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Idle Screw Location

426 Views 17 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Sidecar Bob
Hello everyone,

I'm currently renovating a 1981 CX500 - being honest I'm learning as I go!!!

I fired the engine yesterday and its idling at a really high rev count - it sounds like the throttle is fully engaged. I've checked the choke and that isn't engaged and the throttle itself is also not engaged.

Doing some 'googleing' I'm leading toward an Idle Screw that I can turn to affect the 'tick over' - problem is I can't see it anywhere........can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

Paul
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It's a black plastic knob between the bowls.
Thank you - so I've unscrewed that one and it currently isnt contacting anything but the revs are still high?
Sounds like a sync problem to me. Do you have access to a manometer?
I do - someone I work with has one....is that worth a try.
Thanks for the help
You might also check for free play in the throttle . If there is not enough free play the throttle butterflies will be held partially open giving a high idle.
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Thank you - plenty to go at!!
Did you by chance clean the carbs???
What Newt said ^^ There are a few things you could do when re-assembling the carbs that could cause that, including getting the parts for the balance adjustment out of order, missing an o-ring, not following correct procedure* for initial adjustment of the carbs as well as having the idle adjustment (#12 in drawing below) screwed in too far.
*The correct procedure is covered in the Factory Shop Manual (available through the CX Wiki - link in my signature)
Note that while aftermarket shop manuals are pretty much necessary for people without factory training to work on a lot of makes & models of bike the FSMs for the CX/GL500/650 family of bikes are so well written & laid out that the FSM is really the only book you need and and the aftermarket books are secondary references at best.

Another thing that sometimes happens is the lock nut where the throttle cable attaches to the carbs comes off and becomes jammed where it prevents the throttle from reaching the stop.

When this happened to me it turned out to corrosion & dirt on the accelerator pump's shaft was causing it to hang up and prevent the throttle from returning to the stop. (accelerator pump is #8 below)
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Welcome to the forum. Please add your location and your bike's model and model year (NOT year first registered as UK paperwork shows) to your profile so that you don't have to remember to tell us every time and we don't have to keep asking when you forget (see Forum Settings link in my signature).

And welcome to the world of antique vehicle ownership (they own us, not the other way around). Your bike is about 4 decades old and may or may not have had all of the maintenance necessary to keep it safe & reliable so current problem aside it is highly recommended to download the Factory Shop Manual for your model and go through all of the service procedures, regardless of whether your bike has reached the specified mileage.
Note that while aftermarket shop manuals are pretty much necessary for people without factory training to work on a lot of makes & models of bike the FSMs for the CX/GL500/650 family of bikes are so well written & laid out that the FSM is really the only book you need and and the aftermarket books are secondary references at best.

I also recommend looking on all rubber parts with suspicion because rubber does not age gracefully. Check the date codes on your tires and replace them if they are over 5 years old no matter how good they look & feel (old rubber simply cannot flow around the irregularities in the asphalt well enough to grip, especially if it is cool or wet). The original rubber brake lines should be replaced every 2 or 3 fluid changes (= 5 or 6 years) so if your bike still has them I recommend shopping for modern stainless braided ones (they last practically forever and double the life of the fluid). And don't forget things like the rad hoses and the boot between the engine and swingarm (they can crack on the bottom where you don't see it).
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He hasn't stated what RPM it is actually idling at. This would be a valuable clue.

If around 4,000 it may just be a dropped pull cable locknut.

If around 2,000 it may be a stuck throttle nudger. If you poke it with your finger it should move and spring back.
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Thank you so much for all the advice, I'll start working through and see what helps.
I haven't done anything with the carbs and it sounds like small things can make a big difference.

I've checked the throttle and choke butterflies and they are all closed as I'd expect but the revs are still very high (not sure of the actual revs but closer to 4000 than 2000), one thing that I noticed though was that the choke seems to be back to front - when I pull the choke out to engage it the choke butterflies close and when I push back in the butterflies open.
The butterflies are normally open so should close when the choke knob is pulled out. That's normal.

Check that the nut hasn't slid down the cable. This gives a roughly 4,000 RPM idle.
Thanks CXPHREAK, what nut do you mean?
It's the locknut for the pull cable, which is the cable going to the rearward of the two throttle cables. The front cable has no locknut but the rear does.

If it comes off it falls down the cable, gets under the bellcrank {the item the cables rotate} and gives a 4000 RPM idle a it pulls the cable tighter.
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OK thanks, I'll add that to the list..
OK thanks, I'll add that to the list..
make it top of the list. My son's bike did the same thing. easy fix.
It's also one of the easiest things to check. Normally the cable should have a bit of slack so that the the twistgrip can turn about 5 degrees before it starts pulling the cable. If it doesn't either the cable is adjusted incorrectly or the nut has come off and is preventing the bellcrank from getting to the stop.
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