Fuel issue

[D-Fuzz]

Now that I had the chance to get the bike out on the road for a couple rides, I have noticed a couple things.

- It starts much easier and I only need to keep the choke on for a few seconds, whereas before I needed to keep it on for the first few block of my ride to keep it from stalling.

- There is a very slight stumble around 1500rpm when taking off, but nothing too concerning.  

- There is much more power during roll-on accelerations and it is way more repsonsive when I twist the throttle.

- The bike seems to either have more power or it is running more efficiently because at 75mph, I have dropped about 500 rpm.  I used to be just under 5500 rpm and now it revs under 5000 rpm.

- The engine runs a slight bit warmer now than before.  The needle is just above the first hash above COLD, but before the needle barely moved off the peg.

All-in-all, I think it is a great improvement.  It cost me a few bucks to get it tuned on the dyno, but I anticipate I will recoup that in saved fuel now that it is running better.  This Tuesday will be spent going for a nice long ride, so I look forward to seeing what it does over an entire tank.  

I installed a set of Mitas E-07 tires last week as well, so I want to give them a good ride to wear them in a bit and see how they work on asphalt and on some dirt roads.

[D-Fuzz]

Seeing that I don't really have a reference as to what a "properly tuned" Steamer should run like, does it sound like I am on the right track?

[CoolHandLuke]

Seeing that I don't really have a reference as to what a "properly tuned" Steamer should run like, does it sound like I am on the right track?

Can you post your dyno graph?

The Steamers like a lot of airflow.  Without it, they can quite quickly reach the point where the fan cuts in - especially on a hot day with slow riding.  If you keep them running at the point where the fan cuts in, they will rattle and burn oil until they cool down again (I have seen this on a few bikes and doesn't, as far as I can tell, cause long term damage so long as you don't thrash it or run it for prolonged periods once it does rattle).

Sorry, what I am trying to say, is that there really isn't a fixed point, the second bar is typically the "normal" level for me in Winter.

[rybes]

normal level for me on mine is the second bar. altho at the mo it can go up quite quick if sat for to long

[D-Fuzz]

I have yet to have the fan come on, so I am not terribly concerned about the cooling part yet.  I am heading down to the Black Hills in a couple weeks and it will be hot there, but it sounds like it is right on.

One thing that does have me scratching my head is the HP figure.  Everywhere I read, it says the HP output is supposed to be around 85.  Mine is 71 at the rear wheel.  I am assuming the posted numbers I am usually seeing are at the crank, but that seems to be quite a big difference.  Even CoolHandLuke, you are at 80hp at the wheel.  Mind you, your jetting is a lot different than mine.  I had my bike up to 180km/h yesterday, so it is plenty fast for my tastes, and I would prefer fuel economy over more power at this point, I just want to make sure I am in the right ballpark.