Should Have Been Riding...But...

Plans to go riding with a group of fourteen didn't fair well for Rat Bastard today. Nope! RB decided to act up. We headed out early this morning after being up til 1a.m pulling the gas tank off to find a fuel leak that was discovered after filling up earlier in the evening with the gas can. After pulling the tank, checking for seam leaks and around the welded tank mounts the only thing found was a telltale stain from the petcock area. Wasn't a big leak, more like what seemed to be a seeping leak that somehow ran to the tail end of the tank, plus, it was also discovered the fuel line was almost cut through between the cylinder and petcock. But I was confused, you see, the leak would have had to run up hill with the left side petcock. So to me that would say the stain accumulated when running down the road. I put the peanut tank on but it holds just shy of two and a half gallons. After having the Bobs on there the Peanut just looked to danged small, ya know, like a Peanut.
Put the Bobs back on after giving the petcock some tightening then fixed the fuel line problem, filled up the tank again from the gas cans and think I found where the seepage came from...the stinking gas can nozzle was leaking at the cap causing drippage falling right at the base of the Bobs. Just enough to wet it and look like a leak.

Took off this morning towards Greensboro but RB kept stumbling when getting on the throttle. Giving gas slowly and it was fine but try to throttle up normal and RB would stumble and complain. Getting up to sixty and it would run rough for a second then clean up. I kept messing with the high speed needle, slow down to forty five to get my right hand in there to make the adjustment. It would pull good in lower gears but not high, adjust again and it was good at high but not low. Adjust to the mid point and it was doing again what it had been doing at first. I headed back to the house after about fifteen miles of this crap.

 
   

I wasn't pissed off for some reason, just disappointed in missing the ride I so desperately needed. I've been quick tempered lately due to my work situation. Getting up at 4 a.m and getting home at 5 p.m all week is really wearing on me too. Riding calms me down putting me in a better frame of mind, making it easier to deal with life's sometimes crappyness. 
So after getting home I headed to Biscuitville for some breakfast and to let RB cool down before having a look see.   
I pulled the plugs, the insulators are tan but the rest of the plugs are black. Not sooty black but baked on black. My plug chart doesn't address this so I'm stumped there.                                                                                                   
  

I can just see in the rear cylinder to see a few thousandths of carbon built up on the piston but little chunks are breaking loose now and being expelled through the exhaust. I can't see in the front cylinder as well but the front pipe has a more sticky residue and the back pipe more dry residue. On our camping trip the front pipe was running way rich in the mountains but leaned back out closer to the flatlands.

 

Having a look at the points and they are clean and not burned, still look as new as the day they were put in. I fired RB up and watched the nice clean blue spark as I twisted the throttle through different RPM ranges. I just can't seem to keep this Zeneith Carburetor dialed in. As temperature and humidity changes I almost constantly have to be adjusting it. Another thing I wonder about is my aircleaner. Could it's design be making the front cylinder richen up while leaning out the rear cylinder during high speeds. My bike does not have an insulator block so there again, could that be causing some of my carburetor issues keeping it tuned. Questions and more questions.  I could have become Pissed at RB but for some reason today I just kept thinking "It's an antique and requires constant attention."  Next week I may not be as understanding, mostly it runs great and since getting major repairs done with it's main issue is carburation. If I could ever get that sorted out the rides would be less problematic.