1997 California 1100i not getting to speed

[Texas2023!]

Hello everyone,
some might have seen my first post on the above MG which I picked up 2 weeks ago and kissed her awake after 27 years (had only 1,500 miles on the clock and looks like new).
The tank was rusted, so I washed, cleaned and then coated - all good.
Exchanged reserve sensor, petcocks, fuel lines, fuel filter and pump and installed an inline cartridge filter to see if any particles are still swimming around.
Also replaced spark plugs.
The bike starts up on the first button press, idle is set around 1,000 rpm and it drives - HOWEVER, I need to rev up to 3,000 in first gear to get moving and never get any real punch out of it. Had a highway test today and on downhills I managed a top speed of about 80 mph - note, the speedo is 10% off so it was closer to 72 mph top speed downhill...WHAT AM I MISSING?
The only thing I didn't clean were the injectors as I didn't know how to get them off. I also didn't meddle with the throttles.

Anyone any ideas?

Thanks in advance

Andreas

PS: I also noticed that the left exhaust (down pipe) is blue while the right one has only a light yellowish shadow.

 

[Nordicnorm]

All the cable driven speedos are 10% optimistic (keeps you out of trouble with the cops). 27 years?
You must find a way to pull and have the injectors cleaned. Then a full proper tune up. Maybe find a pro. The bike is well worth it.

 

[Texas2023!]

Yep 27 years and looks like brand new - but like in real life, looks can be deceiving haha…I’ll get onto the injectors - aside taking the engine out this seems to be a tight quarters job.
Thanks for your comments!
Andreas

 

[MotoGuzziFan]

1. Remove injectors and send out for professional cleaning. (Covered extensively in the forums. I personally like RC Fuel Injection.)

2. A complete service is necessary. Valves need to be checked and set. Throttle bodies need syncing. TPS will need to be set with voltmeter.

I strongly suspect that your TPS is off and is causing you most of these issues but most definitely your injectors are in desperate need of refurbishing.

 

[Texas2023!]

Thanks for the info - unfortunately that sounds like it's the plan.

 

[Texas2023!]

1. Remove injectors and send out for professional cleaning. (Covered extensively in the forums. I personally like RC Fuel Injection.)

2. A complete service is necessary. Valves need to be checked and set. Throttle bodies need syncing. TPS will need to be set with voltmeter.

I strongly suspect that your TPS is off and is causing you most of these issues but most definitely your injectors are in desperate need of refurbishing.

Question - I get the injector part, but why would the TPS be off if the bike has only 2,500 miles on it?

 

[MotoGuzziFan]

Question - I get the injector part, but why would the TPS be off if the bike has only 2,500 miles on it?

Because given your symptoms, I suspect that somebody has most likely moved the throttle plate. This is why. It needs to be checked. It's a simple procedure with a voltmeter measuring millivolts.

 

[Texas2023!]

Thanks - I understand

 

[Vagrant]

TPS is always a possibility when it's mounted upside down with the occasional gas drop getting into it and drying up. It gums them up.

 

[Texas2023!]

Thanks - I’m on it

 

[Texas2023!]

See the left and right spark plugs - it seems the right cylinder is not doing anything???

 

[Raven]

Is this some kind of a joke or are you for real?

 

[Texas2023!]

No joke! It seems the right cylinder didn’t get any fuel at all! Just pulled the injector to see what’s going on…where are the good old carburetor days?

 

[john zibell]

No joke! It seems the right cylinder didn’t get any fuel at all! Just pulled the injector to see what’s going on…where are the good old carburetor days?

Gone forever. You need to get the injectors to RC as Motoguzzifan stated. Once cleaned you should be good. It does require removal of the airbox to get to the injectors.

 

[Texas2023!]

Did already a spray through with my own device on short/medium and long pulse to get the shit out.
Spraying fine - before I send em off I want to figure out whether it’s working.
No getting to the other side which should look better…

 

[john zibell]

Did already a spray through with my own device on short/medium and long pulse to get the shit out.
Spraying fine - before I send em off I want to figure out whether it’s working.
No getting to the other side which should look better…

Have both cleaned so you know you have good ones.

 

[Texas2023!]

Also will get to the throttle boxes, question-where do I find that TPS everyone is talking about? Sorry for maybe a dumb question…is it underneath the throttle box?

 

[john zibell]

Also will get to the throttle boxes, question-where do I find that TPS everyone is talking about? Sorry for maybe a dumb question…is it underneath the throttle box?

Under the left hand throttle body. Read up in the manuals on how it works. There is some information here, but you need to upgrade your account to see it. https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/resources/tps-replacement.208/ Upgrade instructions are here. https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/user-account-upgrade-donations.14025/

 

[Texas2023!]

Thanks!!!

 

[Moto-Uno]

Or , do what I did to my 2001 Jackal motor I got last spring . Got rid of the injectors completely and installed a couple of 30mm dell'ortos and then chiseled out the covered timing hole to fit a points distributor along with a t3 cam I had lying around ( it has the distributor worm drive on it) . I t runs very well and starts faster than my 2020 T-120 Triumph . Sure it's a bit of work , but heck winter's almost here , and I haven't touched anything in 5000kms and it gets 40mpg(US) .