The first ride went quite well - 15 miles around a "long block" close to home, so I didn't have too far to push if I broke down! I would say that the performance was at 6/10 - definitely some rough edges there to smooth out.
Most concerning was not running smoothly when transitioning from low to mid rev range and then, as I arrived back home, she started running on one cylinder again - but this time with the right cylinder missing. Ho hum - the joys of old bikes!
So the next two jobs are a thorough strip down and clean of the carbs and I'm also going to replace the coils, as then I'll know that all of the ignition side has been replaced and hopefully will build in some reliability.
I'm getting quite slick at removing and replacing the carbs now, so half an hour had them on the bench.
After stripping down, I had a set of mucky bits that I gave a good soak in carb cleaner and then loaded into my little ultrasonic cleaner for about an hour. I did each carb separately so I didn't mix anything up.
I cleaned the main body of each carb with a toothbrush and carb cleaner and they came up pretty well. I had bought a set of jet cleaners and used the very finest one to dislodge any bits but most were clear, although I did find a couple of partially blocked passageays which I was quite glad about really - helps to excuse the rough running.
I reassembled, full of hope and ..... not getting any fuel to RH cylinder - AAAAARGH!
Removed again and I checked the fuel delivery / float settings etc again. I reset them to standard Honda settings (18.5mm) rather than the 16.5mm that I'd seen on a Common-Motors video and then I tested everything off the bike to check that fuel was getting through, which it was.
Reassembled, again, and .... fuel not getting through. At this point I was ready to give up and call in the professionals. As a final throw of the dice, I thought I would get another gallon of fuel, as it was getting toward the reserve position. My logic was that a bigger head of fuel may help. Clutching at straws at this stage - can you tell?
And it worked! I quickly put everything away for the day to end on a high.
The next day, I balanced the carbs (again) and went out for local loops totalling about 15 miles. She was running much better - I would say 8/10 compared to the earlier 6/10. The mid-range was especially improved and smoothed out.
However after about 15/20 minutes, as the engine got hotter, she started misfiring and then eventually ran down onto one cylinder again. After leaving to cool down for five minutes she started again and ran well enough to get home.
I am now convinced that this is either a problem with the new condensor I fitted (hopefully unlikely) or more likely one or both of the ancient coils/cables breaking down under heat/load. The new coils are due to be delivered in the next couple of days, so we'll see how that goes. But this was a big step forward. For the first time today, Gloria has started to feel like a bike that I can bond with and enjoy and hopefully have some great summer adventures on.
The new coils turned up and were quickly fitted. Out with the old....
I also resynchronised the carbs as I figured that both sides should be working pretty optimally now. They were a surprising way out, so suggesting that one side hadn't been performing as well as the other.
I took her out for a spin and there was a big improvement...until about 15/20 minutes later when she started misfiring etc again. It all felt like fuel starvation and, when I checked, there wasn't a steady flow of fuel from the tank, even though there were at least a couple of litres in there. I drained the tank - nice and clean - and stripped the fuel tap. This had been recently replaced by the previous owner with a pattern part and all looks clean etc. I also put another gallon of fuel in.
She was running better now but quite poorly at low revs. In the end I went back to basics and checked the timing and points gaps (yet again!), and found that the left hand cylinder was retarded by a couple of degrees. I can only think that the heel of the new points has worn in sufficiently to affect the timing that much. Anyway, I fired her up and straight away there was a massive improvement. I then got 30 miles in around my local area and she ran fine all the way at last! There is a slight flat spot at about 4000 revs and she is running a bit rich but otherwise she felt great. Just in time for a first trip out to be displayed at a local show the following day.
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