical = Carburetion

Don't start messing with adjustments just yet. Especially so if it had previously been running good.

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[Patrick]

you didn't mention anything that you have tried to do to correct the problem.. The other info is all good..  Tighten stuff up and replace the vacuum lines if its been awhile since they were last replaced.. Run a full ,well mixed,  can of sea-foam thru it [maybe a couple tank fulls] and see if that helps.. Run it at the lower speeds until it try's to clean/smooth up and then slow down some more.. If that doesn't work then go ahead and get your hands dirty.. If the intakes are removed the float chambers are easier to remove to get at the low jets.. Get yourself the Honda bible if you don't already have one.. Its been said that all electrical problems are fuel related and all fuel problems turn out to be electrical related.. There is some truth to that,,but,, these valks have very little electrical[ignition] trouble and a fair amount of varnished low jet troubles.. Oh, almost forgot, I think one of the best additions to these monsters is an in-line fuel filter.. I 'force-fit' a normal plain ole every day 3/8" filter and haven't had any troubles..

[BrettB]

I have already done most of the maintenance items I have read about on this site..............I replaced all the vacum lines, pair valve lines, rebuilt the petcock, run volumes of sea foam through it (I use that about every 3rd or 4th tankful anyway).  I have the intake O rings but have not changed them yet due to not knowing how.

I'll double check everything to make sure nothing is loose, pull the plugs to see if they tell me anything.

I have the factory manual on the Valk, but I'm still a little intimidated to work on the carbs.