| Author | Message | ||
     Uziel |
I made the mistake of not starting my bike enough over the winter. When I was ready to ride I started it up, but it did not ride smoothly requiring me to juice the throttle just to maintain speed. I ran Seafoam gas additive and it really cleaned up the ride, but it is missing the kick it usually has. Usually, if I hammer the throttle around 6K rpm in first gear the bike easily wheelies, but it no longer does that. I put it in the shop and they swapped the gas, ran it on a dyno under load and not. According to their results it is within specs, but it clearly doesnt have the kick it once did. Other than rebuilding the carbs, does anyone have any suggestions? | ||
| Slaughter |
Change Plugs. There are no carbs. Doubt the injectors would be plugged but IF you use injector cleaner, you really SHOULD change the plugs afterwards. I've heard mixed reviews of fuel injector cleaners so I'm not the guy to ask about them. | ||
| Blackdog8 |
Carbs?? | ||
| Jmr1283 |
theres a way to clean the plugs. look in the manual. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Can't clean the carbs, they need to be replaced. Gonna need to oil ur chain too Ok seriously, u didn't hurt ur bike not starting it all winter. Starting it for 5 minutes every few months is worse as the engine never gets up to temp. Plugs are probably fouled from u twisting on the throttle when u first started it. Did u use a battery tender? Last early November I filled the tank, ran a little sta-bil thru it and plugged her into a battery tender. Never touched it til about 2 weeks ago. Started on first try, idled til warmed up and rode away with no issues. (Message edited by badlionsfan on April 13, 2009) | ||
| 1_mike |
I've run Lucas Fuel Injector cleaner at every oil change on my last 4 bikes without harm. One bottle equals 4 fill-ups. I's done just what it's supposed to for me. Clean valves, no injector problems at over 100,000 on two of the bikes. 96K and counting on my 03, Yamaha R1. Never done any harm to any part as far as I know. Mike | ||
| Socoken |
I would try putting the battery on a charger for a while. I seem to remember people having running issues with a low battery. The battery might be up enough to start and run, but I am pretty sure these bikes demand a lot of juice to run hard. The charging system is pretty weak, so you cant really count on it coming to full charge while you ride. | ||
| Xl1200r |
The best thing to do if you're going to store a bike for less than 6 months is to top off the fuel, change the oil, plug it into a battery tender and forget about it until spring. Don't add any fuel additive, don't start it, don't do anything. Like Bad said, unless you can get the machine up to operating temp for more than 10 minutes, starting it up in the winter does more harm than good. Those combustion by-products and water vapor get into the oil and then just sit in the cases and on the bearings and just eat at stuff. I would also start with the plugs - I don't know what sea foam is, but it may have effed them up. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
I would try putting the battery on a charger for a while. I seem to remember people having running issues with a low battery. The battery might be up enough to start and run, but I am pretty sure these bikes demand a lot of juice to run hard. The charging system is pretty weak, so you cant really count on it coming to full charge while you ride. +1 That's what I was getting at, but I kinda dropped the ball explaining it. Thanks for clarifying Socoken. | ||
| Uziel |
Hey guys, sorry for the delayed response, but I was out of town. Ok, my bad... I said carbs, so shoot me! LOL, I meant EFI. Thanks for the tips, all very good info for us non-mechanic types. I will change the plugs; any recommendations on better plugs to use? It's kinda sad that my shop didn't suggest this, but the Jacksonville Bay Meadows HD has the worst service on Earth... | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
It's worth the drive to go to Gainesville Buell... that's where I take mine- and I'm in Jax. And what do you mean by "over the winter"? We're blessed with year-round riding here- winter is the best time to ride. | ||
| 1125rz |
i think you should put fuel stabiliser in your gas if you store it for a while.gas now varnishes faster than the old days.my old dirt bike(4stroke)had stored for 3 years(late 80's/early 90's),fired up on 2nd kick,had fuel in other thumper for a year( in 2002) & smelt like varnish & ran like poop(had to clean all the green crap in the carb). |
