We've got a runner

[JPG1911]

Howdy everyone! I've been away for almost a year, but I've finally had some time to return to the Chonda. When I last posted in July of last year, I had just gotten some parts in, and gotten the bike to crank up for the first time. Around the same time, I picked up a neglected Harley Sportster that has been occupying most of my free time and budget.

Restoring the Harley to running and riding condition has been no small endeavor, the best part is how much I've learned about motorcycles. After getting it back on the road, I managed to get 100 miles out of it before the primary chain tensioner broke and prompted a clutch/primary overhaul. During the downtime waiting for parts, I got bored, and finally made some room in the shed and brought the Chonda home - she had been living in a friend's shed for quite awhile.

I dove into the wiring and discovered lots of previous owner "fixes" that I had to unfix. I finally have full electrical function, and everything works like it's supposed to!! The fuel petcock was leaking when on, but I was able to slow the leak to a dribble - not safe by any stretch of the imagination, but it was enough to allow me to tinker with the bike enough to get it started again.

The first thing I noticed was the astronomically high idle speed. I would guess that it was ideling around 2500-3000 RPM. I could let go of the clutch and the bike would take off nicely. I finally figured out how to adjust the idle at the throttle assembly, and obtained a nice idle ~900RPM. The 30 Mikuni carb probably needs to be jetted a little higher, but I was ripping up the street into 5th gear with no problems. I weigh in around 250lbs, so I was pleasantly surprised. There is no speedo cable on the bike, but I would guess that I was hitting around 60mph, and it felt like the bike had more to give, if I wanted it. I rode all around my rural neighborhood, testing and tweaking things, and the bike was running great. The only issue I was having was starting it, I had to hook up jumper cables from my truck, and even then I couldn't get the motor to spin more than 1 revolution, so I would use the button to prime the engine, then kick it over. This method worked marginally well when the engine was cold, when it was hot, I could kick start it with one or two kicks. What I previously thought was a valve timing issue coupled with high compression turned out to be a weak starter solenoid. I ordered a new battery, new starter solenoid, and that problem was solved, the starter is now able to turn the engine over in the conventional way. Before I got the new batt and solenoid however, the fuel leak had gotten worse, and I tried to tighten up the petcock fitting again, only to have it strip right off and pour a full tank of fuel right out of the bottom. Luckily I had an oil drain pan withing arms' reach and kept most of it from spilling on the ground.

Now I am once again waiting on parts. I have a new valve/inspection cover coming, to replace the cracked and leaking one, as well as a grips/throttle sleeve/throttle assembly/throttle cable set I found on eBay for $15 <here>, LED turn signals, a UNI pod air filter, petcock, fuel filter, fuel line, mirrors and mirror clamps. Several of the items are coming from China, and show delivery dates of 4/17 - 5/23, so I will just have to wait.

Once I have those parts, I am going to try for a Vermont license plate that I should be able to transfer to North Carolina *fingers crossed*

Here's a current pic


One more thing I want to do to the bike is replace the wimpy stock headlight. After much consideration and looking at different options, I think I have settled on this one

I also plan to paint the engine and both wheels with black high gloss engine enamel, and paint the remaining shiny bits and front forks with either hi-heat BBQ paint, or plasti-dip to match the side plastics and fenders that I have already painted. There are a few worn areas of the frame and handlebars that I'd like to paint as well, and the seat needs recovered or replaced. That's about it for now. One thing's for sure, I wouldn't have gotten nearly this far without the awesome people on this forum. From the bottom of my heart!!!

[JPG1911]

Future mod list I plan to pursue:

Better exhaust system
Properly Jet the Carb
Stiffer fork springs and new fork oil or possibly swap in Honda forks - if that's possible
Do away with factory speedo in favor of Trail Tech Vapor
DRC edge tail light
Larger capacity fuel tank

[SpudRider]

You have done well.

[guttafixit]

Nicely done. Looks good. And you gave me an idea for my front blinkers. I wasn't sure on blinkers like yours or the ones that hang off the handle bars. I like the ones you have.

[Weldangrind]

Nice work. I bet that it'll start more easily once you rejet.

Maybe instead of new springs, you could experiment with pvc preload spacers and new oil. That might meet your needs.

One reason your bike hits around 60 is that it's an OHC engine. They out-rev the pushrod motors.

[Weldangrind]

Please feel free to start a thread on your Sporty.

[JPG1911]

Thanks Weld, I plan to pick up some jets this weekend, and see if I need to change the float height. I'm also picking up some fork oil today b/c the Harley needs it too, what size PVC spacers should I make? I have tons of schedule 40 and 80 in 3/8", 1/2", and 3/4" diameters in my shop.

Yes, It was definitely rev happy

I will happily start a Sporty thread over in the other rides section, I have lots of pics

[Weldangrind]

Not sure. Start by determining the spring diameter, and then match the PVC; I'd try a 1" spacer and go from there. For fork oil, I use Valvoline Maxlife ATF, per Spud's exhaustive research.

Looking forward to the Sporty thread.

[JPG1911]

Well. My eBay app just confirmed that the petcock and uni filter are waiting in my mailbox, maybe I'll have time to swing by the powersport store on the way home and snag some jets and do a little tinkering tonight. I'm at sea level, iirc the recommendation is a 25 slow and 120 main. is that about righ?

[Weldangrind]

I'd go 110 main and 25 slow. If it's still cold blooded, try a 27.5 slow.

[JPG1911]

I will give that combination a try Weld, unfortunately I ordered a petcock for a XR250, it looked the same, but had a larger tank fitting that was not compatible with my tank. I will have to send it back and get a different one that fits my bike. Perhaps I should order one for an XR200. I made the same mistake with the valve inspection cover, the parts are very similar, and are easily mistaken for one another in photos. If I get a chance, I'll take the old one by the powersports store tomorrow and see if they have anything compatible in stock, man I hate waiting on parts in the mail when I know a ride is one part away.

[guttafixit]

Not sure if this helps but this is what I used to buy my new petcock. Since when I got the bike it was missing.

http://www.kandstech.com/productreleases/newprod178.pdf

I measured my tank before I ordered it and it fit perfect with no leaks.

[JPG1911]

Thanks for the suggestion!

Unfortunately, my petcock utilizes a threaded fitting. I purchased one that said it fit multiple XR bikes, it looked identical to mine, except that it had screws in the face instead of rivets like mine. I thought this would be a nice upgrade since it was serviceable/rebuildable vs the sealed/riveted face on mine. When it arrived, the body of the unit is identical to mine, but the threaded fitting was slightly larger in diameter, and the filter tube was also slightly larger. After quite a bit of searching around, I found this one on ebay. When looking at the pictures of this unit side by side with the incorrect one I purchased, there are subtle differences that one can see between the two. The one I have linked to above has the slightly smaller fitting, slightly smaller filter, and is riveted, just like mine. The seller is US based, so I should have it in my hands by the end of the week!!

One other odd issue is vexing me. I mentioned above that I had replaced the battery and starter solenoid, and that doing so had solved the weak starting issue. It's back. I have been doing a lot with the wiring lately, and all I can figure is that I must have a weak ground somewhere. When I first put the new solenoid on, the starter was able to turn the engine over normally - this was the first time it has done this. The part is only a few days old, and I have only turned the engine over a few times since installing it. When I was testing the clutch interlock yesterday, the same condition recurred. Even with a fully charged battery and a brand new starter solenoid, the engine will turn one revolution, then get stuck. If I hold down the starter button, the solenoid will whine. I can "bump" the engine over by quickly pressing the starter button repeatedly, but it won't spin anymore like it did the first time after I changed the solenoid. Also, possibly related, the headlight quit working, but the bulb is fine.

GTG for now.

[JPG1911]

Update* I received the new petcock today and it fit wonderfully. I hastily threw the tank back on with the new petcock and hooked it up to the carb. Slapped the seat on and tried to start the engine. I'm having the same issue with extremely hard starting. I tried to start it with the button until I got the solenoid too hot, then worked up quite a sweat trying to get it kick started. No dice. Luckily, my driveway is quite steep, and I was able to get a rolling start and let out the clutch to get it cranked. The first few tries, the rear tire just locked up and slid. I had to sit very far back on the seat - almost where a passenger would sit - to get enough traction to turn the engine over. This is an effective method of starting for now, but I will have to work out the starter issues before I begin commuting on it.

Anywho, I tweaked the carb a little, and got it running decently. There is a phillips head screw on the right side of the Mikuni carb that I believe to be the mixture screw, after I got the engine good and warmed up with several laps around the block, I tried running it in half a turn, but it was bogging down. Running the screw back out 1 full turn seemed to give me better throttle response, I assume clockwise(in) is leaning the mixture and counter-clockwise(out) is enrichening the mixture?

I have set a good idle, and set the mixture probably as good as I can for now, I will have more tuning to do when I get some new jets to play with. Oh, and the headlight(wiring) is just fine, it just doesn't work unless the bike is running, which I guess is normal.

I still have no working speedo, but I turned on a very accurate GPS app on my phone and went for a full throttle run, I am happy to report that the 11 year old, previously neglected bike hauled my 252 pound butt to 59mph before I had to slow down to turn, but there was definitely more in there. I am confident it will hit 65+ on a longer straightaway, maybe more when I re-jet it. I really have no desire to go that fast on this bike, but it will eventually be a commuter and I live off a 55mph road that I will have to travel 6 miles on at least twice daily. It's nice to know I won't be getting passed on my way to and from work like the folks who ride scooters up and down this road.


I have some pics of the new LED turn signals and a few other new parts I installed, I would throw them up on photobucket right now, but I'm about to go on a kid-free vacation with Mrs. 1911 tomorrow, and I still gotta pack. I will post pic laden updates of the progress when I get back next week. I'm also due for a quarterly bonus in a few weeks and the rumor is that we hit all our numbers, looks like the coffers will be plenty full enough to get some more new parts for the Chonda. Right now I'm thinking headlight, taillight, trailtech vapor, and tires. Perhaps there will even be enough left over for a new exhaust.

See y'all next week!

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by JPG1911

The first few tries, the rear tire just locked up and slid. I had to sit very far back on the seat - almost where a passenger would sit - to get enough traction to turn the engine over.

Try selecting a higher gear when you bump-start the bike, so it doesn't lock up. Second or even third gear should do the trick.

Originally Posted by JPG1911

There is a phillips head screw on the right side of the Mikuni carb that I believe to be the mixture screw, after I got the engine good and warmed up with several laps around the block, I tried running it in half a turn, but it was bogging down. Running the screw back out 1 full turn seemed to give me better throttle response, I assume clockwise(in) is leaning the mixture and counter-clockwise(out) is enrichening the mixture?

The Phillips screw on the right is the idle screw. The pilot mixture screw is underneath the carb, right where the carb meets the intake tube. I bet if you back it out 1/4 turn, you'll have an easier time starting the bike.