badbad said:
That would rock if you could look at it for me. Boyfriend said the carbs need to be sync'd. Is that easy to do?
Like I said, I'd be glad to take a peek, but if it isn't too simple, there's not much I can do. I'm not a big carb guru.
The carb synch is a pretty simple affair, provided you have the right tools for the job. First thing you need is an external fuel source: either a jug with a long hose, or some way to set your tank close enough to the bike that it isn't on the bike but can still hook up to the petcock to feed the carbs. The other thing you need is a set of mercury carb-sticks. These measure the vacuum being created inside the carb, one tube for each carb.
I don't own my own set: The one time I did the synch myself, I borrowed a set of sticks from my friends down in Tehachapi. They're only like $60-70, which isn't to bad if you're not broke like me. You'd most likely be able to get a set at Cycle Gear or Road Rider or someplace like that.
Your boyfriend is probably right, you probably do need to resynch the carbs after rebuilding it, but I'm not convinced that being out of synch is your problem. Generally being out of synch just manifests itself as running roughly. I suppose it is possible that they're REALLY out of synch; so much so that two or more of the carb sliders don't have enough vacuum to open the carb sliders enough to feed any gas to the cylinders while the engine is at idle, causing it to die.
I'd be looking for air leaks and/or fuel blockage first.
But then that's just m $0.02 and I'm no expert by any means . . . I just really dig trying to solve bike problems.