Old Guy Too Many Bikes
Well-Known Member
Made a friend out of a neighbor I didn't know that has a '71 CT90. We all went for a ride today and he barely made it home. Turns out he told me he had fuel leaking from his float bowl and bent the float tang to lower the level, and it stopped leaking. During the ride he started losing power until the bike would barely run. He said it happens occasionally and he has to let it cool down. After 15 minutes, it started up and away we went. 10 minutes later it happened again. I could sense that the bike was overheating and the head was way way too hot to touch. I told him if it's overheating, either it's not getting oil or it's running too lean. He said the oil was fine, so I suggested that after it cooled a bit, he should run with the choke half closed and play with the lever as he rode to richen the mixture. It started and it worked, and we all made it back home, but he noticed his bike was smoking a bit. So he pulled the head and found his piston and cylinder were badly scored. Moral of the story, the float level has a lot to do with the air fuel ratio and don't just arbitrarily set your float level. And don't start messing with jets and needle positions until you first check your float level.