I have a '99 1500 SE that was in need of a carb rebuild. I removed, cleaned and rebuilt the carbs and reinstalled. After startup, there is a "popping" that sounds like its coming from the collector chamber. The engine runs fine, smooth with no hiccup when the pop happens. Tach doesn't flicker at the pop either. This seemed to have appeared after I installed the rebuilt carbs, as it wasn't noticed before. I've had a few wings, but this is a first for me. Any input is appreciated.
GL1500 popping on decel and idle
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I understand there's a hose that's really difficult to reconnect to the airbox which if left disconnected can make sounds like that. It would be a fairly simple fix if that's what it is.
I've never had my airbox off so unsure exactly where it is. Maybe someone will chime in with more detail
I've never had my airbox off so unsure exactly where it is. Maybe someone will chime in with more detail
The hose that Denver is talking about is located in the right front corner of the air box. If you connected it you wpold remember. It is a pain in the a$$ to connect. The hose ends under the air box and in a tight space. A super long needle nose pliers works best. And some wrestling. 
I use these to connect that hose......
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Yes Dave those work good and harbor freight has some long pliers similar a lot less than anyone else,the curved pointed one works good too.
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Did you check your vacuum line on the left side of the bike at the head and all the lines under the carb's. Also did you cink the carb's? Popping is usually a lean condition so the floats might not be right.
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If the idle mixture is too rich you will get a slight popping noise in the exhaust while idling, I hear it more in the area of the headers. Now the popping on decel could be a fault in the A.I.R. injection system. With air cleaner cover removed and with engine idling you will hear a gurgling sound which is the air being drawn into that system from the hose underneath box at right front. Rev the engine a little bit and when throttle is released there should be a very slight cessation of that gurgle sound as the RPM drops and is normal operation. If the gurgle does not pause during that test it will cause the popping on decel.
Another way that is not as easy as the long pliers is to disconnect the other end of the hose. Hook up the difficult end then the other end. Still a pain but less painful. Works if you have no pliers that do the job.
Thx for the replies. The bike had set up a while before I got it. One of the 1st things I did was remove the carbs, cleaned them, reset the floats and reinstalled. I did not reinstall the airbox, so the hoses were not connected. Started it, seemed to run fine. Put everything back together and synced the carbs. Did a short lunch run, about 150 miles total, and bike purred like a new one. After about a month of sitting, started it for a ride and it had a stutter, loss of power, on acceleration, both under a load or in neutral. Sounded sim to a slide sticking. Never heard the pop. Figured carbs need a complete rebuild. Immediately after startup is when it started with the popping. Motor idles and runs smooth, no glitch or hiccup when popping. I'm wondering if the collector box, and/or the mufflers are rusted out would cause the pop.
That's what it sounds like to me. The engine doesn't have a miss, and after rebuilding the carbs, the throttle response is great. No stutter like before. You can hear the pop at the exhaust, but definitely at the the collector box. The guy I bought it from kept it in a tin shed after he stopped riding. He said about once a month or so, he would start it and let it run until the fans came on, then shut it down. I'm wondering by getting the mufflers hot, then shutting it down, condensation would form and then rust. Especially, in the winter with the humidity we have here in the South.
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That is the way I did it also when I had my carbs out. I was having a heck of a time getting it connected with those long pliers. Then decided to remove the right fan and could just put it back with my hand. However, getting that fan back in there through all those wires, hoses, etc is not too easy either.
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