- Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:00 pm
#80494
I've had a similar problem with my year 2004, iron barrelled, 350 Bullet. I could tell it was running weak at full throttle from the way it held back and then from plug "chops". So I fitted a richer main jet. The problem got worse. I then noticed that if I backed the throttle off as soon as it misfired it would pick up again. Experimenting in more depth, I turned the fuel tap off as soon as it misfired and the engine just died to a stop, but it would easily start and run normally as soon as the fuel was turned back on - until the next time I held it on full throttle for more than a few seconds. The engine was obviously using more fuel at full throttle than could flow through the fuel tap to the carburettor and the float bowl was running dry!
I confirmed it wasn't an air lock from a too tight fuel tank cap (fitted a long pipe from the tap into a petrol can and checked the fuel drain didn't slow down with the cap firmly on - it just seemed rather slow. Next, having drained the tank I removed the fuel tap and confirmed there was no debris in it (or on the filter in the tank) and then I decided to drill out the internal fuel galleries to a slightly larger size - this had no effect.
Seeing as the fuel tap had a push on "stackpipe" filter inside the tank, and a lower bowl filter PLUS an OE canister filter in the fuel line I next reckoned it could probably do without one of them. The most logical one to remove was the lower bowl filter - so I cut away the nylon gauze/mesh, leaving just the rim, which allowed a noticeably quicker fuel flow. The bike is now running a lot better, but not completely cured so (until I can be bothered to experiment with a different type of fuel tap) I just avoid holding full throttle for more than a very few seconds. It will now cruise slightly above HGV speeds on the motorway, so that's almost good enough on trials tyres..
Built like a gun... could go BANG!