Poor old XL125S

[TCpapa]

I'm new in this forum. I have 2 pw50's that are now running thanks to the help of those on these forums. Now I need help with an older bike.

We were on our way home from a soccer game on Saturday and saw a poor old bike just calling our name. It is in rough shape. The sign said "motorcyle - it runs" but it doesn't seem to enjoy it. It's a 1984 XL125S and I rode it home. The kick starter doesn't come back up so we made a little wire catch to keep it up when it runs. That eliminated a huge racket from the engine. It doesn't sound too bad but does seem to be burning oil a little. I couldn't see smoke but I could smell it.

It also doesn't like to idle and after it runs for a while it doesn't like that either. I came up over the curb in the yard and I think I heard a clunk and then it shut down and wouldn't start back up. Even with full throttle it barely would run when it did start. I'm pretty sure the carb is full of something besides gas. The throttle seems to stick. I sprayed a little lube in the handle and it helped for a little while. It has a clutch lever borrowed from a bicycle and nothing on the brake side (foot brake works great).

We did give it a new cover on the seat to hide the duct tape. It seems like a pretty fun bike. Looking forward to getting it running better. I cut my teeth on the 2-stroke PW50's and this is all new. Any advice on where to start?

Sorry for rambling. it's late.

 

[wirefryer#85]

I cut my teeth on a 72 XL100 and it also had a 'coat-hanger kickstarter retainer' so that must be some kind of factory option :) .

The kickstart return spring is broken or popped off its' keeper, go to bikebandit dot com and click on the exploded view, they should have it.

The fact that it runs like doo-doo points to a carb full of gas that has sat for years, probably full of corrosion and green jello.

Get a good service manual if you plan on keeping it, period!


Yank the carb off , turn the airscrew, if it has one, in, while counting in quarters of a turn and make a note of it.

Carefully dissassemble it, noting down any accelerator pump linkage settings, which screw goes where, et al. ,pretend you are a forensic patholigist for the moment.

Seperate metal parts from gaskets, floats and any rubber parts. Put the float(s) in a container of gas and see if they "float" like a fishing bobber, if they do not then replace them.

Cook it,( most major chain auto parts stores have a 1 gallon can of carb soaking solution complete with a nice basket to put all the little parts in, I have one made by Chemtool that has done a half dozen car and countless bike carbs.)

Have 3 cans of cheap spray-type carb cleaner on hand when you pull the carb out the 'cooker'

Drown the carb with at least half a can of spray to get ALL the caustic cleaners off the parts. Then if you have an air compressor, blow everything dry.

Put on a clear facesheild or at least cheap saftey glasses, and hose out any orfice in the carb body with carb cleaner, trust me, protect your eyes and keep your mouth shut too! :ohmy:. Getting an eye or mouthfull of the stuff will make you say bad things.

Hose out the brass parts (jets, needle and seat, ect.) with the carb spray. Make sure the Pilot (slow) jet is clean with all the little holes opened up.

Reassemble the carb using new gaskets, accelerator pump, ect., turning the airscrew in till it bottoms out and then backing out to the setting you wrote down before.

Reinstall carb, try not to cuss much if the kids are around.

Change the oil and clean or replace the air filter.

Light 'er up, it may sound different but that'll be a good thing.

Luck!
Tim

 

[2strokerfun]

The "clunk" sound could be a problem. I'd see if I could figure out what that was before starting it up. Does it make any strange noises when you kick it over?