I have been in the processes of restoring my father's old motorcycle. It is a 19883 Honda Magna. I just recently had gotten it running and have experienced some issues. The main issue is that it will not run off choke. It starts fine but it stalls out in idle. Also when I'm riding and let off the gas at an intersection.

I have been hearing a possible valve knock and have been experiencing back firing when downshifting to a stop.

I have no idea what is going on?!? If anyone would have a suggestion to what the issue is, that would be great.

 

you are going to need to completely rebuild those carbs... they were never that great to begin with and after 30 years, I am sure they are much worse. you may likely have a torn diaphragm and or one or more block fast idle circuits.

if you are hearing a valve knock, dont ride it until you can accurately diagnose and fix the valve train issue.

post up some pictures... we'd love to see it. the v65 is a great engine... very strong and smooth when running correctly.

 

Thank you for the advise. The carbs were rebuilt about a year ago. I took it to a honda dealership to synchronize the carbs and it stills runs funny. It back fires frequently when I down shift or release the throttle.

When it comes diagnosing the valve issue, I am kind of ignorant. This is my first motorcycle, but I have a mechanical mind. A friend of mine told me that is was a valve knock because the ticking increases when the RPMs do and the noise is coming from the top end of of the motor on the back left side.

I am assuming that I need to take off the valve cover and check the clearance of the valves and make sure they are within specification.

 

one thing you want to make sure of is that it is not an exhaust leak... an EL can sound just like a valve knock... when its running can you take a screwdriver and place it on the valve cover and hear the sound and where it's coming from?

yes, if your plan is to adjust the valves you are going to need to remove the covers. I dont really remember if V65 is a rocker arm or shim under bucket. if it's shim under bucket and you have never done it before, I would suggest letting a pro do it. it's not impossible to do your self but you need a kit that has a range of shims from which to choose.

 

Post script... I did a bit of searching and it appears that they are single lobe fork follower that operates thru threaded adjuster. that makes it easy.

have you cleaned both fuel tanks?

 

The fuel tanks have been restored. I am in the process of putting the bike together after adjusting the valves. I have to wait for some new gaskets. It was a pretty easy, but tedious, procedure.

Ill keep everyone updated on the progress. Hopefully this does the trick.

P.S. I have been trying to post some picks of the progress but I am experiencing difficulty doing so. I simply cannot import an image from my computer as a file.