rektifyre Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 I took my 97 VFR out of storage for the first time this season, and while I can get it started and can run it on choke just fine, the motor immediately shuts off when I disable the choke at idle. I can run it without the choke on but only if I keep the throttle engaged / RPMs revved. This is a 1997 VFR750F This is my 9th year owning it I've never had this problem before Like I've done every winter, I added fuel stabilizer before storing away back in november of last year Oil is still a nice caramel color Starts just fine - and, it's a brand new battery to boot (Lithium at that - and it starts great and better than it ever has before) ...but just to rule anything out, I tried a lead acid battery on it, and same behavior I just bought a can of Sea Foam after a cursory search on this symptom on the internets. I put half a can (8 ounces) into the gas tank, and rode the bike for an hour - no better How could I have ridden for an our with this problem, might you ask? Well I stuck to mostly highway and held the clutch in while revving the engine at stop lights nearer my home. What a pain in the ass. Any ideas for a solution? I'm trying to avoid having to get at the carburetors myself, as I've read they're quite the pain in the ass to get to. I'm no mechanic and must expertise pretty much stops at changing the oil/filter and removing fairings. I also read that some times this Sea Foam stuff needs to sit a week to "soak" after running through the engine. Any truth to that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samaki Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Your pilot jets are obstructed. Unfortunately the only way to repair it is to remove the carbs and clean or replace the pilot jets. Even fuel with stabilizer in it begins to dergrade after six months or so. When you store your bike for any length of time you need to shut off the fuel and run the engine until it dies from fuel starvation, emptying the float bowls of fuel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rektifyre Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 Your pilot jets are obstructed. Unfortunately the only way to repair it is to remove the carbs and clean or replace the pilot jets. Even fuel with stabilizer in it begins to dergrade after six months or so. When you store your bike for any length of time you need to shut off the fuel and run the engine until it dies from fuel starvation, emptying the float bowls of fuel. Ugh so even with this Sea Foam stuff that a lot of people seem to worship, I have no chance short of cleaning/replacing my pilot jets, eh? On shutting off the fuel when storing - when I got my VFR (my first motorcycle ever), I took one of those Honda MSF training certification courses, and on all the beater bikes there, they all had clearly visible fuel shut off valve switches on the outside of the gas tank. Where is the fuel shut off valve switch on a 97 VFR750? I would have loved to use that technique before storing. (It's not in the official owner's manual...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrelman Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 To access that shutoff valve on gen 4s you may need to raise the rear of the fuel tank, but simply loosening the carbs' drain screws before storage is all you need to do. If you only run the bike out of fuel, it still leaves a substantial fuel amount within the float bowls that can clog the mainjet and emulsion tube and turn to greenish goo. Your idle jets can't be considered clean until you can slide a .012" wire through the hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer karhawk Posted April 15, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 15, 2012 I took my 97 VFR out of storage for the first time this season, and while I can get it started and can run it on choke just fine, the motor immediately shuts off when I disable the choke at idle. I can run it without the choke on but only if I keep the throttle engaged / RPMs revved. This is a 1997 VFR750F This is my 9th year owning it I've never had this problem before Like I've done every winter, I added fuel stabilizer before storing away back in november of last year Oil is still a nice caramel color Starts just fine - and, it's a brand new battery to boot (Lithium at that - and it starts great and better than it ever has before) ...but just to rule anything out, I tried a lead acid battery on it, and same behavior I just bought a can of Sea Foam after a cursory search on this symptom on the internets. I put half a can (8 ounces) into the gas tank, and rode the bike for an hour - no better How could I have ridden for an our with this problem, might you ask? Well I stuck to mostly highway and held the clutch in while revving the engine at stop lights nearer my home. What a pain in the ass. Any ideas for a solution? I'm trying to avoid having to get at the carburetors myself, as I've read they're quite the pain in the ass to get to. I'm no mechanic and must expertise pretty much stops at changing the oil/filter and removing fairings. I also read that some times this Sea Foam stuff needs to sit a week to "soak" after running through the engine. Any truth to that? mine did the same thing after sitting for a year and a half, I drained all old gas and filled up with premium, I also sprayed carb cleaner straight in to all the venturies while running, revving the engine while spraying. The issue got better after a couple of 10 mile trips. It's fine now. Chris Oakland, Ca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rektifyre Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 mine did the same thing after sitting for a year and a half, I drained all old gas and filled up with premium, I also sprayed carb cleaner straight in to all the venturies while running, revving the engine while spraying. The issue got better after a couple of 10 mile trips. It's fine now. Chris Oakland, Ca. So you mean to literally remove the air filter and shoot carb cleaner directly into the air intake venturis? I have some dedicated carb cleaner fluid/spray; if you confirm I will try this and report back next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer karhawk Posted April 15, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 15, 2012 mine did the same thing after sitting for a year and a half, I drained all old gas and filled up with premium, I also sprayed carb cleaner straight in to all the venturies while running, revving the engine while spraying. The issue got better after a couple of 10 mile trips. It's fine now. Chris Oakland, Ca. So you mean to literally remove the air filter and shoot carb cleaner directly into the air intake venturis? I have some dedicated carb cleaner fluid/spray; if you confirm I will try this and report back next week. That's what I did, I got some bulk and added to gas as well. I worked for me maybe you will be luck. I doesn't look that bad to get to the jets though. You can see the shut off if you take off the rear body work or unhook the tabs that snap into the tank, it's on the L side I think. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samaki Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 You can sometimes clear a partially obstructed pilot jet, with limited success, using sea foam or some other cleaner in the fuel, but a fully obstructed pilot will never clear no matter what you try to run through it with your fuel. Spraying any kind of cleaner into the venturi does nothing for your pilot jets at all, since it just gets sucked into the intake manifold and burned and gets nowhere near your pilot circuits. The only sure way to clear an obstructed pilot is to remove it or replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Same thing happened to my '96 this Spring. I put in a bottle of something or other hoping, but not expecting, a miracle. Miracle was not forthcoming. I hate working on carbs but didn't want to spend hundreds at a shop. I ordered new pilot jets (5 or 6 bucks each)so I didn't have to worry about damaging the jets or failing to clean them adequately. Asked for advice on how to pry the carbs off here - got a good answer. Removed carbs, replaced jets (they were completely blocked), put in a new air filter and sub filter while I was at it and put it all back together. I'm quietly proud to report that normal idle has been restored and that I apparently didn't f*** anything up in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer auggius Posted April 17, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2012 Good to hear. I'm a bit carbophobic too. Thankfully my VFR has started up each spring. Actually a few years ago it didn't even though it was winterized with fuel stabilizer. But fresh gas solved that. Ironically my wife's CBR600 started up no problem even though I did nothing to winterize it. So sometimes it's just a crap shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer rangemaster Posted April 17, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted April 17, 2012 I think it's the crap gas (ethanol) that is the problem. Al the old school stuff that worked for decades to winterize a carbed bike doesn't seem to work nearly as well as it used to. I'm an old guy so carbs don't scare me at all, I grew up with 'em. Amals, Mikunis, SU's, Solexs, Webers, Quadrajets, Carter AFBs, Holleys, etc. They all basically work the same. I've never had an injected bike (but plenty of injected cages) but would love a clean 5th gen to learn on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rektifyre Posted April 18, 2012 Author Share Posted April 18, 2012 Good to hear. I'm a bit carbophobic too. Thankfully my VFR has started up each spring. Actually a few years ago it didn't even though it was winterized with fuel stabilizer. But fresh gas solved that. Ironically my wife's CBR600 started up no problem even though I did nothing to winterize it. So sometimes it's just a crap shoot. I think I'll run down this tank of gas, fill up fresh again, and give it one more go before I attack the carbs. It might be a week or 2 but I will report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assman Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Well whatever happened!! Cmon don't leave me hanging Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assman Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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