You would know if it felt right above 7k (starts getting into the power band) cuz 2nd gear WoT will give you the live definition of "crotch rocket" lol

After checking for any oil leaks like mentioned, I would take her apart and look for any air leaks on the way in. Anything not seated right from the air box to the engine. Double check your vacuum ports are plugged. I would triple check your pilot jets, and clean them very well with cleaner and compressed air. Also check your float needles, be sure they move freely. Check your diaphragms to be sure they slide well, and check how many turns your idle screws are set at. Just turn them in, and count the rotations on each until they stop turning.

Your idle screws should be in the vicinity of 2-2.5 turns out depending on any modding you have.

Your spark plugs looking that nasty warrants a lot of look overs in many areas so once you get the chance to check it all out, let us know what you find.

 

I'll definitely try out all those things you suggested. Hopefully I'll find some time tonight to take her apart.

a few other things about the bike if it helps:
- K&N filter
- Dynojet jet kit
- Main jets are 128, i think the pilots are stock.
- D&D slip-on

not sure how many turns the idle mixture screws are at... I don't have that dorky D-tool

 

128 sounds too big, but i can't remember if dynojet's jets have different numbers then my factory pro kit.

People always put way too big of jets in their carbs especially because they think a K&N flows more... its actually worse than stock. lol. I think im running 124 mains(not 100% sure) with my K&N.

Don't want to buy the D tool? This may sound a bit primitive, but get a wheel cutter with a very thin disk on it, and slice straight into the adjusting screw making it now adjustable with a flat head screw driver. Yes it will cut notches into the carb body slightly, but I've done it to mine and its no problem.

 

So a bit of an update, still haven't started the bike, but just going through the process of doing my due diligence in trouble shooting.

I wanted to make sure everything mechanical is fine, so I tore down the bike again. Here are the results:

- The petcock is definitely working, sucking on the vacuum line causes fuel to flow freely out of the petcock
- All the hoses seem to be in the right place, didn't see any old/cracked vacuum lines. Didn't see anything disconnected either
- jets didn't seem clogged, checked the mains and the pilots, but gave them some compressed air anyway (jets are sized 38, is that stock?)

I will probably try buying a D-tool on ebay since I don't have a dremel either. The screws don't look like their positioned the same though, are all of the "flat side" of the screws supposed to be facing in the same direction?

So next thing to do is to install the cleaned plugs and try out what you guys have suggested... but man do I hate putting in/taking out those spark plugs... the access space is so cramped!

 

I was able to make a slot in my pilot screws with a knife. The brass is very soft and it's easy to do this way. I'm sure it'd work better with a dremel. I remember that none of my d rings had the flats exactly line up when they were the same number of turns out. You can't tell anything without screwing them in 'till they're seated and counting the turns.

Stock Main jets are size 135 (this is the Keihin size, the company that made the F2's carbs). A 135 Keihin has the same size hole as a 126 DynoJet, but I don't know if they have different profiles and thus flow differently. Here's a post at another forum comparing jet sizes across companies: http://www.triumphrat.net/hinckley-c...jet-sizes.html

 

I just noticed your edited pics. That looks more like oil than fuel to me (both actually)... Id run a compression test.

The knife idea from jtkardel is a good one if you don't want to buy that tool.

 

I just looked @ the new pics too - it's hard to tell, but that #1 plug looks like the gap is off, more closed up than the others. Make sure you regap, maybe even test that #1 plug before reinstalling it - make sure you've got spark there. If it comes own to it - NGK CR9s cost what, $8 each?

Stock main Jets on a non-california F2 are #135's, slow jets are #38's. (According to my Clymer manual)

 

Man! you guys are sharp!

I accidentally dropped plug #1 when I was taking it out, it altered the gap and I hadn't regapped it before taking that picture. I actually have new spark plugs coming in today, so like you said, if all else fails I'll drop those in.

I'll search up how to do a compression test, but my engine's got 64k miles on it (last owner probably commuted 150+ miles a day). With that many miles on the engine, i'm sure it's going to leak a little bit of oil, which I don't mind so much.

 

]

I have 54k on mine, and you saw my plug. My valves have a little crud on them from oil leaking down the valve guides, but that is it. Believe it or not... with proper maintenance, you could probably get 200,000 miles on your F2 engine.

It looks like you have a lot of oil, not just some. A bad valve cover gasket could do this (junkie already mentioned this) and so could a bad head gasket, or rings or valves. Get a compression gauge at an auto store, and usually there are directions on how to do it.

 

I have the same problem and here is what I have too do especially when she sits around for awhile, which you mentioned.

TOTAL CARB CLEAN

REMOVE ALL PILOTS AND BLOW WITH COMPRESSED AIR AND NOT FROM A CAN YOU WILL NEED A COMPRESSOR, SAW AN ACTUAL GOB OF VARNISH GET BLOWN OUT OF THE CARBS IT GET'S TRAPPED UP IN THERE SOME WHERE, DONT KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM BUT THESE BIKES ARE NOTORIOUS FOR PLUGGED CARB'S, IF BIKE SITS AWHILE, GAS AIN'T WORTH NOTHING......

YOU HAVE CHANGED THE O-RINGS AND, ALL THE GASKETS, FLOAT BOWL NEEDLES IF YOU HAVE THEM (THEY GET SCORED AND THEN THEY STICK OR ALLOW GAS TO SEEP PAST THEM CRAZY I KNOW BUT IT WORKED FOR ME, SO THAT'S DONE...GREAT

GET AN OLD OVERFLOW BOTTLE. OR A LRGE FUNNEL WITH CLEAR TUBING TO MAKE A AUXILIARY GAS TANK. REMOVE YOUR GAS TANK AND HOOK IT UP TO THE CARBS

START HER,

SHE WILL RUN FOR SURE, MINE DID, PUT GAS TANK BACK ON AND NO GOOD===== PROBLEM WAS STILL PRESENT.

THE FINAL FIX WAS SYNCHRONIZING (SYNCHING) MY CARBS FOR THAT YOU WILL NEED SOME SPECIAL TOOLS


NOW LET ME ADD MY BIKE IS A RACE BIKE WHICH ONLY SEE'S THE TRACK 1,2 MAYBE 3 TIMES A MONTH SO i HAVE HAD TO DO THIS A FEW TIMES THE ONLY DIFFERENCE NOW IS THAT i USE RACE FUEL AND WON'T HAVE THE GUMMING UP PROBLEM IN THE CARB'S LIKE REGULAR GAS DOES ALSO IT COST ME ABOUT 70 FOR FIVE GALS.

HOPE IT HELPS YOU AND YOU GET IT FIXED....