Motorcycle Repair: 1980 honda goldwing, valve stem seals, goldwing 1100

Question
Hope you can I'm at the end of my rope already lost last summer.. I have a 1980 goldwing 1100 number four plug will go dead around 80 to 100 miles.The carbs have been redone all new parts,new coil and spark unit,wires and boots.Number 4 pulg is full with soot and dead,now at idle that cyl don't fire.There is 130 psi on that cyl I know that is low. I've had the bike to three shops and no luck with the bike only my empty wallet.When you take the plug wire off you can hear the spark jumping. Is the problem in the carb?  Jack

Answer
Jack, Gold Wings are not my forte, but you have already mentioned a concern about the low compression in that cylinder. You really need to have some troubleshoot that issue, doing a leakdown test, if possible. If you have ring sealing issues, all the carb work in the world won't fix it. May as well just keep some spare plugs with you when you ride, if you aren't going to fix it. Compression is rated at 171psi from the factory book. 40 psi is a big drop from that.

Is the plug fuel fouled or oil fouled? Different sources for problems. Another source for fuel fouling is the gasket between the left and right side air chamber halves, at least on the older ones. Fuel ran though the two halves and can leak into the carb throats. If the plugs are oil fouled, then you have problems with valve stem seals or piston ring sealing.

There are accelerator pump and air cut diaphragms on these carbs, so be sure that they are okay.

Try some links from GW specific sites..
http://sig.gwrra.org/classicwings/

http://www.nakedgoldwings.com/

http://www.classicwingclub.org/history.php

http://www.classicwingclub.org/history.php

Bill Silver