carb cleaning on the bike?

[WGREGT]

Damn it.

Due to a rarity of riding this wet CA winter, two of my bikes won't idle without choke. I've had Stabil in the tank since last fall but apparently it didn't work worth a damn. I tried Seafoam in the tank (ran rough with smoking, naturally), then straight Seafoam from a small external tank directly into the fuel line (smoking), then drained all the float bowls and ran straight Seafoam from the external tank again, cut it off, and let it sit for 72 hours. One bike (gen 4) got to the point it would idle enough for me to take it for a hard and fast ride, but it surges up and down 2000RPM when idling on it's own.

 

It ain't right. Slow to come back down from revs too.

 

The OTHER V4 (1st gen) surges on idle up and down, won't run off choke, and won't move (dies instantly) when given gas.

 

Seafoam helped a bit on the 4th gen. Should I try it again? I REALLY don't want to pull these carbs off. I really don't. All of this could have been solved if I had just ridden the damn things more this winter. Ugh.

My inline four had the same issue, but I pulled the carb bank and cleaned the jets in about 40 minutes. Super simple.

 

Anyone got any wild-arse ideas that might work to avoid having to do this? My neighbors won't like the Seafoam again, but....??

[MBrane]

If you've got clogged jets pulling the carbs off/apart is really the only way. Anything I have with carbs that sits gets the fuel shut off, and float bowls run dry before storage.

[Stray]

SOMETIMES a good hard thrashing up and down the motorway with a good fuel system cleaner can do it. Sometimes...

 

Trick is to warm up the carbs so the cleaner can do its thing. Passages are too narrow for the cleaner to penetrate when cold. Warming with a hairdryer softens the gunk and opens things up a bit. Tapping with a plastic screwdriver handle also helps dislodge gunk. 

 

If you're lucky it might work. Then run a few tanks of premium through them. Always use premium before storing - it waxed up much less than regular. 

 

Otherwise clear your schedule for a few hours! 

 

Best, 

 

Stray

[WGREGT]

I've got a heat gun.Might have to try it. Thanks.

[WGREGT]

Ok. I finally got around to pulling the carbs off. Pulled all of the pilot/slow jets and....they weren't really clogged that I could see. I was HOPING for a full-on gummed up/clogged jet(s) and/or float bowls but they were all sparkling. Blew the jets out anyway with the compressor and soaked them overnight. Still looked like I just pulled them out. Pulled ONE of the carb tops just to check and make sure a diaphram wasn't torn, but it was fine.

 

Here's where I need your help.

 

Put it all back together, and....found a small spring loose on the left side near the idle screw cable, just sitting on the engine.

 

And I have no idea where it goes. I looked at the fiche. I ONLY took off each float bowl and removed each pilot jet. No springs there anywhere. Took off that one carb top (which has a much larger spring under it), but I rechecked that and the spring is still there.

 

Looked all over the fiche in the CARB diagrams and found nothing that I could see where this goes.

 

So...any ideas?

 

 

[WGREGT]

PS If it helps, all I did was pull the carb bank out and flip it over. I did not disconnect the throttle cables. Just a lot easier and quicker this way to get to the bottom of the carbs I thought.

[WGREGT]

Wherever it went it just slid off from somewhere. Had to. In other words, I didn’t remove a screw or a nut etc that this went under. Does it go with any of the choke lever linkage somewhere maybe?

[COS_VFR]

Its hard to tell how big it is, but there are some springs between the throttle linkages, look at #10 and #12 on this picture.

[WGREGT]

Yep. I saw those two. And they are on the bike. Those are huge, tightly coiled springs. Probably 4" fully coiled.

 

[WGREGT]

Mine is maybe 2.5" or so.

[WGREGT]

Correction: about an inch long. Just re-checked.

[squirrelman]

damned if i know................but it looks to be either #10 or #12 above.

[WGREGT]

Nahhhh. Those two are really tightly coiled springs that run between 1 and 3 and 2 and 4. Also those are really heavy duty springs, looks like. The one I found is a light little one. 

[WGREGT]

Ok...just for fun, let's say it was #10 or #12. Where exactly do they go? In the diagram, it doesn't show really. The longer I look at it, the longer I think the two coiled springs I saw on the bike are the ones shown attached to carb bodies #22 and #23 in the foto.

[WGREGT]

Odder still, nothing was disconnected other than the float bowls, so if it IS #10 or #12, it slid off something without being taken apart etc

[scottbott]

maybe it was 'dropped' there by a previous owner and has been laying there for a while, sorry no other suggestions

[WGREGT]

If only there HAD been a previous owner...I'm pretty tight on keeping this thing clean. It was just sitting between the heads near the idle screw. I would have seen it earlier...

[magpie114]

Is it off the idle control cable?


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[WGREGT]

That was my immediate thought, but it doesn't look like there's anyway for it to go on that cable. Too small to fit over the knurled blk knob.

 

[magpie114]

But it goes over the thread at the other end



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[WGREGT]

yes it does but I didn't unscrew it or mess with it.

[WGREGT]

fiche doesn't show one there either

 

[magpie114]

It’s the only place I can think of - it’s shown below in place on the idle control cable (9)




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[WGREGT]

yeah that one is smaller and stays locked on the cable unless you unscrew it I guess.

 

I'll guess I'll have to pull them off again and see how #10 and #12 stay on. It's the only thing I see.

[WGREGT]

Just pulled them off again and flipped them over and still did not see where it might go. Didn't see where #10 and #12 went either. It HAS to be 10 or 12 but I'll be damned if I know WHERE they go. Doesn't seem like anything goes THRU the spring, esp. since I didn't unscrew anything and take it off. 10 and 12 just seem to float in that diagram. Thoughts?