changed jets & put on pods = burning red pipes?

ratta tatt tatt

ratta tatt tatt

Active Member
hi all....hopefully someone can give me an idea on how to fix this problem:

So I cleaned my carbs (on my 77' cb550k) and decided since I had the jets and pods I would put them into play as well! SO here is what happened.... I cleaned the carbs and when putting it everything back together I replaced the old jets from 90 to 105's. Then I put it all back together and placed the pods on. The bike fired right up and idled fine for a bit then started to idle high (this wasn't my real concern) ....then I noticed that the headers/pipes looked a bright burning red. ...I have never seen the headers/pipes this bright red even after a good 2 or 3 hour ride.

is there something I may have not done correctly or is there something I also need to adjust in order to have it run properly with the new jets & pods?

hopefully someone can help me in this....I want to ride.... I need to ride....its to nice to see the bike sit there!
 
Red, as in glowing red? Like if you held a torch to them? That is mondo bad. Are they stock pipes?
 
My only guess would be that your pilot jets are too small with all the new airflow from the pods and you're running REALLY lean at idle.
Either way red isnt good.
 
Stock pipes? How is that even possible on a 550......fishy, very fishy...

I wouldn't expect 105's to be too lean at all. With the high idle, sounds like you have a vacuum leak after the carbs. A big one...
 
shyte....yes like a glowing red. the pipes on the bike are 4 into 1 ......hmmm...how would you fix a vacuum leak if that is part of the prb? and if the pilot jets are to small, what size would you recommend to change them?

thanks
 
You need to find the leak first. Ill be honest, if you ran the bike for very long in this condition, you may have other issues now. Do a compression test when the motor cools down completely.
 
ya I didn't run it long so hopefully no other issues. as soon as I noticed the pipes I shut her down. will have to do a compression test
 
If it's single skin aftermarket 4:1 it's normal.
The exhaust gas is probably around 1200 degrees, you only need around 8~900 to get pipes red.
If it was 'dark' they will look much brighter than they really are
Modern sport bikes with single skin Ti pipes will glow just waiting at a stoplight (needs to be at night to notice though)
Fitting pods does nothing to airflow at idle, the exhaust may ave leaned things out slightly though (your not running open pipe?)
Should only need +2.5 on stock size at max
Just checked ::)
You have a K, they have different carbs to F, go up two sizes on pilots, drop needles one clip (2nd from top) adjust float levels +1mm
I had F1, F2, and FourK at the same time, sold K to my brother
 
When PJ speaks... Listen. Most of us are far from mechanics, but have some real experience. Thats why we tend to lean towards the "stop right now" or "you may break something" mentalitly. PJ has gobs of experience as a rider, builder and pro wrench. He (and some others here for sure) KNOW what theyre saying. Take it in...
 
PJ is pretty right on. Gretta is running 16g stainless single wall pipes and they get cherry at night. I think it looks cool ;)! Do a plug chop for peace of mind.
 
ok so how would I figure out if it is a single skin or not? also I have never seen the pipes glow like that (or even glow red!) even after a 2/3 hour long ride. No I am not running open pipes...they are loud but I don't believe they are open pipes!

thanks for the info on the pilots, drop needles one clip (2nd from top) adjust float levels +1mm...I will have to do all that and see how it goes

thanks again everyone
crazypj said:
If it's single skin aftermarket 4:1 it's normal.
The exhaust gas is probably around 1200 degrees, you only need around 8~900 to get pipes red.
If it was 'dark' they will look much brighter than they really are
Modern sport bikes with single skin Ti pipes will glow just waiting at a stoplight (needs to be at night to notice though)
Fitting pods does nothing to airflow at idle, the exhaust may ave leaned things out slightly though (your not running open pipe?)
Should only need +2.5 on stock size at max
Just checked ::)
You have a K, they have different carbs to F, go up two sizes on pilots, drop needles one clip (2nd from top) adjust float levels +1mm
I had F1, F2, and FourK at the same time, sold K to my brother
Click to expand...
 
Post a pic of pipes/engine.
You have to use a photosharing site as you can't post direct
You still need to check for air/vacuum leaks
 
Question....was thinking of just putting the air box back on. If I left the 105 jets in place and put the air box back on would I run into any problems? Or would I have to put the 90 jets back in?
 
It will probably be way too rich.
Bigger pilot and 95 main would probably be a better bet as they were jetted real lean from the factory
 
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