running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

Post Reply
Badgerireland
Inactive member
Junior Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 6:01 pm
Bikes: '49 FL
'75 CHOP
Location: Ireland

running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#1

Post by Badgerireland »

Hi,
I just got a 49 pan (Billy Lane bobber) she is in great condition but I am having terrible problems starting her.I am used to kicking my '67 glide and my 75 chop but this is not making sense. The intermediate jet (s&s super b) is .0295 (fairly standard) but the plugs are fouling bad.When I put the idle mixture screw to 1 1/2 turns as it should be it is still fouling (it came to me on 31/2 turns and fouling!!!). I have tried everything .025,0265,028,0295,031,033 they are all fouling. The gap on the morris mag is .015 as it should be,the plugs are gapped at .022. Tappets are set and fine. Every now and again she kicks back like nothing I have ever felt,nearly broke my ankel a few times.I dont know if the kick backs and rich running are connected or not.
steinauge
Inactive member
Senior Member
Posts: 521
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:05 pm
Bikes: 1938U,1949FL,1961FL,1968XL,1979FL ,1958 FL, 1965 BMW,1975 Honda CB750
Been thanked: 14 times

Re: running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#2

Post by steinauge »

1-Does the motorcycle run or not?Did it run when you got it ?2-have you done a compression test?3-What Morris mag are you running? fixed advance,centrifugal advance or impulse coupler? 4-What year heads and type of intake manifold are you using? 5-do you have a consistent,hot spark at the plugs? this information would make trying to help a lot easier.
Badgerireland
Inactive member
Junior Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 6:01 pm
Bikes: '49 FL
'75 CHOP
Location: Ireland

Re: running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#3

Post by Badgerireland »

Yes the bike is running nice when on the road,beautiful to ride but sounds rough when idle.I havent access to compression test yet,the compression on the kicker feels alot more than my other two 74's.The mag is a mm74e,centrifugal advance.I will hav to check the year of the heads(I dont live near where I have to keep the bike). Manifold is an S&S Pan o ring manifold.I dont consider the spark to be bright enough.I am going to check for metal particles on the permanent magnet to see if its bridging the gap to the field coil as I read this elsewhere on this forum.Thanks for the interest and reply.
steinauge
Inactive member
Senior Member
Posts: 521
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:05 pm
Bikes: 1938U,1949FL,1961FL,1968XL,1979FL ,1958 FL, 1965 BMW,1975 Honda CB750
Been thanked: 14 times

Re: running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#4

Post by steinauge »

Well,a compression test would be helpful.The first thing I do when I get a problem like yours is ignition(all of it),compression,AIR LEAK,fuel delivery.If this all seems OK and the bike is still very hesitant to start I remove the magneto and install a battery-points setup.If the engine starts and runs pretty normally I either go through the mag or convert to B.P.If not I go back to air leak.This works about 9 out of 10 times.The tenth one will be something pretty off the wall.I love magnetoes but I DO NOT trust an unproven one.
Badgerireland
Inactive member
Junior Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 6:01 pm
Bikes: '49 FL
'75 CHOP
Location: Ireland

Re: running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#5

Post by Badgerireland »

Cheers for the advice! Two of my mates helped me out,I now have a distributor with points this has cured the problem for now.I will now investigate the mag as it seems to have no retard setup on it! Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Bosheff
Senior Member
Posts: 1270
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:23 pm
Bikes: 65 FLH 82 FLH
Location: Michigan
Been thanked: 60 times

Re: running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#6

Post by Bosheff »

It is not totally essential to use a compression guage to check compression. Pull the plugs and hold a finger over the plug hole and kick. You should get a nice crisp "Pop". Now do the same to the other cylinder. Both should sound somewhat the same. I know this will not give you an accurate reading, but it does let you know the relationship of one cylinder to the other. If one cylinder is strong and the other isn't, you know ya got a weak cylinder for whatever reason. In reality the cylinders should be within 20 percent of each other. I've seen cylinders with as low as 60# each run reasonably well. If you don't know what a strong cylinder should sould like under compression, do the kick test to an engine that you know is in good condition. This will give you a starting point and can be done in the field with only a plug wrench needed to do the test....bosheff
Badgerireland
Inactive member
Junior Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 6:01 pm
Bikes: '49 FL
'75 CHOP
Location: Ireland

Re: running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#7

Post by Badgerireland »

Thanks for the advice! I did a compression test and she came out great,not even 10% difference between the two.She seems to be running perfect now that I took off the mag,it was a timing problem.Thanks again.
Panacea
Senior Member
Posts: 2087
Joined: Fri May 24, 2002 1:00 am
Bikes: 64FL 99FLHR 01FXSTD
Location: Mpls. MN.
Has thanked: 72 times
Been thanked: 145 times

Re: running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#8

Post by Panacea »

Also make sure the enrichener isn't hung up and not going all the way down after warm up, sometimes the lever doesn't hook the top of the post correctly causing it to not close all the way...Mike
Badgerireland
Inactive member
Junior Member
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 6:01 pm
Bikes: '49 FL
'75 CHOP
Location: Ireland

Re: running rich and hard starting 49 pan.

#9

Post by Badgerireland »

Thanks for that,I did check that but it was ok.
Post Reply

Return to “Troubleshooting”