misfiring

[Skirted]

Only 650 miles Harry? You are slacking....just kidden, that's a lot of miles in a short time. So glad to hear all is well and persistence has prevailed! You should be good for a long time now. I will say this has been one of the better troubleshooting threads in a long time.

[pisten-bully]

Did you notice an improvement in fuel mileage, Harry?

I did at first and it scared me! I keep a notebook in my jacket to record all gas and mileage when I get gas, but with this long diagnostic stretch, and doing several 5, 10, or 15 mile test rides and lots of idling time I wound up using gas from the can so I lost track of how much gas I really used. When I finally got back on track at the first station fill-up I was showing almost 50mpg (doing mental math), but the last several hundred miles it's more in the normal range, maybe a mile or two more per gallon...up to 43mpg.

A challenge I have this time of year is the temperature! Yesterday it was 50 degrees and foggy at the start, then sunny and 82 at the end!

[T. Cotten]

Did you notice an improvement in fuel mileage, Harry?

....Cotten

[pisten-bully]

Just want to wrap this up, after 650+ miles last week and not a single misfire or other problem, here's yesterday's outing:



Thanks to every single person who checked in here and gave ideas, they were all valuable and I considered each and every idea! And it seems like the carburetor was the culprit, once again proving that most electrical problems are fuel related (and vice versa)!

I think that the people on this forum have years and years of experience with old motorcycles, and it's good to know there are people wiling to contribute what they know to help keep these bikes on the road and delivering the enjoyment that folks like me get out of them!

[ChiefTwoKicks]

Well, Pistin-Bully, I'm really happy to hear that you found your misfiring problem. Got my fingers crossed for ya'. I think I can speak for many readers here... I've sure learned alot !! Sorry you had the hard luck award, at least you checked nearly everything on your Chief, even finding a few new maladies in the process. Surprising how many other things can be found, but then you spent better part of a month searching for the initial problem.

Your tale of woe sure got me to thinking... I just finished a '45 Chief project, and now have 268 miles on the odometer. I'm pretty excited to have it finished, and all I want to do is ride it.
So, after reading (and contributing) to your story, I've made it a priority to REALLY check everything after EVERY ride, whether just a few short miles, or a longer ride. My longest ride, still breaking it in has been just over 40 miles. I seem to find a few things after each venture. I've re-torqued the heads, re-checked the valves, and tightened a few nuts and bolts. The one significant bolt that gave me pause was the rear Trans bolt. It wasn't loose, but the bolt did tighten up about 1/4 turn to torque tight. Primary and drive chains checked good. My throttle cable wasn't allowing the bike to return to a gentle idle speed, so I fussed with it 'till I got it where I wanted. All else is great.

Thanks again for taking us all through a very comprehensive investigation. I learned enough to learn not to take ANYTHING for granted. These old bikes need plenty of attention, not just the oohs and aww's of the gawking spectators, but of the caretakers...us !! You have been the 'point man", the guy that leads us to battle. The battle of finding the all-to-often trouble that simply isn't in the book. And , you finally got it !! WTG !!

SO, get out and enjoy whats left of the summer (now that the weather has past).
Go for a ride, smile, and feel confident that you've got a Chief that will be bringing you home, on its own two wheels, safely.

C2K
p.s. Thanks to everyone who pitched in to give Harry some advice,inspiration and confidence. We all know how these hard to find problems can get to a mans patience.

[indian301]

Another plug for Cotten. About 3 years ago I was told by Carl Olsen to give Tom a call about truing up my Indian Chief intake after pressure testing and finding leaking seals. Tom cut my intake and made me some peek seals. Top notch work. Same story, send a check after he sent it back to me.


Dave

[T. Cotten]

Wait...I get easily confused and thought Cotten wasn’t taking on new business...so I turned to Greer’s, sorry Cotten!

Hell, Harry,..

I stopped taking in motors and trannys twenty years ago and nobody noticed.
I did call a moratorium on carbs last year or so: https://forum.antiquemotorcycle.org/...hlight=Liberty

But as I posted, I'm still doing my best to cut floats and manifolds. As long as Illlinois allows me.

....Cotten

[pisten-bully]

BTW a plug for Cotten:An email to tom and he sent out my handmade floats(2 separate times) with the right nut tube and screw,packaged in hand made and embossed little box with Liberty's logo.SEnd me check when you get it he said .Worth a little more to me to support those that help us keep these machines running and I got a superior product.

Wait...I get easily confused and thought Cotten wasn’t taking on new business...so I turned to Greer’s, sorry Cotten!

[tfburke3]

I address the loose float hinge by finding the number drill bit shank that will fit but still let the float drop.Then put the bit in the vise and hand turn the screw holes to fit.Then break of shank and grind to length to make the new pin.Your methods seems better as I am settling for steel pin,but I dont have the right reamer.
Tom

[T. Cotten]

Usually they hang up open, Harry,..

But anything is possible.

Another variable is play in the float pivot, allowing it to swing in an arc. Even brand new levers benefit from die-pressing upon a 3/32" rod and then reamed sweet.

If the ebay offering looks like the one in post #61, Tom,..
They have been marketed for some time by Starklite. The pivotnut is molded into it, and the steel screw looks like a very fine metric.
Not only are they a perfectly molded nitrophyl copy of brass floats, they weigh exactly the same! And they swell.

....Cotten
PS: The associated floatlevers were far better than most!

[tfburke3]

My guess is you got it.I still would suspect your carb cleaning was a more likely cure.
The float would have to hang up closed,to shut off flow.Hard to imagine on a running ,vibrating motor.If the float only opened partially and trickled fuel before the bowl filled and then stopped without overflow I would think you would still be starting with a full bowl and should run normal a least for a little while until the bowl empties .
The usual symptom for swollen float for me is overflow.
BTW a plug for Cotten:An email to tom and he sent out my handmade floats(2 separate times) with the right nut tube and screw,packaged in hand made and embossed little box with Liberty's logo.SEnd me check when you get it he said .Worth a little more to me to support those that help us keep these machines running and I got a superior product.
When I see the ebay floats with big phillips head screw I just wonder why.
Tom

[pisten-bully]

Just returned from a 120 mile ride, no misfires, bike ran well. I’m not ready to claim victory, but now I’ve got almost 200 miles since the new float went in and no misfiring...so that’s good!

I know Tom B. said it was hard to imagine the float was hanging up and stopping the fuel flow, but that’s all I’ve got at this point. My theory would be that the swollen float, especially this one with the tapered top edge, would either hang up on the lip of the bowl or on the stem (which is why I measured the I.D. on the old float....of course I didn't measure the I.D. on the new float to compare ;-)

More miles coming...may even venture outside the hitchhike radius!

[T. Cotten]

Can't you weigh it to see if it's bad? If it weighs more than Cotten's floats he sells, I would replace it.
"When in doubt, through it out." (Unknown)

It gets complicated, Ryan!

When they get bloated, they are actually lighter in proportion to their increased volume. But the issue isn't just change in 'buoyancy' (mass divided by volume?), because getting fat hangs them up.

The float in my post #61 was about three times too heavy new, even though it is advertised as 'Nitrophyl', which is why I asked.
The Competition Distributing float was "close enough", for most folks.

Duckies are their proper weight and buoyancy, heavier than mine only because they are denser. The real problem for any decent float is modern fuels.

....Cotten

[ryan]

...not really, it's more like a hard foam where you can see the pores, looks and feels like 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Current I.D. is 1.643, O.D. is 2.475...and I'd love to know that this may have been the problem!

Can't you weigh it to see if it's bad? If it weighs more than Cotten's floats he sells, I would replace it.
"When in doubt, through it out." (Unknown)

[T. Cotten]

...not really, it's more like a hard foam where you can see the pores, looks and feels like 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Current I.D. is 1.643, O.D. is 2.475...and I'd love to know that this may have been the problem!

Its carved from foam just like mine, Harry!

But apparently of a pre-2008 "Nitrophyl" formula.

Looks like Greer's was marketing Competition Distributing's (shown to the right of one of my mine)

Anybody want to guess why mine is shorter?

....Cotten
PS: I measure swelling by the outside diameter, as shown in the last pic. Most brands start out about 2.365"; The mouths of Linkert bowls are ~2.410"