1986 Aspencade Running issues.

[jasonlepak]

So I recently picked up a 1986 Honda Goldwing Aspencade GL1200.

To start, before buying it the bike sat for about 2 years outside and supposedly under a tarp.
It was listed on Craigslist for $750 and was in pretty good condition cosmetically so being someone that liked the style of this year/model I said why not.

Previously I owned a 1985 Honda VF500F Interceptor that I bought barely running and after cleaning and sync'ing the carbs along with some valve adjustments it ran great.

I'm an ASE certified auto mechanic so most of this stuff comes natural to me, especially when it comes to older and sometimes more simple engines.

So when I went to pick this bike up, I put a brand new battery in it (even filled the acid myself) and hooked it up to my truck to jump start it since the battery was still new and not fully charged.
It took quite a bit to get it to fire up, and when it did it was backfiring and chugging like crazy.
I put a can of seafoam in it along with about 4 gallons of new gas and eventually got it running to a point that it was good enough for me to drive home.

On the way home it would not go above 3500rpm while in gear and would almost stall when going up a hill. Basically the bike had absolutely no power at all.

So basically I get it home and the first thing I do is pull the carb assembly out and start going through all the jets and cleaning two years of gas out of the bowl and every little passage. I used carb cleaner, compressed air and I soaked the bowls in my parts washer.

I did not remove the carbs from the main intake box. I only removed the tops and bottom bowls of the carbs without unscrewing them from the main assembly.

I put the carb assembly back in the bike and I basically get the same thing...
A little backfiring, no power to even take off in first gear without chugging badly and it smells badly of fuel as if it is running very rich.


While it is in neutral, I can rev the engine all the way up to 6000rpm no problem.
Right now for the most part it idles fine while cold when the choke is set, and after warm up it idles pretty good without the choke.

It kinda seems like it's misfiring at idle a little but while holding around 2500rpm it runs ok. Though it still smells very much like raw fuel coming out of the exhaust.

So far I checked the compression on all cylinders and they are all within 10psi of each other. I can't give an accurate reading though because I just have a cheap compression tester at home and I know it's not perfect.
I checked spark and have spark at each plug.
I checked the fuel pump and even tested with a slightly higher psi fuel pump.
I sprayed around the intake and vacuum lines with carb cleaner and didn't really notice too much of any vacuum leaks.
I checked most of the wires and grounds (found some melted wiring going to rear lights and speakers under the seat, and a melted regulator and generator plugs) but nothing is really making must difference.


In the morning I plan on going back out to the garage and pulling the carb assembly back out and going through everything and even pulling the carbs off the main intake box...
As well as hard wiring the two terminal plugs on the generator and regulator.

So while I am going through all of that I would sure appreciate any advice or confirmed fixes that anyone has to offer, as well as a location of a service manual.

Thank You.
Jason

[admin]

Did you clear the exhaust system of any debris like rodents nests and such? You'll be amazed at how often this happens when bikes sit for extended periods. The critters can get into the most unlikely places and build a home. Did you check the spark using a 1/4" gap in an old plug? Did you verify the spark plug wire locations? Trying checking the resistance of the pulse generators. You don't need to pull them off for checking just remove the false tank, locate the wires and plug according to the manual and run the test with an ohm meter and if not in range then you'll need to pull the timing belt covers to access the pulse generators. Also try shutting off the fuel valve with the engine running to see if the engine smoothes out as the fuel dries up indicating possible float or main jet issues causing it to run too rich.