mikeges335
Active Member
My RD 400 is gurgling? When i try to pull out it loses power and when i try to give it some gas it gurgles and dies.
Any help would be great.
Thanks,
Mike
Any help would be great.
Thanks,
Mike
Why does my bike gurgle? I'm lost.
- Thread starter mikeges335
- Start date
mikeges335
Active Member
The spark plugs look alright. I had just cleaned out the carbs so everything is tight there.
mikeges335
Active Member
thanks. any jetting recommendations? i have DG pipes and filters right on the carbs.
What sort of filters? Flat backed steel ones cause all sorts of problems on RDs.
What jets and needles and needle jets are in at the moment and has it ever run in that configuration or is it new to you? If you just bought it like that, I'd go back to basics and get a manual and give it a comprehensive service.
What jets and needles and needle jets are in at the moment and has it ever run in that configuration or is it new to you? If you just bought it like that, I'd go back to basics and get a manual and give it a comprehensive service.
mikeges335
Active Member
I think i have jet size 200, i have to check on the needle jet size. I had just recently cleaned the carbs because i seal the gas tank. my floats were sticking and the gas kept coming out of the overflow tubes. I fixed that, they dont stick anymore. I'll tear the thing apart when i get home from work tonight to get more specific info.
mikeges335
Active Member
No, it gurgles. when i start moving and let the clutch out more it starts gurgling as it gets more gas. i'm thinking its probly not sparking well. and needs better jetting.
mikeges335
Active Member
ok. currently i have size 170 main jets, Y5 needles on the second notch from the top, and size 25 pilot jets. I'm going to change the spark plugs and see if anything changes.
mikeges335
Active Member
Should i change the needle jet? or is there a recommended size? how does it come out?
Slow down a moment.
Y5?? That must be a Keyster needle. Stock is 5J6 or 514 or similar depending on the year. Was it running OK before you cleaned the tank and carbs? The question is what changed and then why.
Needle jets are usually OK but the RD400 really likes a taller spray tube and that's hard to find now. LEDAR used to make amazing replacement needle jets. They also recommended a 240 main jet as I recall.
I still don't understand the symptoms. I never heard of gurgling. Any chance you could post a link to a video so we can hear it?
Does it idle OK or is it OK when it revs out or is it just falling on its face when you crack the throttle open?
Y5?? That must be a Keyster needle. Stock is 5J6 or 514 or similar depending on the year. Was it running OK before you cleaned the tank and carbs? The question is what changed and then why.
Needle jets are usually OK but the RD400 really likes a taller spray tube and that's hard to find now. LEDAR used to make amazing replacement needle jets. They also recommended a 240 main jet as I recall.
I still don't understand the symptoms. I never heard of gurgling. Any chance you could post a link to a video so we can hear it?
Does it idle OK or is it OK when it revs out or is it just falling on its face when you crack the throttle open?
mikeges335
Active Member
The bike idles fine. If i open up the thottle to fast when it is idling it cuts out. I will try to get a video this weekend.
teazer said:
Wildly guessing here, but by gurgling, he means the motor is running really rich and bogging. It sounds like it happens from idle to 1/4 turn, so the jets are likely not the issue. When he cleaned the carbs, he probably put the air screw in and tightened them down. Did you readjust them? From memory, 1.25-1.5 turns is what the motor likes.
His idle could be way out of whack as well (are the slides balanced?). That's why I say it could be a number of issues
--Chris
mikeges335
Active Member
I didnt touch the air screws they are still at about a 1.5 turns out. Yeah, bogging out is probably a better term, i'm still new at this bike building thing.
I'm with Chris here, why would jetting be the issue if they're the same set up as before? Sounds like a synch thing, one slide moving ahead of the other bogging out that cylinder before the other catches up.
check to be sure you have both slides set EXACTLY the same. you can unscrew both idles until the slides seat and then reset them incrementally until you have good idle. then check to see that they start moving at the same time. put your finger on one and feel it move while you watch the other. if you've synched the idles and they still don't move the same check the cables and adjusters at the top of the carbs to be sure they are correct. sometimes a cable is just tweaked a bit. This is an easy check before you start switching out jets and screwing your tune.
check to be sure you have both slides set EXACTLY the same. you can unscrew both idles until the slides seat and then reset them incrementally until you have good idle. then check to see that they start moving at the same time. put your finger on one and feel it move while you watch the other. if you've synched the idles and they still don't move the same check the cables and adjusters at the top of the carbs to be sure they are correct. sometimes a cable is just tweaked a bit. This is an easy check before you start switching out jets and screwing your tune.
