Motorcycle Repair: 1967 honda305 scrambler, honda cl77 scrambler, orig miles

Question
thank you-that was exactly what i wanted to know. what an excellent website.
   the rubber gaskets are surprisingly decent and i have since broken down the two carbs and
completely cleaned all parts. my only follow-up is a) what position should the choke be in for
normal running conditions in typical spring/summer east coast u.s. and b) now that you have
convinced me to more thoroughly clean the carbs i have slightly dented one of the little float
drums not realizing how fragile they are.  I have not pierced it but do you think a small bb sized
dent will affect things?-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
hey chris,
 i lucked out. after selling the last of my 5 bikes[1973 75/5
'toaster'] i was feeling kind of bikeless.  a good client of mine
was left with her ex-husbands 'junk' in her garage. If i'd help her
clean it out I could take anything I wanted.  so imagine my
surprise when at the back of garage there sat a pristine 1967
Honda cl77 scrambler. 1862 orig. miles coated with a thick coat
of WD-40 and 8 years of dust.  i went through all
maintenance for getting a long sitting bike up and running. i
removed and de-gunked the floats, carbs, needles etc. i got it
started but my problem was very similar to a previous question
you answered for a guy. [the choke needs to be 1/2 open for the
bike to run well at idle but then cuts off when given
throttle. when choke is full open the idle runs way to high, of
course. when the choke is almost closed down  the bike runs
less  well at idle but i can at least get it into gear and up to
about 20mph in second but the ride is rough/choppy, lacks
power and it eventually it will cut out too.]  of course i'll get a
hayes guide at  some point but i can't wait for it to be delivered.
i'm pretty sure i have a fuel mix problem. can you give me some
general tune-up guides for the kei-hei carbs. like how to re-set
the fuel-air mix.{i did some turning in and out of needle valves
and don't know where it 'should' be.   and please-i always mix-
up- what is 'rich' and what is 'lean'.  
Also, I noticed when cleaning the floats that one of the spring
driven valve pins gets hung-up when the float is  traveling up.
9 times out of ten the float works perfectly but then it
appears [the valve pin] sticks at a certain point stopping the float
on the left carb at mid point. any small movment
from the throttle will  immediately un-stick the valve but I
have to wonder how big an issue is this?  i'll get some new plugs
even though the ones in there look ok. but all the on line guides
focus on cleaning the floats. i've done this so i'm assuming that
my fuel mixture is wrong. can you help?  Again: 1967 CL77
honda 305 scrambler with less than 2000 miles on it.  
Thanks, Baker
Answer -
Hi Baker.
 The first thing that I can tell you is that the carb needs is to be properly cleaned...probably
rebuilt.  The bike is 37 years old AND sat for 8 years.  The rubber may well be dry-rotted.  
Cleaning the carb correctly should also keep that pin from sticking.

As far as the mixture.  That is always dicey to mess with.  Rich is when too much fuel is allowed
into the system.  Lean is when not enough is allowed into the system.

The basics are as follows;

1)  Turn the mixture screw in to the stop.  Not tight...just till it seats.

2)  Back it out 4 1/2 turns.

3)  Run the bike for a while.  Ride it around for a few miles and then check the plug.  If it is
running too rich, then turn the screw in 1/2 turn.  If it is too lean, then turn it out 1/2 turn.  
Clean the plug off and reinstall it.

4)  Ride the bike for a bit and repeat step 3.  Adjust anywhere from 1/8 to 1/2 turn to fine tune it
when the plug starts running clean near to what it should.

 When the plug comes out clean, then you have the mixture right.

Good luck.
FALCON

Answer
Hi Baker.
 Well, as far as the dent in the float, I am not certain that it will or will not affect the function of the system.  That will have to be a trial and error situation.

On the choke, it has two (2) settings; On (closed) and off (open).  on normal operation, it should be open.  It should only be closed for cold startup.  After warm-up, it should be opened.  The choke restricts airflow during startup and, effectively, riches the fuel mixture till the engine is warmed up.  Look at it as fooling the engine into thinking that it's warmed up when it isn't.  If you leave the choke on after warm-up will result in the bike running extra rich and poorly.

For more info on the choke and fuel system, pick up a book on carbeurators.

Have fun.
Ride safe.
FALCON