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[Brazilla]

Hi, I'm pretty new to the bullet experience and am hoping the wealth of experience here may be able to help me with some issues I am having. "Roy" was running great (I think) until recently when I became concerned/paranoid about 'pinging' after the first longish ride I took as part of the running in. I checked the timing with static and the Ping test but found it tricky and a bit confusing. Advancing or retarding didn't seem to make much difference, I still found a suspected ping noise when I put a bit more than half throttle on. Current position is that the engine starts with some persuasion and coughing through the carb. I took the carb apart and cleaned it today and now after a fairly unstable idle the engine dies whenever I apply throttle, this only seems to happen when I am in first gear and not in neutral. I also found that prior to the problems starting the gear would sometimes pop out when I was applying throttle to get up a hill. I'm at a bit of a loss at the moment and considering taking it to a garage unless any advice from here can shed light on my seemingly multiple problems! Thanks!

[PeteF]

If you find no difference when advanced and retarded then, you are altering it hardly at all or you really are confused and not altering it at all. There's a tech note here to help you.

[Brazilla]

Or the sound I suspected to be pinging was not in fact that. What I have found is that I have made my bike stop running by ill informed tinkering. I'm sure I'll get there in the end and it'll be satisfying when I do. I'm not sure why the sudden throttle issue has appeared though?

[jaffa90]

Which engine oil and fuel are you using and what does the spark plug colour look like??????????

[simon]

Could be too lean. That rubber carb mounting tube can be problematic I'm told.

[Brazilla]

Thanks for the replies chaps. Sorry for my foolish questions, I am a beginner. Spark plug was looking a little on the grey white side before I dismantled the carb, it is now a bit black and looks a bit rich. I am running on unleaded, is an additive recommended? Assuming I have the timing at least in the ballpark, where would people suggest i start with the throttle issue? Idle is ok and I can rev the engine a little in neutral but once in gear the engine cuts out when I open the throttle? Jets? Could float level be a factor? I did adjust float when I dismantled so I wonder if that is the culprit? It seemed to be set very high before I tinkered with it. I think I have learnt the lesson of changing one thing at a time!!!

[PeteF]

Yes, you now don't really know if its sparks or fuelling that's the problem. I would suggest you get the timing correct first following the tech notes on this site. In the ball park really won't do as, for instance, if it's retarded it will start OK but won't rev. Your inability to rev the engine could also be the advance mechanism not working properly. You don't need petrol additive.
Oh, and when you stripped the carb, you didn't lose the washer under the main jet? Easily done. You can't really get the float height wrong if you follow the tech notes.

[Brazilla]

Thanks for reply Pete! Is there a way to check if the advance mechanism is working? The issue that lead to me doing too many things at once was the bike running well at idle and low revs but suspected pinging at higher revs!

I made sure I had the washer in ok but I'll check tonight after I've redone the timing. The float could be the issue here, I measure it and it was too high but about half a cm, I adjusted it to the recommended height and that was when the problems started! Thanks for your help!

[PeteF]

Just twist the points cam and it should spring back. Also, check both springs are there. It's a bit late now but it's a good idea to put scratch marks on the backplate before you start altering the timing. At least you can always re-set to where you were. I'd still mark it where it is now to give yourself a reference point.

[Brazilla]

Confident that I have the timing right statically now using a homemade light and the tdc tool from our hosts. Not looked at the carb yet, started the engine and it ran ok for a few mins but seemed to miss a beat a couple of times and then die. Tomorrow I am going to disassemble and check the carb and in particular the float height. Not sure how best to measure tthat?