so i took my 1990 cbr 1000f to the bike shop to talk about a tune up, the guy starts it and tells me its not runnin on all cylinders he shows me by shootin water on the exaust pipes and sure enough #1 and#3 or not burning off. he says for 300.00 plus parts he can get it running right. before he charges me 300 for tune up so gonna fix myself got a spark indicator a multi tester just need some advise on what to set it on and how to test im still waiting for my service manual to show up thanks in advance.

 

I can help you with some of what you need: 1990 CBR1000f Service Manual

 

If 2 cylinders were not firing, your bike would sound horrible and barely run. Sound kinda like a Harley in a way. Is this the case?

2 of your pipes not burning the water off could also mean that they are running rich, and there is a big difference between that and not firing.

If you are willing to tune it yourself, first pull your spark plugs, memorize the order they are in. (however they could be in the wrong order in the first place if she really is running on 2 cylinders)

Hold the plug against the engine and turn the bike over. You should see a spark, do this on all 4.

While the plugs are out, check to see what they look like. Tan is a good color. Dark or white is a sign that your carbs probably need cleaned and/or tuned.

 

ok all 4 are firing at least my fancy pin thing you hold on the wire show them to be and no it dosent run rough it does have an exaust leak but she idles smooth i need to pull the plugs now and check them out and you can hear the cam chain knockin in there,68,000 miles on her i think maybe this mech is trying to get me, does any one know if a 96 cbr1000 engine would bolt into 90 frame? just thinkin maybe this engine is getting tired thanks for your input guys this site is my new best freind

 

thanks this will help,mine should be here soon

 

I wouldn't waste my time or money swapping the engine unless there was some damage somewhere. Contrary to what some people think, 68,000 miles is not a lot of miles as long as the engine was maintained properly. You wouldn't swap the engine on a car that only had 68,000 miles, why do it on a bike? The engines are basically the same. Sure, they get more throttle and harder acceleration, but they also do not have much weight to move, so they can actually run quite a bit longer than an automotive engine. Many examples of over 100,000, 200,000 miles bikes out there with the same engine and still running fine. Plus, dropping in another engine in there and you may just end up with the same problem.

I would take my time and find out whats going on with the current engine. I would lean towards the pilot jets needing to be cleaned. Those are the jets that are responsible for idle up to around 1/8 throttle. Then the Main jets begin to take over. I would take my time and clean the carbs. Its certainly a lot easier than swapping engines.

A little knocking is normal when you have your ear up to the engine.Bike engines are noisy. They are out in the open and not surrounded by metal like a car engine is, so you hear every little noise that could be a normal sound.

I would try to fix what you have. It could be a very simple fix. Plus, it sounds like you have the all of the tools to check it all.

 

i never thought of it that way good point thanks on my way to bent bike didnt have a socket to pull the plugs,but iwill in a minute