Rode my bike to the mechanic, it came back on a trailer! Long story...

No joke! First off let me say I know next to nothing about bikes but I know a little about car engines. I bought a 1985 VT700C this summer off of Craig's List. The only problem at the time was the battery and cosmetics. After riding it for a while(a couple weeks) I noticed I was having some small issues, the bike was losing a bit of power when at cruising speeds and the rear turn signals went out. I changed the battery. Still same issue.
I should also mention that I did not like the stock seats so I took off the rear seat and found that it was hiding the igniter switches. I went to a local shop and asked if they could move the igniter switches so that they were not exposed and add some bullet turn signals. When I mentioned the power loss the shop owner said I should get the carbs cleaned out. So upon that I said might as well do a general tune up, spark plugs, air filter, and oil change. The carb parts took forever to come in. When the parts came in the shop owner called me and said it would be a couple of more days for his mechanic to clean out the carbs and get it back to me. Three days later I called the shop and asked what the status on the bike was and the shop owner said that his mechanic was having issues with float valve and that it would be another day. I called the next day and the float was fixed but the mechanic was unable to get the bike started. He mentioned that only one spark plug was now firing and even though they bought a whole new set from NAPA (their NGK brand) only one was getting ignition. I called back before the end of the day and the shop owner said that he messed with the igniter switches by tapping on them and the bike fired right up. He even took for a test run. I went to go pick up my bike the next day it fired up however, as I got down the road I experienced a total loss of power. It began to back fire as I attempted to go up a hill and I had the throttle fully opened and It would only putter along. I turned around and took it back to him. He said that he didn't know what was wrong and was trying to say that the bike was acting like that when I brought it in. Which wasn't true. So I told him to deliver the bike to my house and he did so today. That said here's what I know or think I know.

1. The carbs were cleaned--put back together correctly?
2. It's back firing when I try to start it. It wont completely turn over but it will try to very strongly. And with a loud backfire!
3. I had the igniter switches moved to a new location--could this have done something?
4. The mechanic said that there was only one spark plug firing---I don't know where to begin with this.


I have been reactive by searching these forums for similar issues and am a ware that it could be multiple things with the ignition system, however I don't want to charge off into the sunset with out hearing someone else's wisdom. I also downloaded Honda's service manual today and the book says backfiring is due to faulty ignition. Just want to know if this is the right path and if you can recommend any tools that I might need a long the way.

Also as I took off the left side cover I noticed three yellow wires that were badly burned and melted. what is this from?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Update for my really long story.

I had a buddy come over and take a look at my bike. The plugs are completey fowled. There is a lot of spark from the spark plug wires but the plugs are completely fowled and are very intermitten when sparking. We set them out to dry and tomorrow we are going to dig in to the carbs and test the compression of the engine. There seems to be an aweful lot of fuel dumping into the cylinders for the plugs to be fowled so badly. Hopefully it's an easy fix because you might be seeing this as a parts bike for sale in the for sale section.:o

Wow! I'm really sorry to hear about your troubles sounds like a nightmare! I am afraid I do not know enough about carbs to help, I'm fuel injected and that's still a mystery to my. I'm sure some of the others on this sight can help. Good luck, keep us updated bro.

The three yellow wire thing is a known problem with this bike. Most people with this problem cut the connector off and solder the wires together. I have one of these bikes, and just got it running yesterday after putting a weeks worth of work into it. I had to flush the gas, pull the carbs off and clean those, I replaced the fuel filter, changed the oil and filter, flushed and bled the front brakes, and clutch, Cleaned the start switch(another known issue that's easy to fix). So plenty of work went into it. I also downloaded the service manual and shop manual for it, and it helped allot.

Update for my really long story.

I had a buddy come over and take a look at my bike. The plugs are completey fowled. There is a lot of spark from the spark plug wires but the plugs are completely fowled and are very intermitten when sparking. We set them out to dry and tomorrow we are going to dig in to the carbs and test the compression of the engine. There seems to be an aweful lot of fuel dumping into the cylinders for the plugs to be fowled so badly. Hopefully it's an easy fix because you might be seeing this as a parts bike for sale in the for sale section.:o

I'm not positive, but if I had to guess, I would guess the floats aren't set to the correct height in your carbs and that is why you are getting too much fuel in the cylinders. (a manuel should tell you where to set the floats for your specific bike) This could be why it is backfiring... which btw, fowls the sparkplugs.

K got an update, for those that might still be interested.:D My friend came back again today, luckily he is a very determined man. We started the compression test and everything showed awesome results. So the next thing was to conquer the carbs, which I had just sent the bike out to get cleaned. OMG these carbs were still filthy! My friend patiently scraped at the things with a razor blade to at least get the stuff out of the most important parts. Since the carbs were so filthy and probably hastily put back together, the mechanic did not notice that the floats and diaphragms were not returning correctly to there original positions thus leaving the shutters open to dump fuel into the cylinders and completely fowling the carbs. After my friend put the carbs back together we put them back on the bike, and reassembled the fuel tank and fuel lines. We put the sparkies back in and started the bike. After a few back fires and a loud grumble my Ratty Tatty (thats her nickname) was back in business. We dialed in the carbs, 3 twists from beginning and all seemed to be well...

Some where along the lines of getting her started we began to blow fuses. This had us scratching our heads for a bit but he traced it back to the fuel pump. At some point it went bad, not sure quite how yet but at leasts at this point I know I wont be dumping fuel into the carbs.

kd7ctv- The rectifier which is what the three yellow wires is connected to(I downloaded manual too:D) is bad. Currently in the market for one and when I do get one I will be soldering them together. Do you have any pics of your bike?

Little Fisher- Yeah the floats are set right now. I really do believe it was the grime and gook in there left over from when the mechanic cleaned, or didn't clean them.

I don't yet, I just got mine up and running after buying it. It sat for 2 years so its got plenty of dirt on it that needs to come off, and I am going to repaint the tank after I fix the dents that are in it.

As for the fuel pump if it clicks when the switch is set to run your good. Another known issue is the start button. If it doesn't work it might need to be cleaned(not hard to do) just for future reference. I had to clean mine to get it working. But I got it out on the road today, was glad to know I got it fixed within a week.

Well the pump was blowing fuses and not sure why. I believe that the coils inside of it went bad and is some how drawing or trying to draw to much electro from the bike which is why it was popping the fuses. I'm stuck until I can get a new fuel pump. But while the bike is apart I might as well take a look at the start button, no issues yet but I'll check it for corrosion.

Check all your grounds to, And maybe the pump relay. I jumpered mine so I could pump all the fuel when I was flushing everything.

How long had this bike been setting when you purchased it? If it was left with gas in the tank for a long time it may have gone bad and that is why the carb gets dirty. I would check out the tank and be sure it is clean inside or it will do the same thing again. Just do not use a match to see in it lol!!