Hello. I'm still running- in my Victor Secial so apart from a couple of overtakes have kept my throttle hand in check .
After every run whether a quick trip or 40 /50 mile jaunt the plug the plug indicates a bit of richness.
Not a lot- the sort of mild sootyness that can be wiped off with a tee shirt🙄 to expose the bare metal.
The jets are standard according to the books ,the needle on its first notch and l fitted a new anti ethanol float and needle.
I did wonder if the new air filter that came with the box or bits and bobs when l bought the bike could be the culprit. It's the pancake type and has a paper element. The original seems to have been some sort of gauze .
I'm wondering if the paper type is a bit denser than the gauze .
Any thoughts would be very welcome .
Thank you
Try a run without the air-filter, just to see how much of an effect its having on the mixture. If its decent size and flow it should make much difference, perhaps one jet size.
Quote from: limeyrob on 06 Jul, 2026, 20:50 Try a run without the air-filter, just to see how much of an effect its having on the mixture. If its decent size and flow it should make much difference, perhaps one jet size.
Thanks for that, l think that's my experiment for tomorrow evening. Though l feel a bit silly in that l've only just noticed l have a 32 carb fitted instead of the standard 30mm.
I guess this could be a factor?
Any help/ suggestions gratefully accepted.
Starting cold is a one or two kick affair : warm is either first kick or entails a bit of a " talk amongst yourselves " pantomime😁
Well l took the air filter off but didn't have time to start the bike until the next day. Whereupon l was rewarded with a strangled burbling noise from the exhaust.
A wiser man would've remembered to remove the bit of rag he'd stuffed in the carb to keep the dust out overnight !
Running without the air filter didn't have any effect,still a whisp of sootyness . The mixture screws barely needed adjusting to get a good tick over - about 1/8th turn on the air screw .
The bike runs well and seems so close to being "right" that l'm hoping a subtle tweak is all that's needed.
Hence advice from others with knowledge of tweaking would be really appreciated. Or just someone pointing out that l've missed something obvious!
Thank you
Kev
Hi,
The 32mm carb. is probably too big as the increase from 30mm is quite a lot at nearly 11%. At this stage of running-in full throttle running may not be advisable but a carb this size will really only work properly at higher revs were the mixture may be OK.
Once run in a bit more get up to a good cruising speed and see how much the throttle is open. You may find that at say 55mph you are on about a 1/3 throttle and the main jet may not be engaged until 60/65mph. If you have the 30mm carb. that may be better option.
Dave.
Start by double checking the timing, just in case. Its a pig if you don't and it slightly out and then you waste a lot of time on the carb settings.
Thanks for the advice . I'll check timing as per limeyrob's suggestion and might have to bite the bullet with a smaller carb as per Dave's.
At least l would be set up by the book .Which would/should reduce any unknown influences .
Thank you!