Trying to Tune the 185s

[CaptHamster]

Hey guys, got an '83 185s i'm trying to get running. If I have to pull that starter another hundred times I might go crazy...

So here's deal. Trike has been sitting since late 80's outside and uncovered but miraculously works. A cheapo $30 eBay carb and about $20 in gas, oil and lube later, and it runs...sort of. Ran okay when I first got it going but has always had trouble idling on its own. Lately the problem has become worse and the symptoms are getting weirder.

I'd have to give the thing a good 10 pulls before it started with the choke fully on. After feathering the throttle and making sure it would stay alive (it had a hard time running even on full choke), I'd click it down to the 2nd choke position. Responsiveness would pick up very well, but of course, the low end problems would get worse. Then it started doing something strange...I'd be giving it some throttle every second or two, just to keep it alive. Then, when the engine was slowing down, it'd pick up as if i just gave it throttle, then die, all on its own.

I figured it was some kind of vacuum leak somewhere, so I tried spraying WD-40 around the carb and the manifold when it was running, but nothing changed. And when I pulled the plug, it was very black, but not wet, which means at least the spark is good. But no matter what adjustment I make to the pilot screw, nothing really seems to be working...so I parked it for the day, because I got sick of pulling the starter.

So, any tips or help? I have a shop manual but I'm still having problems. Any gurus willing to help? Thanks guys.

[Nubbinz]

i want to say its in the wiring, but then again you did put on an El Cheapo carb. you could replace the coil and wire, new spark plug, check the cdi, and clean out hte original carb and try it. all around 30 bucks for all that stuff

[JustEnough]

Do a valve adjustment.

[zackwhite]

check plug coil cdi and try it.if it wont check to see if its still in time and if so then valve might be off

[CaptHamster]

Thanks guys, I'll give all that a try and report back. What bothers me most is that it ran fine before and is now slowly getting worse, but I'll double check everything.