have another problem to share!
when i try to start the bike up in the morning or if the bike is left sitting for more than half an hour it splutters and misses like crazy for nearly exactly 20 minutes every time and then suddenly it behaves again and its ridable. When trying to ride it in this state you have to constantly clutch and rev it to make it go and keep it alive ....rides like a total pig - carb thoroughly cleaned today ... still persists .

Could this be the pulser that I just had rewired :confused1: ... please tell me no ...

please ..

Seems to be engine-temperature related. Tehn again you get back at either fuel or ignition systems.

1. To check ignition system, best to A) make sure all connectors etc are tight and clean and B) exchange with parts from known good bike to identify the culprit. Mind you, also the coil heats up so this could also be the problem.

2. Fuel system: could also be that your carb is somehow set extremely lean in the midrange. I conclude that, because you do manage to start it and to have it tickover, then when you open the throttle and load the engine it starts misbehaving. Checks: float level, fuel floa to the float bowl ok, setting of the needle in the primary carb: are all washers present and in the correct location?

Alternatively, if the only thing you changed between before problem - now is the rewound pulser (I'm sure you mean the coils in the stator that feed the ignition and not the two pickups btw) than this is a very strong indication that the problem has something to do with that. Measured the resistances of everything?

Auke

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Auke
http://aukemarieke.blogspot.com

I dont think this is related to electrics as the bike runs fine when warm ????

Sounds almost certainly to be bad fueling or carburation..

The carb is clean but is it tuned ?? Are you carb rubbers in good order ? No leaking from the plastic parts ?

The bike only seems to calm down when nice and hot.


Tell me.. how does it idle when cold and when hot ??

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

I had a similar problem with my XT, as Ted mentioned it turned out to be damaged rubbers on the carburettor intake manifolds; leading to too much air getting into the mix, which resulted in symptoms you describe.

Try this: Get a plant mist spray bottle thing full of water, start the engine and keep it running. Spray all around one side of the carburettor, then the other. If you've got a leak you'll find it easily by listening to the engine as you spray the water. My leak was so bad that a fine mist of water, sucked through the cracks caused the engine to stall.

It'd be a good way to eliminate it as a problem if nothing else.

thanks guys
when I inspected the cables to the pickups I saw one wire slightly exposed and earthing off the case. Re insulated it and bingo - bike starts and from cold works fine across the entire rev range. Strange why before, after 20 minutes it ceased earthing off the case ??? - maybe oil circulating was getting between the exposed wire and the case. Happy! So all that was left to do was pick up the new battery I left charging overnight in a shop and then I could hit Colombia!
I have jumpstarted this bike off other batteries ( I have two batteries!) a million times but for some reason unknown to me yesterday morning I touched the positive off the negative and bang big spark. It took a small piece off the donor battery positive terminal
Got new battery, tried tow start ... couldnt get bike to start. Eventually it did after much rewiring and reinsulating but rougher than before. Now it wont start at all. Am extremely worried i might have damaged the CDI with the power surge ... is this possible?

Auke - yes it was actually the two pick ups I had rewound - dont ask! Some useless electrician in Peru was convinced the pickups were a previous problem and proceeded to hack away the sealed casing with a nail and a stone on the pavement ( I kid you not .. I was that desperate) until he could remove the old coils and rewind anew! Of course it wasnt the problem but since then Ive been travelling with a very dodgy pickup.

I also discovered today that my stator and pickups havent been getting much oil for months. I cleaned the two oil entry points in the crankcase and found the bottem one was blocked solid with silicone. The difference now after I turn over the bike and remove the crankcase cover is startling .. oil everywhere now.

Although the stator and the other stuff in there are suposed to be covered in oil, it does not hurt them when they are not. No worries there. However, if there is so much sh*t residing inside your engine I'd clean that out to avoid any gunk blocking a critical oil channel.
As for power surges and CDI's, no problem: the starter circuit is separate from the ignition so damage highly unlikely, further, you got it running again.
So, it's something else again.

Auke

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Auke
http://aukemarieke.blogspot.com