Possible running fault

[Lee16]

Evening chaps, had my firestorm for about a year now and have recently fitted scorpion hi levels to it as the old mtc cans seemed to gie the bike a loud rattle type exhaust sound. but even these new scorpions dont sound right. after hearing another firestorm at the weekend which sounded smooth with a deep thump mine is more along the lines of a harley sound, it pops and farts on over run and seems to struggle at higher revs as if it is struggling for fuel. even on tick over it sound like a plug is dropping every so often. i changed the plugs but no change. any ideas???? i have read that maybe i need to balance carbs but just dont know....

[Stratman]

I have Scorpions on mine and she runs great with the baffles out with standard jets etc. With baffles in lose just a bit of grunt in tight bends etc.

Whatever cans you have won't make a jot of difference if the basics aren't right i.e. balance, clean air filter, mixture.

So, I reckon get those right and your Storm should run the Scorpions withour baffles with no problems.

[Lee16]

Yeh running it with baffles out. didn't even try it with them in, is it worth checking filter and carb adjustment any way ?

cheers stratman. i'll give that ago.
gonna strip it down monday see if i can get it running right

[Lee16]

the plugs that were in it were standard not the irridium ones would that be possibley a factor ? every thing happens at once need a new chain and sprockets and then found a 3 inch nail in my rear tyre. great !!! lol

[cupasoop]

Scorpion build their pipes to be direct replacements for standard with no jetting or filter changes required. Baffles in or out shouldn't make a difference......unless your name is Mike apparently.

[Lee16]

Cheers mike i'll try it with baffles in see what that do's .

[Stratman]

I blame the dodgy pipework.

That's what I've started to say at 3.30 every morning

[tony.mon]

Reading you original post carefully it sounds to me like you have the old "carb cough". It might occasionally stall as you stop at lights or junctions as well.
They all do this; you can reduce it by increasing the tickover speed to nearer 1500 and balancing the carbs.

Certainly getting iridium plugs in will help, they're not over expensive if you look around.
Buying a set of four is cheaper per plug, split them with a mate.

Can't comment on your headers, but any gaps in the joints won't help with the popping and banging on the overrun, suggest you hold your hand over the outlets (don't burn yourself) and listen for leaks.

Get it serviced first, once you know everything's set up as it should be you can start to see what, if anything, is causing your symptoms.

[Lee16]

Cheers Tony it do's actually stall sometimes at lights, gonna spend all day monday trying to sort it will keep ya posted on the outcome. thanks again chaps for the advice

[sirch345]

Scorpion build their pipes to be direct replacements for standard with no jetting or filter changes required. Baffles in or out shouldn't make a difference......unless your name is Mike apparently.

Exactly although mine are Scorpion race can's so don't have baffles fitted as standard in the first place.

I think Mike your one off purpose built pipes wouldn't have had that purposely built-in restriction that you can see in the standard headers on the righthand side (rear brake lever side) if you remove the righthand can. That's why yours ran better with the baffles in IMHO as the front cylinder needs some restriction for it to work at it's best.

If I fit any restriction on my Scorpion can's, no matter how small a baffle I try, it only restricts the power. It runs best without any baffles. That's with standard air filter and jetting.

Chris.

[tony.mon]

I think Mike your one off purpose built pipes wouldn't have had that purposely built-in restriction that you can see in the standard headers on the righthand side (rear brake lever side) if you remove the righthand can. That's why yours ran better with the baffles in IMHO as the front cylinder needs some restriction for it to work at it's best.


Chris.

But on the standard headers that restriction is AFTER the combined part, so must affect both cylinders, surely? (2:1:2)

[sirch345]

I think Mike your one off purpose built pipes wouldn't have had that purposely built-in restriction that you can see in the standard headers on the righthand side (rear brake lever side) if you remove the righthand can. That's why yours ran better with the baffles in IMHO as the front cylinder needs some restriction for it to work at it's best.


Chris.

But on the standard headers that restriction is AFTER the combined part, so must affect both cylinders, surely? (2:1:2)

Good point Tony now that you mention it, and yes thinking about what you've just said does sound right.

However that doesn't change the point I was trying to make, and that is Mike's bespoke headers most likely didn't have any restriction built into them (unlike the standard Firestorm headers) so therefore the bike didn't run as well until he fitted some baffles.

Chris.

[Lee16]

Just to let ya know i took my carbs off and found there to be a strong smell of diesel some how the tank has got diesel init ??????? anyway cleaned the carbs and tank out re-fitted them and then checked carb balance and found the rear carb to be way out so sorted them and cleanded the K&N filter which i didn't even know i had and it now sounds so much better and go's like stink totally diferent bike.. thanks again for all your advice

[tony.mon]

The diesel smell is just very old fuel.
Sluice it through with some fresh stuff.

Might be worth dropping the float bowls off to check for gunk, it can cause intermittent blockages if left, and might stop the float from working properly.

If you find lots it's worth steaming the tank out, drying it thoroughly and refilling with fresh.

But if it's all going OK, just ride it!

[Lee16]

i took the bowls off and cleaned them out so i think it should be ok fingers crossed..