185s questions

[bnz 41]

Hey everybody,

I am getting my trikes all ready for the summer and had a couple of questions. I knew that there are some trike genius-types here and so I thought I would post and see what you all thought. Ok, on my 185s if I run it at mid rpm's especially in first gear, it kind of misses or cuts out. I'm not sure if it's a carb issue or a spark issue. Do you have any suggestions as to diagnosing this. The carb was replaced by the previous owner with one of those chinese wonders so I have a suspicion that that could be it. I appreciate any tips.

The other question has to do with the forks. I've never owned anything with fork suspension before so I wanted to know how to check them out and make sure everything is as it should be. I noticed that it thunks if I wheelie it a bit and the fork extends to its top most position and wondered if that is normal. I did a basic cosmetic job on this trike last year (painted tank, new decals, recovered seat) and want to make sure that it is tip top mechanically as well. Thanks in advance for the help.

bnz 41

[rg97]

Check all around the place where the forks pipes slide in and out of the fork assembly. If theres an abundance of oil, you'll need new seals. As to your " 'thunk' when i wheelie" problem, maybe you're low on oil or your springs are bad. Almost sounds like you will need to tear the front end apart sooner or later and do a tune-up with new seals, oil, springs, etc.
Not sure about the cutting out problem, but you should BURN that chinese right away

[yaegerb]

Hey everybody,

I am getting my trikes all ready for the summer and had a couple of questions. I knew that there are some trike genius-types here and so I thought I would post and see what you all thought. Ok, on my 185s if I run it at mid rpm's especially in first gear, it kind of misses or cuts out. I'm not sure if it's a carb issue or a spark issue. Do you have any suggestions as to diagnosing this. The carb was replaced by the previous owner with one of those chinese wonders so I have a suspicion that that could be it. I appreciate any tips.

The other question has to do with the forks. I've never owned anything with fork suspension before so I wanted to know how to check them out and make sure everything is as it should be. I noticed that it thunks if I wheelie it a bit and the fork extends to its top most position and wondered if that is normal. I did a basic cosmetic job on this trike last year (painted tank, new decals, recovered seat) and want to make sure that it is tip top mechanically as well. Thanks in advance for the help.

bnz 41

Sputtering Issue:
I would take the spark plug out and leave it in the cap while grounding it against the engine cooling fins. Turn your lights off in the garage/close the garage door etc and see if you have a nice fat, blue spark. If not, you can go the electrical route.

If you do have a good spark then its carb. Turn gas off, take fuel line off of the carb from the tank and then turn the gas on....is it free flowing? If not, you may have a clog. If it is free flowing then hook your line back up and turn the gas back on. Its running which tells me there is enough gas in the bowl for the pilot, so a clogged fuel line would be my first guess. If not a clogged fuel line then I recommend moving the clip higher on the needle (1 notch at a time) and see if that helps your bogging problems in the higher RPMs.

Forks:
What do you mean it "thunks". Thunks as in when you land after the wheelie or could it be that your actual steering stem nut is loose and your whole tripple tree assembly is moving up and down because your bearings are bad? I would also need a picture of your forks to tell you if where you have them adjusted is the proper place. Be sure to see if you have any leaks around your fork dust seals, even if you don't, it would be wise to replace your fork seals and dust seals as a set on both forks. However, a fluid change is probably in order and then after you change it be sure to use a bike pump or a aircompressor with a regulator because you should have 1 lb of air or less in your forks.

Hope this helps somewhat.

[bnz 41]

I'll try moving the clip up. I already replaced the fuel line and filter. I was wondering if it's possible that this chinese POS carb has some wierd jet in it. My guess is that they put the same jet in whether it's going on a 185s, 200x, or atc 200. Would that be a likely scenario for this problem? As for spark, I'll check that out too.

Thanks,

bnz 41

[yaegerb]

I'll try moving the clip up. I already replaced the fuel line and filter. I was wondering if it's possible that this chinese POS carb has some wierd jet in it. My guess is that they put the same jet in whether it's going on a 185s, 200x, or atc 200. Would that be a likely scenario for this problem? As for spark, I'll check that out too.

Thanks,

bnz 41

A wierd jet is possible, but I doubt you are using much of your main jet in first gear and you are not using the pilot in higher RPMs. Depending on your RPM range you should mostly be on the needle in first. If it idles fine, then you know the pilot jet is OK. Now if you were to tell me that you are going balls out in fourth and its sputtering then I would say your main is too fat and to go to a smaller main.

Again, adjust the clip up one notch at a time (meaning take the clip up, ride it around and then adjust the clip again if its still sputtering). DONT change any other component of the carb. You need to be changing one thing at a time and leaving everything else constant.

[bnz 41]

I'll do that tomorrow and let you know how it works. Thanks.

[tri again]

All excellent suggestions.
I need to know what a 'plug chop' is.
Something about telling if the mixture is close, maybe?

On more than one occasion, I've fixed intermittent bs by nipping
the last tiny bit off the coil wire so that the sparkplug cap has fresh copper to bite into.
Super simple and takes no $ or time at all and just might make a difference.
Other than that, it's always a good idea to check electrical connections in general, clean and waterproof with that electrical grease.

[yaegerb]

All excellent suggestions.
I need to know what a 'plug chop' is.
Something about telling if the mixture is close, maybe?

On more than one occasion, I've fixed intermittent bs by nipping
the last tiny bit off the coil wire so that the sparkplug cap has fresh copper to bite into.
Super simple and takes no $ or time at all and just might make a difference.
Other than that, it's always a good idea to check electrical connections in general, clean and waterproof with that electrical grease.

A plug chop is essentially an old school, fairly correct, method of determining the proper jetting circuit of a carburetor.

Essentially you need a fresh, properly gapped plug in your engine and then determine what throttle position range you want to perform your plug chop in, for example: Pilot Jet = 0 to 1/4 throttle. Needle = 1/4 to 3/4 throttle. Main Jet = 3/4 to Full Throttle

Let's say you want to perform a full throttle plug chop. Find a very open area and make ONE pass ensuring that you have been at full throttle 5-10 seconds. Once you have run the bike for the 5-10 second range at full throttle, immediately pull the clutch in (manual) and hit the kill swith allowing the bike to come to a stop on its own (don't use the brakes). If its a auto-clutch hit the kill switch and let the bike slow down on its own.

Then, take the plug out and see what color the porcelain is around the electrode. Basically, the color of the porcelain at the base of the plug (base, meaning inside the threads, so cut the threads off with a dremel or hacksaw) should be a chocolate-brown. The rules of thumb are Brown = Perfect, Black = Rich, White or no color = Lean.

So if you did all of the above and found the base of your porcelain brown then you would be jetted well on the main (the main because you were 3/4-Full Throttle). Note, this doesn't mean that the needle is perfect (1/4 - 3/4 Throttle). Typically you will feel bogging in the mid-range and can adjust the needle clip as necessary. If you wanted to double-check the needle you could perform a mid-range plug chop, although I have never done one. I typically peform full throttle chops.

Hope this helps and sorry for the derail. Carry on!

[tripledog]

Just trying to offer some help regarding your front suspension. Make sure the chrome on the upper fork tubes is in good shape, and not rusted or pitted. The best fork seals in the world can not compensate for pitted, gouged, or otherwise damaged tubes.

[bnz 41]

Thanks for the info on the forks. They're actually in really good shape so we should be good to go once I freshen them up. Would you suggest looking at one of the youtube videos on fork rebuilds? Most of them are for motocross bikes but it should basically be the same right?

I messed around with the carb today moving the clip up and down. Either direction was worse than where it is set now (2nd from top) so I'll need to look at other options for a fix. I did notice that I was wrong I hadn't replaced the fuel line on this one. I did that on the 110. I'm going to get new line tomorrow, but I don't think that's the issue. I also snipped off a bit of wire and put it back together. It looks way better, but still runs the same. Is there anything I should look at under the CDI cover? I unscrewed it and looked inside. It had a bunch of brown powdery buildup. I shot a little air at it, but it didn't really come very clean.

Thanks again everyone for the help. We'll get this whupped sooner or later.

[yaegerb]

that buildup in the CDI is normal, blowing it out is enough. So you have verified that you are getting a good spark then?

Since you havent replaced the fuel line on this one, have you determined that fuel is flowing sufficiently from the tank to the carb?

[tripledog]

The cdi box (if it is original to the machine) is about 30 years old, and was likely a weak link when it was new. Advanced technology, GREAT info from this site, and a competitive market made it possible to get my 200es running STRONG for less than $20, including shipping costs. A chinese scooter cdi box from ebay can be yours for less than $10 shipped, and the required connector(s) from Vintage Connections can be obtained for about the same amount. My guess is that your cdi has outlived its usefull life.
Credit for this info goes to site member kbOnly. Pm me if you would like more info, as I have cluttered up this site enough as is. Happy to help if I can...