'Kin 'ell!!

Has it been
that long since I last posted an update on this seemingly never ending saga?! My 3XV's motor lunching a piston ring, piston & (plated) cylinder late last Sept. hasn't helped as that distracted me for a while but I eventually got back to working on my baby Gixer. Unfortunately I still haven't
quite cracked getting the carb's balanced yet!
Well ... saying that, I could get them balanced spot on at 2,000 - 2,500 thou RPM, but on winding the rev's back down to idle at around 1,300 rpm it was as lumpy as hell ! When balanced at idle rpm they were way out at higher rpm !!
I had the carb's off, dismantled, thoroughly checked over & thoroughly cleaned out wi' good quality carb cleaner three times to no avail ... so I gave up in disgust!

( I sprayed ALL the fuel, air & vacuum passageways through in
both directions, there were no blockages in any of the carb's, partially or fully ).
Then one day I had a "light bulb moment". Maybe it's the ignition leads & plug caps causing the lumpy idle?

The plug caps are the original OEM ones so are
at least 20 years old now & it's highly likely the ignition leads are just as old!
So, I did a bit of web research & found that it's recommended to replace copper core ignition leads every 5-6 years & carbon core leads every 2-3 years!!

(Their resistance starts to increase as the insulation/materials break down with age, heat etc. Plug caps do the same thing apparently). So, armed with the above knowledge, I was straight on to Fleabay to order 2 metres of 7 mm O.D. copper core ignition lead & four NGK plug caps. That was back in early November. Due to work & my Christmas/New Year holidays, ( I had a whole month off. Yeehaa!!

), it's taken 'til now to finally get the leads & caps fitted. (Drain some coolant & remove thermostat housing for access!

).
I've also replaced the L/H coil as the threaded terminal for No. 4 cyl's lead was badly corroded compared to the other 3 terminals. Every little helps as they say nowadays.
This is the caps I fitted.
I've also got round to fitting a NOS choke cable I bought a while back. (The outer on the pattern cable fitted was looking a bit rough in places).
Next on my "to do" list was turning this crustiness...
... into this ...
... with the aid of new OEM chain adjuster plates & a set of GSX-R stainless adjuster nuts & circlips. The plates were in the spares stash that came with the bike when I bought it & the stainless adjuster nuts & circlips were bought from an Ebay vendor. (They fit all capacity's of early '90's GSX-R models). So that's another bit of the bike tidied up.
(Sorry Si, I wasn't gonna fit the new plates you bought, but when I found the stainless adjuster nuts I just had to fit them.

).
I've also swapped the fuel filler cap & fuel tap over to a replacement fuel tank that was in a MUCH better condition externally than the original.

The replacement was bought last spring via Ebay for a bargain "Buy It Now" price of £70.00. MUCH cheaper than a respray ...
... AND it came complete with the OEM black rubber trim around the bottom seam & a natty looking tank pad. Braw.
Now all I need is for all this stormy winter weather Scotland's been battered with lately to bugger off so I can balance the carb's ... yet again !!

If new ignition leads, spark plugs, plug caps & a coil swap don't help to cure the lumpy idle problem I'll be officially stumped!
( And yes, I've checked & cleaned all the ignition system electrical connections

).
Anyhoo, ch'o the noo.
Wullie.
P.S. Belated Merry Christmas & Happy New Year folks.
