Honda 185s Running WILD! HELP!

[Jonny Robertz]

I recently purchased a barn-fresh 1982 Honda 185s. The fuel line was shot and the carb was a complete mess. I ordered a new carb because the kit was almost as much as the entire one. I install the new one last night and she started right up! You would think that this is great news but no. It immediately idled to point of full throttle, dropped into gear and took off with no one on it. It crashed right into the wall of the garage before I caught it and hit the kill switch. I then got the factory manual, set the pilot screw, adjusted the throttle screw (in the side of carb with spring), and adjusted the nut on top of the carb on the actual throttle cable (tiny brass nut nut under rubber sheath above cap). She started right up again (this time on jackstands LOL) and I had the same result. Full throttle, just screaming. Does anyone know of any adjustments I need to make to stop this? Any suggestions? Thank you.

[atc007]

Your throttle valve/slide. Is in 180 off. the tiny slit :) goes on the side of the carb with the pin in it. The idle screw contacts the slide at the bottom. It will run much better now !

[jeswinehart]

Sounds like you have the throttle slide in backwards. If it was rather tuff getting the slide stuffed back in,,, well it should not be. take it out and rotate around to where the slide/spring/throttle cable basically drops in and screwing on the cap (where the throttle cable is fed thru).

[jeswinehart]

and that little cut away in the bottom area of the slide, should face the air filter side

[Jonny Robertz]

i did turn the slide around 180 degrees earlier today and had the same result. this was before I made the other adjustments to the pilot screw. should I try turning it around again?

[Jonny Robertz]

one side has a narrow slit up like 3/4 of the slide. one side a wider slot that goes maybe 1/3 to 1/2 way up the slide. Just to confirm, the narrow slit that goes most of the way (about 3/4) up the slide should face the spring loaded screw, right?

[Jonny Robertz]

maybe I have it in there 90 degrees off... should the slots be one in the front and one in the back (facing the motor and the other facing the airbox) or on each side, like a slot facing the screw? Sorry but I've done this before on other bikes (removing this cap and cable) and had no issues.

[tri again]

The idle screw wants to line up with the angled incline plane on the carb slide.\
so when you screw it in, it raises the carb slide.
Very ez to get wrong. Make sure the slide is bottomed out and resting on the bottom of the carb body.
or the carb needle is not pinned down into the slide itself with that 'w' clip...done that too.

or my favorite thing to miss? an airleak...missing o ring or gasket
or the new carb has missing or wrong jets.

PLEASE let us know what you find.

[Jonny Robertz]

Thank you for clarifying! I'm pretty sure that is how I have it in now. And it is fully seated. I will check wheni get home and key you know what happens. Thanks again!

[Jonny Robertz]

Okay so I fixed one problem then caused another one. The issue with screaming idle was the slide and needle/pin. As I said, I bought a whole new carb, and like an idiot, I made an assumption. I used the old slide, needle, spring, and cap because that was not were the original issue (no fuel flow) was. Plus, the old set up fit neatly into the carb. Well today I tried a new combo. Old cap, new slide, spring and needle. I also noticed that the backside of the carb was loose where the air hose actually connects to the air box was missing the the hose clamp and possibly sucking too much air and fixed this issue. She fired right up and actually idled normally and ran great! I had the back end up on jack stands to avoid the run away 3 wheeler fiasco from the other day and I had the handle bars turned all the way to the right. It ran perfectly for about 2 to 3 minutes. I then straightened the front wheel out and was ready to take her around the block. As soon as I straightened the front wheel it cut off and would not start again...? I am assuming it pulled on the throttle cable or loosened it but I don't know...? I am at a loss here! It was running perfectly, but I obviously can't have it shut off every time I turn LOL. Maybe it was just a coincidence or it flooded or something. Who knows... I am still open to suggestions on this new issue. I was all excited to take it out and do a little trail riding this weekend, because the weather is supposed to be perfect.

[Chopsaw]

Sounds like a kill switch or bad wire / something grounded the ignition . Think about how the system works ,,,

[El Camexican]

Is your throttle cable play correct at either steering stop? If not you may have to turn up the idle screw a little. Fix those air leaks ASAP!

[Jonny Robertz]

Yeh I was thinking about the play in the throttle cable too but would that instantly kill it? I've gotten that wrong before and it revved way up. This was just the opposite...?

[El Camexican]

Yeh I was thinking about the play in the throttle cable too but would that instantly kill it? I've gotten that wrong before and it revved way up. This was just the opposite...?
If by chance your idle setting is too low to start with and the carb was opening slightly due to the cable being stretched in a certain position when you got it running then in theory relaxing the cable would allow the slide or butterfly (I don't know your carb) and it would be closed too much to start or run in that position. Until you get the air leaks taken care of nothing else is worth adjusting, but once they are you can check the cable free play as follows.

Just move your thumb, or twist (again, I don't know your set-up) and there should be some movement before you feel any resistance. Check for this throughout the range of your steering. About 1/8" free play should do it. You should hear a metallic click coming from the carb when you open the throttle and let it snap shut. If that isn’t the problem then try holding the throttle just slightly open when you are trying to start it to see if that helps. If it does, turn up your idle setting 1 turn at a time till it starts on its own and then adjust to whatever idles speed you want.

Check for spark before anything else!

[Jonny Robertz]

Okay, I have spark and have addressed all air leaks. It still won't start. I do not have play to speak of in the throttle cable and can't seem to get any either. There is no adjustment screw on the handle portion of the cable. I have moved the nut that goes into the cap above the slide in the carb. I tried it all the way up, all the way down and few middle setting and she still won't start. I even pulled the new carb to make sure there were no blockages (as the tank was recently cleaned and I was afraid it sucked a little piece of something through the fuel line) and it was pristine. It is very frustrating because she ran like brand new just a few days ago and then quit and never started again. If anyone has any more suggestions about possible issues to look for or ideas on how else to adjust the idle or throttle I am all ears. Please help, I am out of ideas here!

[El Camexican]

Does it still have gas in it? (not kidding) Is the petcock open? If it has reserve set it to that.

You have to have throttle cable free play. From what I can see the adjustment should be on top of the carb. Turn it all the way in untill you get free play, Open and release the throttle and you should hear the slide make a metalic click against the adjustment screw. When it does turn the screw in a bit and try starting it.

[atc007]

New O ring between the head and intake manifold. And a NEW sparg plug. Not a clean one. New. These foul just like 2 cycles. Now it's running,adjust the air screw at idle after warm,then the idle screw itself.

[Jonny Robertz]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! This was the adjustment I needed! I turned the throttle nut in until I got the desired free play and then adjusted the screw on the side of the carb. It fired right up on the first pull! It took a little tweaking to get the idle just right but now she is running just fine! I just took it around the block a few times and it is running perfect! Thanks to everyone for all of your suggestions! It finally worked out and she is running like a top! :p :beer

[nutcase67]

That's what this site is for to help each other when we need help

[El Camexican]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! This was the adjustment I needed! I turned the throttle nut in until I got the desired free play and then adjusted the screw on the side of the carb. It fired right up on the first pull! It took a little tweaking to get the idle just right but now she is running just fine! I just took it around the block a few times and it is running perfect! Thanks to everyone for all of your suggestions! It finally worked out and she is running like a top! :p :beer

On behalf of everyone that put the effort in to help you I would like to thank YOU. It seems you made the effort to check everything that you were told to check and didn’t dismiss any advice. You also took the time to let us know what happened and thank us which was really nice of you.

Not everyone does that and unfortunately I suspect it is for that reason that a lot of very knowledgeable people on here don’t always try to help the new guys.

I hope you keep coming back here, when it comes to trikes and great people 3WW is as good as it gets. Now let’s see some pics of your trike!

[Jonny Robertz]

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Here are a few pix of the '82 Honda 185s I have been working on. I also included a few of a '85 Honda 250sx project I recently finished up. They are both a little muddy, but hell, that is what they're for!

[El Camexican]

185S... First trike I ever drove. I can still smell the spring time mud buring on the pipe and thinking how cool it was to be driving at night with a light.

[Jonny Robertz]

Yeh I started on an old Honda trail 70 and that thing is still in the family and running strong!