[tharian]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Cleaned the carburetor and fuel tank on my 2002 Electra last month. After all these years, lot of muck had accumulated although mine has done only 26K till now.
Off late, I have observed knocking when releasing clutch on inclines and at slow speeds in 2nd gear sometimes. I use HP Power Petrol. What do you think I should look at?

Is the engine misfiring or has starting trouble? If the CDI unit has gone bad, the glaring symptom is that the bike will not start easily and gets worse over time. If knocking occurs in slow speeds, it may be because of the ignition coil too. If you haven't changed the ignition parts, it is better to replace all of them starting from the pick up coil inside the cutch case, the CDI unit, ignition coil and spark plug.
Changing these first can isolate the issue as well, since you said it occurs only at times and in slow speeds. Normally this happens after some hard riding and the engine is already hot.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by tharian

Is the engine misfiring or has starting trouble? If the CDI unit has gone bad, the glaring symptom is that the bike will not start easily and gets worse over time. If knocking occurs in slow speeds, it may be because of the ignition coil too. If you haven't changed the ignition parts, it is better to replace all of them starting from the pick up coil inside the cutch case, the CDI unit, ignition coil and spark plug.
Changing these first can isolate the issue as well, since you said it occurs only at times and in slow speeds. Normally this happens after some hard riding and the engine is already hot.

I had idling/starting and stalling issues so changed the CDI, Capacitor, Ignition coil, Spark Plug, RR unit and cleaned the carburetor and fuel tank. The only thing remaining is the Pick-up coil inside the clutch case. There are sputtering issues when engine is cold but smoothens out once hot.
I believe the knocking is due to hard riding and hot engine.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

I had idling/starting and stalling issues so changed the CDI, Capacitor, Ignition coil, Spark Plug, RR unit and cleaned the carburetor and fuel tank. The only thing remaining is the Pick-up coil inside the clutch case. There are sputtering issues when engine is cold but smoothens out once hot.
I believe the knocking is due to hard riding and hot engine.

Was the bike been fully serviced recently? Like replacing the air filter and connecting intake rubber hoses, engine oil? Does the exhaust pipe have traces of oil in the soot?
My guess is either the carb tuning or worn piston rings that is causing the heating which results in knocking.
I have hardly seen a 350 CI engine that has knocking issues especially the ones that have CDI or TCI ignition. It is normally the 500 blocks that have heating issues because of inadequate cooling which was a design issue.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by tharian

Was the bike been fully serviced recently? Like replacing the air filter and connecting intake rubber hoses, engine oil? Does the exhaust pipe have traces of oil in the soot?
My guess is either the carb tuning or worn piston rings that is causing the heating which results in knocking.

I do the servicing myself. Yes the Intake rubbers were changed indeed. The rubber boot from Carburetor to Resonator box and Resonator box to Air Cleaner; both replaced.
The exhaust does not have even a trace of oil. I suspect the tuning - will turn the air screw in half-a-turn to make the mixture rich.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

I do the servicing myself. Yes the Intake rubbers were changed indeed. The rubber boot from Carburetor to Resonator box and Resonator box to Air Cleaner; both replaced.
The exhaust does not have even a trace of oil. I suspect the tuning - will turn the air screw in half-a-turn to make the mixture rich.

Since the bike has not run much, I don't think it is a big issue like some engine parts that are worn. Usually, on these post-2002 CI engines, they don't give major trouble and can keep running from what I have noticed.
I have never experienced overheating on my bike although it has run this much.

I am reluctant to get the carb cleaned for the same reason that the existing tune will be hard to get again. I guess the tuning should fix the issue on your bike.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

I suspect the tuning - will turn the air screw in half-a-turn to make the mixture rich.

You may also want to go back to normal petrol the next time. I have noticed that these old engines with a carb don't do well when fed higher octane fuel. It was the same with the FIAT 1100D I use as well as my Bullet on which I tried XP95 in the last tankful and the NVH was terrible.
It is better to use something like Iftex System clean every other tankful instead.

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by tharian

You may also want to go back to normal petrol the next time. I have noticed that these old engines with a carb don't do well when fed higher octane fuel. It was the same with the FIAT 1100D I use as well as my Bullet on which I tried XP95 in the last tankful and the NVH was terrible.
It is better to use something like Iftex System clean every other tankful instead.

The HP Power Petrol I use is normal 91 Octane with cleaning additives. I have noticed that engine performs better with Power fuel then regular. Used to use Iftex System-G before but the availability is Iffy
Since then, Power Petrol it is.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by tharian

So the bike has run 1,26,500 kms and has been different since the chain sprocket set along with the primary chain were replaced around 300 kms back. Soon after it was replaced, the bike never felt the same in terms of acceleration and smoothness and add to that the feeling of engine loosing power when doing speeds above 65-70 kmph.
I took it for a spin on airport road hoping the chain would loosen after some good speeds and get better, but it felt extremely tight to the extent that the bike wasn't coasting freely either, and riding with a pillion made it feel like the engine was always climbing an incline which I think added to the engine losing power. I finally got the chain loosened which made the ride much better, but the first-gear acceleration was still felt jerky and now there was a noise from the chain hitting the chain guard when de-accelerating. When I checked the chain after another 100 kms or so, the slack was quite a bit. I got it tightened again a notch and have to check if things have improved. Like everything else on this bike, new parts take a while to set in.

After riding the bike with annoying chain noise and roughness, I changed the chain back to an O-ring type. The new sprockets and non-O ring chain were fitted around 500 kms back and although the ride got better over time, the chain was a definite no-go since tightening it would make it too tight and loosening it would make it too loose. From what I understood, this chain was probably not the right match for the sprockets, and maybe a longer chain than required. The one I picked up was a 94 link one which seems to be working fine now. Harshness and noise have reduced and the tak-tak noise of it hitting the brake lever bolt isn't there as well which was the main reason I replaced the chain sprocket set last year.
There is a slight harshness now which I think is from the rear wheel bearing which I will check and replace if required. The engine is running fine as of now.
The bike has run 1,26,800 kms.

[tharian]

Bike has done 1,27,000 kms. It is being used more often now, but only for short distances and continue to perform overall.
The carb probably needs a proper cleaning since cold start is not smooth. The engine feels it is starving of fuel even when giving throttle and once it warms up, it is fine. The mech had told me last year that the needle is worn and the whole carb needs to replaced since that part alone is not available. But idling seems fine now. At times when riding, the engine feels like it is not getting fuel and I cut off throttle immediately. I am not sure if it signs of seizure or only a carb issue. Since this happens very rarely and I hardly ride above 50 kmph, I have not bothered about it.

The chain after being changed to a O-ring type is much better now. But is still loose. I haven't bothered tightening it since I know then it will be too tight. This was after the chain sprocket replacement last year when some part was not compatible with the other.

Fuel efficiency continues to remain the same at 24-25 kmpl.
After a good Sunday wash.

[masterChief007]

Originally Posted by tharian

The engine feels it is starving of fuel even when giving throttle and once it warms up, it is fine.

Even I am observing it since the restoration, it feels like you have hit reserve and the bike jerks and bucks as if fuel supply is not yet proper. I even tried the carb to be rich but that hadn't helped. In the morning commute what I have started doing is riding with the choke on for 500 m - 1km and then switch the choke off at the nearest signal stop. That way with proper warmed up engine there is no issues.

Another thing is that after starting it cold I have to constantly keep monitoring the idling using throttle (with/without choke). Maybe the machine loves rich fuelling in the start and once warmed up leaner mixture is good enough.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by masterChief007

Even I am observing it since the restoration, it feels like you have hit reserve and the bike jerks and bucks as if fuel supply is not yet proper. I even tried the carb to be rich but that hadn't helped. In the morning commute what I have started doing is riding with the choke on for 500 m - 1km and then switch the choke off at the nearest signal stop. That way with proper warmed up engine there is no issues.

Another thing is that after starting it cold I have to constantly keep monitoring the idling using throttle (with/without choke). Maybe the machine loves rich fuelling in the start and once warmed up leaner mixture is good enough.

On a cold start, a heavy crank with CB points should idle without any accelerator input. My bike being light crank never idled on a cold start by itself, unless warmed up. You don't have to ride with choke since once the carb tuning is right, all that needs to be done is warm the engine with slight accelerator input for a minute or so and it is good to go.
On my bike, I think I need to clean the tank and change the filter as it has not been done for many years now and the carb too needs cleaning, but I doubt if that will help in the erratic idling my bike has which the mech said is due to a worn needle.
I guess on your bike, it needs a good tune up and you are good to go. A carb that has not run much should not have any worn parts in it.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by tharian

The engine feels it is starving of fuel even when giving throttle and once it warms up, it is fine.

.

Originally Posted by masterChief007

Even I am observing it since the restoration, it feels like you have hit reserve and the bike jerks and bucks as if fuel supply is not yet proper.. Maybe the machine loves rich fuelling in the start and once warmed up leaner mixture is good enough.

The carburetor is adjusted at the optimal engine running temperature. So during cold starts, the air fuel mixture will be lean. This will be pronounced if the carburetor was adjusted on a humid day (less oxygen content in the air due to the presence of moisture content) and currently, if it is cold climate (mornings), when the humidity is low and more oxygen molecules are present in the air, this will make the air/fuel mixture lean with reference to the humid day condition. Actually the carbs need tweaking based on climate. No one does that which results in the motorcycle running erratic with change in climate.

Regarding the sudden starvation for fuel : Take your petrol tank caps and put it in a bowl filled with petrol for 15 minutes. You will be surprised to see the junk that comes out of it. The point is, there is an atmosphere vent in the fuel cap, which becomes clogged with dirt over time. If this happens, temporary starvation of fuel occurs and in severe cases, the engine will die down due to vapor lock.

regards adrian

[tharian]

I haven't done a highway ride on the bike since a while mainly because of the feeling of the engine seizing when doing consistent speeds above 60 kmph or when I push it at times on a slope.
Being a long weekend and noticing traffic wasn't too high, I decided to take it for a ride upto Nandi hills. Since I left in the afternoon soon after some rain, the weather was cool all the way and traffic towards the top was less too. The last few times I went there, the traffic was so bad that I had decided to avoid this place for a ride. This was one place I used to do an impromptu ride back in the day to just go up and down the hill, before it became a famous tourist spot. Yesterday was a day like that.
I was keeping around 65-70 kmph on the airport road and the engine felt good except for one climb where it felt like it was loosing power. Once I cut off the highway to the single lane road, I increased the speed slightly and was doing around 70 kmph. While climbing, the first half of the hill climb,it can be done at a constant speed and this is where I realized how old and worn the engine had become. I have done this climb on my bike several times when it was relatively new and I could easily do around 55-60 kmph in fourth. This time, it was chugging along at 40-45 kmph and the speed would just not go higher. It was a good feeling too since there was no traffic and the engine was smooth although it felt like it will die any moment due to the very low rate it was rotating at.
Once I moved to third and momentum increased, it felt better and the hair pins were taken in second.
On the down hill, I was at around 60-65 kmph and did the whole stretch at those speeds as the revs were already high because of the extra momemtum. I could feel some resistance in going faster, not sure what it was.
On the return airport road leg though, I was doing 75 kmph and except for the roughness and vibes from the chain at those speeds which looks like is still an issue because of the sprocket-chain mismatch , the engine felt good with no unwanted noise.

The fuel efficiency when I had topped up before the ride was 24.5 kmpl which was purely city use of around 200 kms.


Bike has run 1,27,200 kms.

[SidharthaN]

Great going with the CI. My UCE TB is at 1,27,000 kms now and just went through an engine overhaul, the first since it rolled out of the showroom. Am still completing it's running in. The UCE still clocks 85-90 with ease as per my last trip of 3000 kms few months back. Will have to see how it manages after the overhaul. There is a lot of tappet noise currently, or maybe the the crank. The mechanic i got the stuff done is dependable, but cannot say human intentions. Am waiting for the running in to be completed to see how it fares.
The TB is a keeper will run it as long as it goes. Alternately am using my Xpulse now, but whatever people say these old RE' s have charm unmatched.

[masterChief007]

Great going tharian !! Your machine is one of the good ones. Mine hasn't been trouble free, as in my recent hill ride, forget of cruising at 50 kmph at 4th. Even the third gear seemed it will stall as soon as there was a little bit of sudden climb. As you know I got it restored and I have taken it out to highways recently but it's not a tension free affair. However I want to take it to the Royal enfield cafe in goa sometime in coming months if my FC is completed. I know it will be a spine chilling ride with the fear of puncture or what not, but would like to take it to the RE cafe once before the monsoon hits and maybe to the RE rider mania too this year. Lets see how it all pans out !! I generally carry a bunch of spares in case somethings breaks.