Motorcycle Repair: 1984 sportster xlx, intake leak, rear cylinder

Question
Mike,
I just had my generator replaced as well as some of the wiring. I just barely got it home. It was backfiring out of the pipes. I tightened the exhaust and intake manifolds. that seemed to help with that problem. Then I re-gapped the plugs and it would start and run ok but when I tried to go it would die and backfire through the carb. I noticed that the front cylinder was hot and the rear cylinder was cold. I switched the plugs and the rear cylinder was still cold. Could this be as simple as a plug wire problem? Could a poorly adjusted push rod be the cause? The shop where I had it told me the coil was fine. They replaced the pick up coil.

Thanks
Hank

Answer
You could have a bad plug wire, which would cause the problem. If the pushrods are to tight, you could have the same problem and if you have a intake leak it cill cause the backfiring. You also what to make sure the bike is charging. Check with a volt meter at the battery and you should show about 13 volts at 2000 RPM.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike