I get a steady steady stream of questions about re-jetting for aftermarket pipes on the range of vintage Honda motorcycles we support.
Pod Air Filters or Aftermarket Pipes on Vintage Hondas?
Not so “Green,” No-Drop Idle Mixture Adjustment Method
I find the factory recommended idle mixture screw setting specs to be very close to ideal. They are listed here for the Honda GL1000.
I do usually richen them up an extra 1/8 to 1/4 turn (out) to compensate for the leaner modern “gasoline” which is diluted with ethanol in most US markets.
But sometimes, you just need an excuse to do some high performance tuning on your bike! 🙂
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Motorcycle Petcocks 101
What is a petcock? Why is important to vintage motorcycle owners?
Flooding Issues on Vintage Hondas
Flooding is a common problem in vintage Hondas – especially on bikes that don’t get run much. Flooding can be just a minor aggravation …like hard starting or poor fuel mileage. But, it can also lead to catastrophic problems such as severe engine damage or even a fire! Flooding issues should not be ignored!
January 2018’s Featured Products
Happy New Year, Goldwing lovers!
Looking back on 2017, you probably put a healthy number of miles on your Honda. You know this is right up the Randakk’s alley when we say that you may be due for a carb cleaning/rebuild.
- Is your motorcycle hard to start?
- Is it running a bit off-kilter?
- When you dial the throttle, are you getting the desired performance?
- Do you ride with the choke on? (this means you have a clogged pilot jet)
- Sluggish acceleration?
- Bad fuel economy?
These are all signs that your bike is in need of some carburetor love. In most scenarios, there’s only really one way to see if your carbs are due for a complete rebuild: pull them off the bike and take a look inside. And since you have them off and dissembled, you might as well do your future self a favor and rebuild them now.
January’s Featured Products are dedicated to those precious carburetors, everything from the all-inclusive Randakk’s Carb Rebuild Kits to the e-clips.
Honda GL1000 Timing Advance Unit Details
OEM Honda Timing Advance Unit Details:
This simple device is critical to proper ignition function on Honda GL1000s!
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The Single Most Common Carburetor Problem (Clogged Pilot Jets) and How To Fix – by Ari Henning
I’m happy to share this excellent video tip created by Ari Henning of Motorcyclist Magazine. Ari is a notorious AHRMA road-racer and all-around swell guy!
This is excellent information.
Randakk’s Jetting Advice For Vintage Honda CV Carbs
Whenever I’m asked about “jetting” issues on vintage Honda carbs – here’s my strong advice:
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Honda Float Bowl Drain Screw Placement
Honda GL1000 float bowl drain screws will be difficult to loosen for periodic maintenance if the float bowls are installed onto the wrong carbs.
There are specific left/right carb bowls plus a special bowl for carb #1 (with vacuum hose barb). The bowls will bolt up and run fine on the wrong carbs, but it will be hard to get a screwdriver blade onto the drain screws when the carbs are installed on the bike.
General Honda GL1000 Troubleshooting Guide
You might consider this item: Randakk’s GL1000 Carb Rebuild Video
Note: You should do a valve adjust and compression test (in that order!) before doing ANY ignition or carb tuning. GL1000s will run poorly when valve lash is not set exactly to spec. Fortunately, valve lash stays “in spec” for a long time once properly set.
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