Hello. I bought a beater 97 on the cheap since it had been sitting for years.

It had no muffler when I bought it so I found a pair of Harley mufflers for $30 locally.

It (the muffler) has a baffle and is very long, sticks out past the rear brake arm.

I max out at 75 on flat surfaces and weigh 230lbs.

I get slightly better performance when I pull the choke stick out.

I have a raptor 650 petcock (the legit larger size, not the puny knockoff) and a see through autozone plastic fuel filter (the larger size, bigger than a shot glass).

I know I've got the exhaust sealed because it doesn't backfire unless I close the throttle quickly.

What might I do to be able to max the throttle?

EDIT: I replaced the air filter and spark plug a couple of weeks ago.


2nd problem

Oil leaks from the top end above the head gasket.
I have used black rtv a couple of times, making sure to hit the plug above the acorn nut (that apparently "always leaks")

After sealing I won't have detectable leaks for about a month then it will need a 1/4 quart after two weeks and by 4-5 months will get annoyingly leaky at 1/4 quart weekly.  This is on 170-200 mile commute weekly.

I suspect the issue is because 2 or 3 of the bolt holes that hold the head cap down are stripped from a previous owner, ( there are 8mm, 10mm, and Allen bolts on the head cover)

The stripped holes are on the right front side and have long bolts.

However ALL leaked oil congrigates on the left side of the engine/carb/fuel line.

This is my daily driver and I haven't the time or money to remove the jug and have the holes retapped.

Are there any insights or tips to stopping the leakage or is re-sealing the cap just going to be a regular thing?

I have heard good things about yamabond/hondabond, could it possibly make a difference  keeping my oil in vs rtv?


3rd

Buzzing rattle

There is some buzzing I had assumed was from the speedo, but it continues after I took it off.

I tried grabbing the headlight while driving but I still hear it.

I haven't adjusted valves for 8-10 months, and that's when I installed the cam chain adjuster from Ver.

4th issue.

My break pedal doesn't return by itself. I have installed a long Extention spring, I think the cable is worn and has too much resistance to return with the stock torsion spring alone.

Any help is appreciated. Sorry for any less than perfect technical descriptions.
I have read some posts but it is kind of a sea of information.

I forgot to mention that I did replace the filter, just a couple of weeks ago, I'll update my post to reflect that.


"Get rid of"
Should I do a test run with filter off (around the block) to see if it works better?
The idea being less backpressure requires less restriction of intake air?

I'm also ordering your plug.

I'll check the spring today.

Step #1     Replace the stock vac petcock with a Raptor Petcock, then see if your issues remain unchanged.

No valid analysis can be done with the vac petcock in place since it BY ITSELF can mock all your problem symptoms.

I just realized you are talking about the fuel filter, right?

I had the same problem without the filter but that was before I installed the raptor petcock, I'll remove the fuel filter and see what happens.

You changed to a HD muffler, did you rejet? have you ever tuned the fuel screw? have you done the white spacer mod?

Stall(as in die) or bog? Are you riding it,  or just reving it in neutral?

It's time to look inside the carb , you need to check your jet sizes, it idles well we can assume the pilot jet is ok ,it should be a 52.5 . The stock main jet would be a 147 ,but with the HD muffler the bike is less restricted ,and will tend to run leaner than the already lean setup from the factory , most owners have found the 150 main jet to be a good all around jet ,and you should due the spacer mod, how you change that will depend on your elevation above sea level . What is your general location?  
 The plug leak is a tuff one ,it  would seem that the stripped head bolts are at ,or near the same area as the plug ,and the cover holds the plug down in place , I wouldn't doubt that when the plug started leaking ,some one tried to tighten them and that's when they were damaged.   When the plug leaks it always looks like a head gasket leak and it always runs across the fins to the left side of the motor, I'd hazard a guess ,that the air passing over the motor is deflected more strongly to that side by the fact that the exhaust header is off center. If you don't fix the bolts now ,I would use RTV as Yama/Hondabond  doesn't dry . RTV should set after 24 hours.  Being a MacGyver kind of guy, I would try to see if I could fix a small C -clamp in that area to apply a bit of pressure over the plug , or an L shaped bracket to run from the bolt hole used to mount the front of the chrome cover to one of the exhaust header flange bolts , to at least slow your oil loss , that may sound crazy but even the stock bolts where only torqued to a max of 8 ft/lbs.

Some people have put in a 5mm longer bolt or even a new bolt.