1982 yamaha xt 550 fuel mixture problems

[elesbb]

So here's the skinny ,
I have a 1982 yamaha xt550 that was stolen from me . I recovered the bike however , once I got it back it was missing few things as listed:
-Supertrapp endcap and plates
-Rubber air duct

what I replaced:
-Supertrapp endcap (but not the plates)
-Rubber air duct

after I got it back and started driving it , I noticed my exhaust is really black , symptom of rich fuel mixture . So I bought a k&n air filter . A little better , but still really bad , once the second carb kicks in , it bucks and carries on and looses power . If I take the plastic siding off that goes to the air filter , it runs without bucking , but the exhaust is still blackish .

before it was stolen , im pretty sure it was running perfect . I was having problems , but then got the carb jetted which cured those problems .

could the resulting richness be from a lack of those 6 (i believe that's how many were on) supertrapp plates ?

this is really annoying me . I miss my bike :(

[elesbb]

wow guys really ? no replies ? not one ? seriously ?? this forum sucks . there is like no activity at all on here .

[Abegail]

I bought this bike a few weeks ago and I'm in the middle of a class to get my license. [I've ridden a few times to other people's houses, but am basically brand new at riding.] The bike won't start and keep running.
I'm fairly sure I have good spark, it turns over all right. Just changed the oil last week, and replaced the carb boots today. It has had hard starts the entire time I've had it, took a bit of starter fluid to run, and when it did, idled high and loud. Buddy detected cracked carb boots, so I replaced them today - but when I went to start it back up it starts about half the time, revs and dies. It appears the oil light is on while turning over, but the bike hasn't been run since I changed the oil. Clymer book said 2.3 qt oil without filter - put that in and it still looked low, so I added .3qts to 2.6 total, what the book said for "with filter".
It still looks like it has the oil light on, and I'm getting worried. An old friend told me the carbs needed cleaned, but I'm worried about doing that myself and royally botching something.
I've tried carb cleaner, and have the Clymer book - so I can take and clean the jets (which will happen eventually), but I really only want to do that if absolutely necessary.

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