Is consistently running with choke bad?

[jrs22389]

Hey, new here. I'm curious as to if it's okay to run my bike with the choke on all of the time.
I've had the bike for a few months now and am still just trying to get everything running smoothly, but I'm confident that it's nothing too major. Most of the driving I've done on it has been to school and back, but that's less than a mile away. I'm aware that 650s are somewhat cold blooded, and from experience as well, I know it just simply won't run very well without the choke pulled at 50-70%. Because of the short commute and the fact that it's the only commute i make on it, it's pretty much always running with the choke on.

For what it's worth, the current setup is
K&N pod filters (I know that's a bit of a touchy subject on this forum, but my patience with the stock configuration ran completely dry while trying to tune in the carbs)
stock jets
stock 4-4 (somewhat leaky) exhaust

42 slow jets and 118 main jets in the mail

[Volker_P]

Welcome here!

If you have piston carbs (79/80) with stock jetting no surprise you have to use the choke.
The 118/42 configuration should bring you to resonable mixture regions. But check out your plugs whether they look all right to avoid you run still too lean then.

[jrs22389]

Thanks. And yeah, it's a 1980. I have an 83 CB650 back home in Missouri, and the CV carbs on that one were much more forgiving, it seemed. That bike is probably going to be parted out to fund my current project though. Maybe the altitude is causing them to be a little more temperamental. Currently, this 1980 CB650 and I are in Utah, 4800ft^.
This is actually the only kind of motorcycle I've ever worked on. To be honest, I'm a little more use to working on tractors and cars/trucks. Assuming everything else is running fine, would I increase or decrease the jet size, if it's too lean?

I know it would be somewhat of a different subject, but if I install the new jets and it's still spitting and hissing, would it be alright if I posted a video on this current topic, so it would be easier for users to help me assess what's going on. I can just post a new one if you think it would be helpful to others. Maybe I'm just being too much of a perfectionist, but I feel like I've been trying to dial in these carbs for way too long.

[jrs22389]

In case the idea of parting out a fully functioning motorcycle was hard to read, don't worry. It sat outside for several years and all the electronics were shot. I borrowed some working parts from the guy who sold that bike to me until I got it running.. he felt bad because he told me all it needed was a battery.

[cb650]

stock jets are 90 for that year. 118 is way to much especially for your altitude. I bet there is still some dirt in there.

[jrs22389]

Yeah, I only went for the 118s because of the pod filters. Someone on Chinonthetank.com posted about a setup for pod filters that was supposed to be a generally good starting point. It even accounted for altitude.

http://www.chinonthetank.com/2010/08/cb650-pod-filters/

I don't personally know how knowledgeable the guy who did this is. The website seems to be run by slightly grown-up hipsters.. which still makes them hipsters.. not that there's anything wrong with that i guess. anyways, it's working for him, so it can't hurt to try.

[Volker_P]

"Pods" is no really precise specification and moreover exhaust and other modifications migth induce further differences in behaviour.
So in fact all jetting recommendations for "pod filters" should be seen as an idea where to start.
Finally you have to look at your plugs, your mpg and your engine response to get an idea if it is all right in your case or not.
Usually this implies more or less playing around with different jets.

[jrs22389]

New jets are in. everything's running a lot better. Not perfect, but much better. Starts up, no problem. It needs full choke when starting, but I can take it down to about 25% choke pretty much right after it starts up. Will run without choke after about 2 miles. It still spits a little bit when just started up, and will occasionally backfire when letting off the throttle. There's a slight hesitation at 5,000-5,500 rpm (tachometer isn't very reliable) in 3rd,4th and 5th gear. It'll push passed it. If I let off the throttle a little bit around 4,500 rpm it'll accelerate passed 6,000 rpm. It just takes a little longer. mpg has decreased slightly. I just checked the spark plugs. I changed the oil and spark plugs before starting on the carbs, so what they're showing should be fairly accurate. All the plugs looked a little rich, aside from cylinder 3.


spark plugs 1-4/left-right
There is a bit of an oil leak. Hopefully, it's nothing a top end tear down and some new gaskets can't fix.



#3
sorry. the important stuff is a bit out of focus



#4 was almost the exact same as #1 and #2


So, I'm hoping this just means the carbs are ready to be properly synchronized? I don't now. Let me know what you think.

[Volker_P]

Plugs look still way too rich. Differences look suspicious, did you let it idle before you pulled the plugs?
What is your mpg?
How is the status of these air filters, especilly both left ones? One may try to swap between cylinders and have a look at the spark plugs again.