All kinds of "ghost stories"

[cernunos]

Halloo. Man, what a good bunch of people on here. 'nother member has a tale of woe on a bike where he is chasin' ghosts in his machine. Angel has developed a ghost herself. First off, a little info on Angel for those of you who don't know. '86 Softy, stock cases, fly-wheels and jugs bored .020 with Wiseco forged pistons, S&S crank-pin rods and bearings, Jims pinion shaft and oil pump, heads re-worked (don't know what was done???), Andrews EV-46 cam, Jims lifters, Andrews adjustable push-rods, S&S intake, S&S Super E carb, Dyna 2000i nose-cone ignition, and the (shudder) dreaded drag pipes 38 inches x 1.75 ID. Bike is STOUT, but......starting to do the same thing she did last year: run fine one day, then the next she is huffing and puffing out one pipe or the other, vibrating HARD at various revs, but not every day. Last year the ignition took a crap on me and Dyna replaced it fairly quick. I do not have the VOES hooked up, which I really do not think a motor that is being run hard needs, but it is an EVO, and this is my first time (be gentle) with an EVO. Angel is my eighth?? cycle from the MOCO, and the only one I have had this problem with....only one with electronic ignition. I am thinking of trying another ignition OR...hooking up the VOES, just for craps and giggles. Another possibility is the enrichener on the carb is not seating. Oh. at 1500 feet above sea-level and the jetting is .028 mid and .064 main. Just wanted to hear/see what you guys are thinkin'.

C........

[SirJYK]

It sounds like you may have some trash in the carb. Have you tried draining the bowl or rebuilding the carb? I assume it is a Super E, from the jet sizes. They seem kinda small. If it ever runs fine, it has to be a transient condition.

I hope this helps.

[cernunos]

Halloo. Yessir Sir, carb is an E and it was rebuilt this year. Mid jet is actually two steps up from when I first got her! She had an .025 and would pop through the carb during steady cruise conditions. .028 does seem a tad small, but I am at 1500 feet, and going up to an .0295 is definitely rich, so....There is an inline filter on the fuel line, and the needle and seat are new as is the bowl gasket. There is the possibility that the needle could be hanging up now and then, but it doesn't ever leak from the carb and the fuel stain ring in the bowl is roughly 1/4 inch from the top of the bowl. Like I say, usually runs real good, pulls HARD to six grand (maybe above that but rev limit is six) but will start these weird vibes once in while. Might go a week, might go a day. I am leaning toward another bad ignition module.

C.......

[SirJYK]

Cernunos,

It sounds like a transient condition, which I would not think would be the ignition. I would drain the bowl or remove it, clean it, and put it back. It sounds like trash in the carb.

[cernunos]

Halloo. Got around to checking ignition last nite. Pulled coil and started checking primary and secondary resistance. Primary was a tad high, but believable, secondary ok too. But, found continuity between secondary and primary windings. Fairly high, but there. Also noticed evidence of arcing along the attachment flange where the bolts hold the coil in place. Don't see how that could be, because I assume the flange is plastic, although the core could extend out that far. Put an old dual-fire coil in place and re-set the DK2i to dual-fire. Hoping to test today.

C.......

[cernunos]

Halloo. Just took the scoot out for a short ride, roughly twenty miles or so, and, Praise The Lord, no huffing and puffing, much smoother than with the single-fire coil. Let her cool down a bit and see what happens later. I seem to have some bad luck with electronic ignitions on bikes.

C.......

[cernunos]

Halloo. 'Nother quick ride after a short cool-down and all seems good at the moment. Did notice the dual-fire coil gets "buzzier" at the rev limiter, but still pulls past 40 in first and past 60 in second. Have a new mechanical advancer and points I am going to play around with. I do wonder what led to the failure mode on the single-fire coil. It is less than a year old, no more than 2K miles on it.

C........