beginnerbiker

ignition fuse

Hi all fellow Yamaha owners, I just picked up a beautiful 1986 Radian with ~26k miles. It was bought and priced as a not-running type deal. The previous owner said it hadn't been run in ~2.5 years. When I looked in the gas tank, I saw it was full of old gas and I feared the worst. I was getting ready to take the carbs off and apart, when I decided it couldn't hurt to try to start the bike. I tried, and it started right up. I was surprised. Anyway, after fooling with it and giving it new gas, I have detected a few problems with the bike. It seems like cylinders #1 & #2 aren't firing. After running for a few minutes, exhaust pipes #3 & #4 are about 300F, while the other two pipes are between 100-150F. I can feel puffs of air/exhaust coming out of each muffler equally. When I did a compression test (the numbers aren't correct but the spread is), I got 100psi exactly on every cylinder. I did the test taking out 1 spark plug at a time, and with the throttle at idle. I didn't know that wasn't the proper way. So they cylinders do have good compression, but the spread/difference is what's important. I took the two questionable carbs off and took them entirely apart. Everything looked fine. I put them back together and still nothing. I took the bike for a ride. At idle, it seems weird. CHOKE ON - the bike will idle freely and hang at ~5-6k rpm. I don't like it when engines do that. With the Choke off - it will idle at 3k rpm or sometimes lower. So I left the choke off. If I took off in 1st gear, it would be fine until 4k rpm, then it would bog down. So I would pull the choke out, and it would surge then immediately bog down again. Then, I would go to switch gears, and it would shoot up to 7-8k rpm until I got into the next gear. Then bog down. It went through all 6 gears fine, but I couldn't get it above 25-30mph. I thought maybe the air/fuel ratio on the carbs was bad, but I can't figure out how to adjust it. Also, I think the timing chain is loose and slapping the valve cover. How do I adjust the timing chain? And how do I check/adjust valve clearance? I'm not at all familiar with these types of valves. Thanks a lot for any input! I REALLY want to ride this bike because it's so cool! But, it needs to be running right first.