Subject: RE: New Toy

Hi AJ,

It sounds like you were adjusting the small mixture screw. There's
nothing wrong with doing that, but you may be able to get the results
you need a little easier...

You should be able to make it idle faster just by turning in the larger
finger-screws that have springs under them. These screws only really
adjust how far the slides remain open when the throttle is closed. So,
you should be able to screw them all the way in (or at least part way)
and see a big jump in idle speed. This screw has a tappered end, so I
always hold the throttle open when I'm turning it - just so I don't
cause undo wear on the taper.

Sure, there are other things to consider, such as balancing and jetting,
but I think this will get you in the right direction.

Now, this winter you definitely need to plan on cleaning the carbs and
installing a new gasket kit. It's cheap, it's easy, and the results will
be fantastic. Heck, if you have a rainy day this summer, do it. Just
order the kits from MG Cycle, purchase a can of carb cleaner, and have
at it. I'm sure we can provide detailed instructions when the time
comes.

AJ Huff wrote:

I too am going to heed that advice. I think maybe I shouldn't be chasing

problems that may not really exist. I am pround of my first valve
adjustment. Also pround that I have seemed to have fixed that oil leak.
Thank you guys. Tightened up that 12'o clock head bolt and no leak after

25 miles (leaked after 5 miles before).

But this dying at stops is driving me nuts. I'm going to wear out my
starter. I tried following the manual for idle adjustment, marking where

I started. Ended up back with the original marks. Oh well.

Can I fake it? If I could get the throttle grip not to return all the
way, I would think that would give me the edge. After all I am opening
it up at a stop to keep from dying. Can I do that?

Either way, the rest of the summer is just riding. Other than a new
seat, I'm not going to worry too much about the other stuff (I hope).
I'm going to see if I can't make that VMD on my bike, unfortunately the
wife syas we are moving that weekend, so I will have to see :)

Thanks for your help guys,

-AJ
Ted Ward wrote:

That's good advice Greg, and one good reason why is that it sucks to
have newly painted metal and polished chrome on a bike that you keep
having to dissasemble and reassemble because you found another new
problem. Your new paint ends up getting old in a hurry and you get lots
of grease and dirt in all the little cracks where it usually take a
little while to build up.

Greg Bender wrote:

Hi Cam,

My Ambassador is the first and only 'restoration' that I've done. I
would certainly do things different next time around (which is coming up

very shortly with my Dad's project Eldo). Here's my two cents (read: I
wish I would have done it this way on my Ambo):

1. Get it running mechanically first
2. Run it for at least a year and put some good miles on it.
3. During that time you will find things you missed, other things to
address, leaky bits, etc.
4. Move on to cosmetics - chrome, paint, whatever - AFTER all the
mechanical stuff is nearly-mostly-all worked out.

As I head toward the Eldo project with my Dad (and other future loop
projects), I'll leverage the mechanical knowledge I've gained from my
Ambo project and do things at a faster pace and with less duplicated
effort. I least I hope I do.

In future when I do a planned early Tonti project (850T, hopefully),
I'll step back worry about cosmetics last after I've worked out all the
bugs. Plus, sometimes it's just fun to ride around on great working bike

that looks like a pile of old trash :> Kind of like Mark's Tetanus, I
would think.

Cam Conklin wrote:

Hey, should I try to get it running as is, or just start tearing
it down?

Regards,

Greg Bender
1971 Ambassador
2000 Quota
http://www.thisoldtractor.com/gtbender

Florida MGNOC website
http://www.thisoldtractor.com/fl_mgnoc

Minnesota MGNOC website
http://www.thisoldtractor.com/mn_mgnoc

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AJ Huff
'71 Ambassador
Three Rivers, MI
MGNOC# 19917

Subject: RE: New Toy

Author: Greg Bender

Date: Jun 17, 2005, 5:37 AM

Post ID: 1719035279

Entire thread: