Hey guys,

I seem to have a slight misfire on one of the cylinders on my GL1500. Seems to be low RPM related, up to around 1200 RPM, then it clears and runs well. I recently checked the compression and have around 120 PSI on each cyl. Plugs are recent and look good, though, when I changed them last week, the right side seemed to be just a bit more on the rich side than the left, judging by the color. It's pretty bad when it's cold, but improves somewhat when the engine warms up. Thoughts?

Thanks!
Lorne

Sync the carbs may help.

Thanks for the response! The thought of being out of sync crossed my mind. Does anyone know of an outlined proceedure for syncing these carbs? I made a set of vacuum gauges and adapters that worked well on my Magna and GS... Thoughts?

Thanks!
Lorne

hi loren. your vacuum gauges from your magna will work on your wing only using two gauges instead of four. I'll bet your float height is off slightly on your right side or those pesky rubber tipped float needles are going bad. goodluck frank

Where do Hook the gauges up? Also, which carb is the master (that'll likely become more obvious when I pull the air cleaner off...)? Is there an accessable low speed mixture or idle jet on these? Carbs are the one thing I didn't spend a lot of time looking at whiledst putting it together...

the mixture screws are located on the front side of each carb by the float bowl chamber, under each carb on the intake manifold are various vacuum lines, use one on each side for your gauges. set the carb snyc equal on both gauges. starting air screw setting is 2 turns out from all the way in.

Will give it a shot tomorrow. Thanks!

it's been a long time since I had a 1500 but there is a small vacuum hose by the spark plugs area, I think it is on the right side as you sit on the bike, it has been know to develop a crack and cause a miss.

I've got the same problem, but in my world a miss comes from the ignition system. I'm taking mine in for repair. I'll let you know if I get any useful information that could help you.

Hi Bill,

What is pointing you in the direction of electrical? I syncronized the carbs and it did improve to a point, but it still seems to have a miss. After putting almost a thousand miles on it over the last month or so, I it seems like it doesn't really go away completely... Plugs all look alike at this point and from appearances, using a timing light on each cylinder, each wire is getting signal (of some sort anyway). Yes, please do keep me posted!

Thanks,
Lorne

120 psi. Compression sounds low. Did you hold throttle wide open while cranking engine over? Service manual says 185 to 242 psi. Low limit 142 psi.

No, the throttle was closed, but noting that they were all within a couple lbs of eachother was more what I was after. If on or two were notably low, I would be concerned, but I can't believe that all 6 are leaking the same amount.

Start with the easy fix,change plugs. Just because they look good doesen't mean they are.

If it were the fuel air mix it would randomly affect the cylinders. Mine is too even a miss, the valve lash could do it, but I haven't taken it in yet.

Plugs were the first thing on the list. Since I synced the carbs, it runs better and the problem has changed a bit... When it's cold it runs excellent. Could not be better! As it reaches operating temperature it notably runs less smooth and seems to lack just a little in power. Timing belts are new and I double checked that they are lined up. The miss seems to be consistant and through all RPMs. Idle actually seems best. The lifters are noisy, could it be a failing lifter? Maybe a coil? A coil I would expect 2 cylinders to miss though... Thoughts?

Thanks!
Lorne

I noted last evening that the miss I hear when it's hot isn't a hard miss. If I remove the plug wires one at a time, each one makes it run worse, so whatever it is, they all fire at least "somewhat".

L.

OK, let me pose this question... Are these lifters known to fail? Is yes, how, what are the symptoms? I have a couple that are very loud and seem to get worse when it warms up. Is there a way to test individual lifters?

Thanks!
Lorne

Got my bike back and they balanced the carbs. I saw no change. They didn't know how many carbs the bike has or # of coils. I see the 2000 is the first model with hydrolic lifters. All previous need adjusting. They didn't notice the battery was shot, I'm replacing it today, but that wasn't causing the miss either. Good luck, we'll need it.

Hi Bill,

On the contrary, my understanding is that all of the GL1500 Goldwings do have hydraulic lifters. That was one of the big differences between the Goldwing and Valkerie engines, Valkerie has non-hydraulic lifters. It would appear that a couple of lifters on the left side have issues. When the oil thins out after heating up they start to leak and not pump up all the way. I'm changing some of mine out this weekend, will keep you posted...

Thanks!
Lorne

Be sure your ch'oke cable is properly adjusted. My 1500 will do the same till it warms up. The man. recomends an idle speed of 800 rpn +/- 80 rpm. It seems high but works well.

Okay, I got my bike back they sync'd the carbs. They said it ran "GREAT". I noticed it still had the miss, but figured on waiting till it got worse. Two days later it wouldn't start. A new battery fixed that, and most of the miss. So I still think a weak electrical part is the problem. I'm back to wait and see.

i have a miss,backfire on startups just wondering is it normal.another issue i see air bubbles in my gas line coming from my fuel pump.i have 1981 goldwing