ticking over at 2000rpm

[fangy]

Hi,
The other day I thought I'd get my old fj1100 a new set of plugs.
While I had the tank off I cleaned the butterfly springs on the carbs with some wd40 and a toothbrush and also cleaned and greased the choke mechanisim.
But now the bikes ticking over at 2000rpm and you can hear a misfire coming from both pipes.
I've checked that the chokes going off all the way and the throttle cables are set up with a small bit of freeplay (although I didn't touch the cables).
I even put the old plugs back in to try rule out the misfire but it's still there.
The bike's still running the way it was and i can't hear any misfire when I'm driving it only at tickover.
Does anyone have any suggestion?
Thanks,
Fangy.

[FJmonkey]

Welcome to the Kookaloo zone, how long have you owned your FJ? Are you the primary mechanic? How long since you last ran the FJ? Give us an intro when you have the time.

[fangy]

How you doing,
I've owned my fj for about 8 years, I use it everyday to get to work and back,
Thats the weird thing about it, the bike was fine untill I changes the plugs and gave round about the carbs a clean.
  I do all my own work on all my bikes including built my own chop (z750).
I've also checked the vacuum bungs just to make sure I didn't knock one off when I was cleaning and the vacuum pipe that goes to the tank was replaced not long ago and still looks good.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Fangy.

[andyb]

If you put the bike in gear and gently load the clutch to bring the revs down without moving, then pull the clutch in, does the idle stay down, or does it come back up to 2k?

If the former, the synch is off, something got bumped in the process of cleaning.  If the latter, just turn the idle down to 1100, but carry the screwdriver with you a few days while you ensure there isn't any other weirdness with the idle.

[fangy]

Thanks for getting back to me.
I tried what you said today, when I let the clutch out then pull it back in the revs go back up.
I'll stick it on the vacuum gauge's tomorrow and see if I can sort it out.
Fangy

[fangy]

Well I tried to balance the carbs today.
It's a job I've never done before and I don't think It's went well.
The needles on the vacuum gauges where jumping all over the place.
The only way I could get them to sit kind of steady (and at that they weren't really)
was to open the throttle to 4000/5000 rpm.
One and two cylinders were in the same kind of area,8 and 10 pounds, but three and four cylinders were more like 8 and 12 pounds and no matter what I done it didn't change much for the better only got worse.
I took it out for a run afterwards, it ran ok although it did chug twice for a split second and the high tickover seems to have been sorted, but since this problem started it doesn't sound the same ticking over.
Does anyone have any idea's why the gauge's where acting the way they were?
Thanks.
Fangy.

[SlowOldGuy]

You need to put restrictors in the vacuum lines to damp the vacuum pulses.  Restrictors can be small capillary tubes or I've used a restriction in the line and tightened a small hose clamp around it to get the same result.

Also, exactly WTF does "tick over" mean?  Is that the engine turning over when you try to start it?  Or is that idle speed.  I can't tell from the context that you're using it. The less slang you use and the more descriptive you are, the better responses you'll recieve.

DavidR.

[fangy]

I just sussed what I was doing wrong, I didn't realise I had to restrict the vacuum.
There's small valves on the rubber hoses that I should have adjusted.
Tick over is what people in Scotland call idle, It's not slang thats just what it's called.
Thanks for the help.
Fangy.

[fj11.5]

same in aus mate, tick over is idle

[SlowOldGuy]

"Tick over is what people in Scotland call idle, It's not slang thats just what it's called."

That's the very definition of slang.

Show me in the manual where it refers to adjusting the "tick over" speed or mixture?

My MAIN point being the more clear you are in your request for HELP the better response you will get.  So try to avoid local terms and vague statements.  If I can't understand it, then I can't help.

DavidR.

[Dan Filetti]

Funny, I read the Brit motorcycle rags with some frequency and I have always interpreted "tick-over" as start up, not idle.

Learn something new every day!

Dan

[turbocamino]

Hi,
The other day I thought I'd get my old fj1100 a new set of plugs.
While I had the tank off I cleaned the butterfly springs on the carbs with some wd40 and a toothbrush and also cleaned and greased the choke mechanisim.
But now the bikes ticking over at 2000rpm and you can hear a misfire coming from both pipes.
I've checked that the chokes going off all the way and the throttle cables are set up with a small bit of freeplay (although I didn't touch the cables).
I even put the old plugs back in to try rule out the misfire but it's still there.
The bike's still running the way it was and i can't hear any misfire when I'm driving it only at tickover.
Does anyone have any suggestion?
Thanks,
Fangy.   Have a closer look around your s/plug wires...all the way to the coils...maybe you disturbed something or an old brittle wire got cracked or a boot...spark jump,could surely make a tick/clicking type sound. and cause that stumble you described.  my 2cent.

[fangy]

Hi,
I synced my carbs, got them all balanced and the bike sounded and ran great.
It lasted about a week then the idle started to sit at 2000rpm again, so I tried syncing them again.
They where ever so slightly out, a quick adjustment brought the tick over back to where it should be.
I took the bike for a run (about 7 miles) and when I got back the idles back up to 2000 rpm.
Does anyone have any ideas what else could be causing this?
Thanks.
Fangy.

[RichBaker]

Have you checked the carb joints (manifolds) for air leaks? Any leaks between head and carbs will cause idle to increase....