Tuning Results: Testing a few adjustments on Rock Flute

I've spent some time verifying the settings on nearly everything for the engine. I also adjusted the compression on the rocker bolts for the front end.

First off, VM29 carbs don't have vacuum ports for synchronization so I added some. After the vacuum sync, the off-idle stumble is gone, idle is much smoother, and the throttle response is more crisp. A well synced set of carbs is paramount.

The plug gap was increased from .026 to .036. This made a huge difference in the heat of the plugs. They're running much cleaner and the exhaust note sounds a lot sharper. I'm going to bump up to .040-.045 soon.  There is plenty of spark energy to cross a bigger gap. The plugs should take the heat too. The resistor plugs have helped with noise in the Tachometer signal and should also help develop more spark duration. I am planning on testing out some 10 kohm Resistor caps to increase the spark duration. The duration on a dyna spark is about 0.9 ms. The stock points system had a duration of 1.5 ms and the cb operates best with a minimum duration of 1.0 ms according to the wisdom of Hondaman.  With the addition of a 10 kohm cap, I can run non resistor plugs and increase the spark duration by 15-20%.

I also verified the ignition timing and found that 1/4 was set to 39* and 2/3 was at 40*. Not a huge difference but certainly not good. I also noticed that the screws for the 1/4 pickup weren't very tight. After some thought, I decided to reduce full advance back to around stock so it's now set at 35*. I changed the timing curve to setting 5 on the Dyna 2000 which moved full advance up to 6500 rpm from 3500 rpm. When riding the bike after these changes, I noticed that the bike would load up easier at lower rpms. I think this might be due to the lack of timing advance below 6500 rpm so I switched the the timing curve back to curve 4. This curve has full advance coming in at 3500 rpm. More like stock, which works well for many differently built engines.

All in all, cleaning up the timing, opening up the spark gap, and synchronizing the carbs has made a significant difference in the behavior of the engine. It has a much smoother idle, easier start, smoother transition off-idle, and a crisp throttle throughout. The suspension adjustments have allowed the front girder to move easier and I'm running a lighter pressure in the air shocks. I will post an update after I do some testing to optimize the spark gap.

I also lubed up the cables and affixed the speedo pickup to the rear stay to reference the rotation of the rear sprocket. Road tests were done with a temporary fuel tank and no rear fender since the originals are out for paint. A bit awkward...and a bit illegal.

Winter work

I finally got the courage to start the mods on Rock Flute I want to complete before the 2014 Whcm. Part of which is eliminating the off idle stumble while cruising. I hope that after having to bash a groove back into a mutilated air jet that increasing them to 1.1 from 0.9 will lean out the emulsion. Ohh how I miss riding this bike.

Next bike build on the list is the W650 digger, the attic cycle.

Rock Flute: Tuning Session 1

I've done a little work on the VM29 smoothbores since the engine rebuild. I bench synced the carbs to a random .116" because I don't have vacuum ports to sync them on the bike. First few runs its been running rich on 120 mains and 20 pilots. Tuning from the bottom up, I swapped jets to 115 mains and 17.5 pilots, which is the spec for a stock cb with vm29s. The bottom end was still incredibly rich but a lot better with the air screws out over 2.5 turns.

I dropped the pilots to 15s and kept the mains at 115. Idle looked good with 1.5 turns on the air screw but off idle was rich enough to cause a stumble. Plugs showed a lot of soot. Not wanting to mess with the pilots anymore, my suspect now is the needle and main. WOT pulls well without hesitation which indicates the main is close. To alleviate the stumble in the transition from idle to 1/8 throttle I dropped the needle down. The stumble was a lot less noticeable but still their.

I went for a ride to pick up a starter switch for johns bike and was going to drop the needle to its lowest position when I got back. Unfortunately I didn't make it home under my own power due to this little gem:

Jeff Yarrington and the Scooby Van to the rescue!  My million year old, burnt, dry clutch cable finally gave up the ghost. I couldn't find a picture of Jeff's sweet van but I did find a picture of him sleeping in it. Thanks Jeff!  He got me back to John's place where I dropped the tuning for a while and resumed wiring John's black chopper.  So many things to do.

 

My fruitless quest for a starter switch was kindly remedied by Jeff. When he picked up my bike he brought two momentary switches. What a friend. Thanks AGAIN!

Ok sorry.  Back to the tuning.  With a broken cable, I was down for the night.  My next step will be to drop the needles all the way down and then refine the a/f ratio based on some plug chops. Hopefully I'm good with the 115 mains because I feel like 112.5 or 110s on a hopped up engine is a bit absurd.  Just one more week before we leave for the Roost.  TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!!