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Melting plastic

2K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  IndyX 
#1 ·
My left side cover is melting a little. I think my engine is running to hot. Here is a pic of it. What can I do about this.



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#2 ·
You mean your right side cover, near the rear exhaust pipe? Melting this cover usually means that you are running way too lean. If so, you need to resolve this asap, as it can damage your valves over an extended period. Does your bike backfire on decel, and are your plugs white? If so, you are either starved for fuel (lean air:fuel mix), or you have a vacuum leak (too much air getting in = lean air:fuel mix), or both! It can happen for a number of reasons and must be resolved asap, or you risk valve damage from too-high temps in the exhaust manifold. You could have one or both gas filters clogged (one in the tank at the petcock, and an inline screen at the fuel line entrance to the carb). You could have the float valve sticking closed. These can be addressed by heavy dosing with SeaFoam gas treatment to clean your entire fuel system - 8 oz. per tankful recommended, 4x. You could have a vacuum leak or exhaust flange leak - there are 3 thick rubber boots that connect the carb to the intake manifold and the intake manifold to the cylinders - those four band clamps need to be tight - and the acorn nuts on the exhaust can bottom out before creating a good seal - many have had to put 1/16" thick washers under them to get a good seal. Also, the air-cutoff valve (ACV) has been known to fail (rare). So you see, much to consider! You need to figure this out without putting too many miles on it... it could certainly be a gummed/clogged fuel system (SeaFoam it!), but as you can see, it could be any number of things. We are here to help you through this, but ya gotta get busy cleaning and troubleshooting if 'yes' to white plugs and/or backfiring on deceleration...
 
#6 ·
I was there person dealing with this a week ago. Turns out I have two vac lines disconnected going to the pair valve. I cleaned my carb and jets. I'll be removing the pair valve and adjusting my D screws this week. Here's what happened to my covers.




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#5 ·
Again, this is what is great about this forum. The help is given and not just told to use the search engine as it has already been answered. Thanks for always giving advice instead of basically telling people to figure it out....
 
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