1975 T-500 question

[travis518]

I recentlly purchesed a old basket case barn find t-500. I got it all together and running its starts with one kick or with just your hand, but after rideing it for a little bit it starts to loose powere and bogges down. its like it running out of fuel. but has a full tank. i soaked the carbs in carb cleaner so they should be good. the olny other thing is when this happens i pull the plugs and put new plugs in then it runs good for a little bit then im haveing the same problems a little wile later. what do you think i should do?

[johnakay]

check your float height.
sound like the carbs are running out of fuel.
if you stop for a minute then ride on does run OK and then splutter to a halt?

[diamondj]

Also check the vent in the gas tank cap - it could be clogged and creating a vacuum that starve the carbs. Try popping the tank cap open as it starts to bog down. Be careful so that you don't spill gas of course.

How do the plugs look when you change them?

Jim

[travis518]

i pulled the carbs and checked them. but wile doing so i realized the the petcock does not shut off. then i got thinking maby the diaphram on the side of the crab might not be working and not giving me enough fuel, so i run the bike on prime and it works good now. till i find a new petcock. the problem im having now is that the bike sometimes dont fire on both pistons. the right side piston does not always fire making it very hard to start the bike. and suggestions?

[johnakay]

the right side piston does not always fire making it very hard to start the bike. and suggestions?


this some time cause by low voltage ,is your battery fully charge and is the bike charging ok? if not this could be the problem.

[CaptCatFish]

I'd also suggest double checking the point gap and timing. My T500 decided to change its timing after a few rides and was becoming very obstinate until I corrected those things. The tip about having a correctly charged battery is also very very true.

CaptCatFish