Carb oddity.

[Hymes Inc.]

                    I put new home made exhaust and angled short pod filters on my V65C. Thursday-Friday I did 150 miles and the bike ran flawless, couldn't have been happier. This morning I leave for the Illinois rally and 10 miles down the road one side cuts out, only for a few seconds. Didn't do it again until I'm in Illinois getting close the the Gladstone turnoff and it cuts out longer, I notice the road is really rough here and take note. So from there on every rough stretch of road one side would cut out and it was being consistent with bumpy road.
                    My dad and uncle are now riding with me from the rally to Wayland, Mo. for the rust revival and the bike starts cutting out for longer, definitely just one side as it still tries to pull. Not a choppy cut out, like an I have no gas cutout. One particular stretch where it wasn't coming back I reached down and smacked the left carb and it came back immediately. This continued, every time I would hit a bump the left side would drop out and I could smack it and it would come back. This makes no sense to me.
                    After we were done at Wayland I headed for home, instead of back to the rally, and few miles down the road the left side cut out and stayed out the rest of the way home. Smacking it now did nothing.
                    Any ideas? My right side carb is perfect and the left one is always some kind of trouble. Tired of messing with it, think I might try changing to Mikunis.

[Sasquatch Jim]

  Your float bowl is not floating properly.  It is sticking.  Maybe a sticking float, maybe a bit of debris in the float valve,  Maybe the gelatin gremlyn in there.

[Hymes Inc.]

  Your float bowl is not floating properly.  It is sticking.  Maybe a sticking float, maybe a bit of debris in the float valve,  Maybe the gelatin gremlyn in there.

That is what I thought. Carb was disassembled and clean before this all started. Just took it back apart and still clean as a whistle. Float moves freely, I see no way it can be sticking, but crazy stuff happens.

[drlapo]

What kind of fuel line are you using?  I've had trouble with urethane and polyurethane tubing= the gelletin gremlin

[Idontwantapickle]

Most carb problems are caused by the ignition and vice versa.
Check your wiring for the ignition,  I'm suspicious on account of the intermittent nature related to bumpy road.
Hunter

[John A]

If it ain't ignition, I've had the float valve on PHBH's stick, even though they were new genuine DelOrto parts. Except in my case it would stick open. shrug

[Hymes Inc.]

The wiring is all pretty new and quick inspection all looks pretty good. We plugged the choke off on that carb because it was being problematic, starts just fine with one carb choke. As this problem gradually developed we now wonder if the rubber line we used to block it off wasn't in fact gas line and got eaten. Hopefully I will know by the end of the day.

[redrider90]

If the float is sticking then would opening full throttle instantly after it starts to cut be a reasonable test to check the float?

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'm not buying the float theory.  If it quits running immediately after a bump it just about has to be ignition. Carbs aren't an instantaneous thing.. <shrug>

[Triple Jim]

I agree with Chuck that a carb problem probably wouldn't change immediately after disturbing the carb.  Also, my Mille's rubber carb boots have little eyes on them that the spark plug wires pass through.  Smacking a carb would jiggle a spark plug wire a little.  Maybe your V65 is like this too. (?)

[Hymes Inc.]

Update. Played with the carb, put it back on, left side still dead. Swapped plug wires to see if the coil was dead, left side still dead right side still good. Swapped carbs, except the slides, both sides now work.     Going to go ride the darn thing and see if it buggers up again. Going to have a bald spot with all this head scratching going on.

[Chuck in Indiana]

While it was dead, did you check for spark at both cylinders? Just curious.. that would been my first troubleshooting step. If there was, I'd pull the plug and put it on the tester. If *it* was good.. and compression is good.. then, and only then would I be fooling with the carbs.
I'm at a loss as to why it's running ok after changing carb bodies unless there is something electrical involved when you changed them. <shrug>
Scratching head too.

[wymple]

This thing is being a bugger for sure. I always go electrics 1st, carbs last. It is possible, I'm thinking, that the 12 volt feed to one coil has a break in it somewhere off & on. And the coils are 32 years old from my Cal II.  We are going to address those two things 1st. It has Dyna ignition on it, and I don't recall anyone ever having an off again/ on again problem with that. Chris is getting new carbs on the brain.

[kevdog3019]

I take it you were pulling the carbs from the bike each time you checked them?  Reason I ask is that "checking carbs" on the bike would not require pulling the gas lines. If (when you finally swapped them) you pulled the lines and replaced, you may have cleaned out debris in the left line and now it works (with the right carb in). Swap back and see what happens.
I think you have determined electrics aren't involved if the wire swap didn't prove to correct that side. Baffling yes but could be debris or something similar that finally worked its way out. Let's hope anyhow.

[Hymes Inc.]

I take it you were pulling the carbs from the bike each time you checked them?  Reason I ask is that "checking carbs" on the bike would not require pulling the gas lines. If (when you finally swapped them) you pulled the lines and replaced, you may have cleaned out debris in the left line and now it works (with the right carb in). Swap back and see what happens.
I think you have determined electrics aren't involved if the wire swap didn't prove to correct that side. Baffling yes but could be debris or something similar that finally worked its way out. Let's hope anyhow.

           Not sorted out, rode fine for a bit, cut out and in a few times, died, then started right back up and was fine again. So, 2 new coils, rewire the coil leads, and 2 brand new carbs just because I can.
           Since the bike will be down for a bit I am also taking the opportunity to replace that awful tank I made and make some new side covers. Thinking about a new color too. Frame will stay green, might go with silver.
           Gonna need something to ride Dad, we better get on that goldwing.