I recently picked up this beautiful 1994 VFR 750. The guy says he had the carbs gone through because it had beed sitting and the tank got rusty. I noticed that the idle was rich and the emissions sheet showed hc`s 1796 and the standard is 1800. Co 3.5%
It passed and the more it ran the better it idled and felt.
Yesterday i went out to start it up and found the starter would not turn the engine over. It bound up. I had been smelling gas in the garage yesterday. I suspect that one of the carbs have a piece of something in the needle and caused the carb to overflow into the cylinder. So i plan to remove the sparkplugs and see which one it wet, and try to clean out that carb. If im not on the rite track, please let me know.
Question, Ive never worked on this bike before and want to go about carb removal correctly. Any suggestions?
Pull your plugs and verify you're hydrolocked before doing anything else, including trying to start the bike. Check your oil pan, too. If the motor is hydrolocked it's a good bet that there will be gas in your crankcase.
I'd also recommend that you check the fuel filter and vacuum operated petcock for condition and function, for it's possible one or both could have been bypassed by the last person who worked on the carbs.
If the petcock was working properly it seems unlikely how enough gas would be available w/the engine off to allow a cylinder to hydrolock with gas...and if the fuel line was cleaned behind the fuel filter no trash should have gotten through to the needles.
Hopefully none of the other cylinders tried to fire when you pressed the starter button!
All good advice thus far. Drop the sparkplugs and disconnect the power to each of the the coils. (to prevent arcing to ground from the sparkplug boots and ignition of gasoline)
Turn the engine over to confirm the presence of gas in one of the cylinders.
Whatever cylinder it spews out of is your carb. Bad float needle or a piece of flotsam will do it.
And yea, change your oil before you put the bike back in service.
When you remove the carbs, don't separate them, keep them together as an assembly, and flip them over to work on the offending carb.
Also check you carb floats.....some of them might be leaking and not do their job controling the gas flow into the bowls anymore, so the gas leaked past the bowl needle valve, flooded the carb and filled up your cyclinder(s).
Thank you all for your reply`s !! You guys rock.
I have been reading lots of posts about carbs for this generation of vfr. It seems there is a lot of expierence talking here. I value that tremendously!
I call The local Honda dealer, told the kid whats going on and explained what i though might be going on. He proceded to tell me that my fuel regulator is bad, or i have a fuel injector sticking or dripping. I reminded him that its not fuel injected. He still thought it was a regulator and that i should learn more about my bike.... So talking to expierenced people makes such a difference. I am excited to open this thing up and see what i find. The bike is soo clean and dosent look like very much has been messed with, i cant wait!
I will pull the fairings,
remove the sparkplugs, dissable the coils.
put rags in close to the cylinders
crank the engine over and see where my offender is!!
I will inspect the petcock and fuel filter for operation. ?? Question, does the fuel filter have a vacuum line on it? If so it much be a regulator of some sort?? Maybe the kid has a clue~ Didnt sound like it when i talked to him.
If i need to pull the carbs, I will keep them together and only open the one that is my problem.
I expect to find a piece of something in the needle. Clean it out and blow out all the lines. reassemble and check adjustments.
Now. I was reading other posts about carbs here. i want to do a basic adjustment on the mixtures. Being that my emissions hc`s were so high and my co was so high.
I saw that everyone seem to agree that the mixture adjustment is about 2.5 turns out for stock. I plan to count them and see where its at. If i am missing something or missunderstanding anything, please let me know.
Thank you all for your help!
I work for Combs auto repair in north Scottsdale AZ.
If anyone needs advise on their cars, I am your man.
602-622-3860 cell. I have axcess to a large database called ALL DATA. and IDENTIFIX.
Petcock on the 4th gen is manual with a valve that you can shut at the rear bottom of the tank, towards the left side. I don't think that there is a vacuum controled fuel valve on the bike like other Hondas. The gas is gravity fed to a filter element and electric pump on the left side of the tail subrame of the bike and the gas is then pumped back forward by the electric pump up to the carbs.
[image: View Post]Leozvfr, on 18 June 2012 - 06:28 PM, said:
Question, does the fuel filter have a vacuum line on it? If so it much be a regulator of some sort?? Maybe the kid has a clue~ Didnt sound like it when i talked to him.
The guy is a total muppet and has no idea what the hell he's talking about. Regulator my ass.
Anyway some carbie bikes do often have a vacuum hose on the fuel petcock as a safety valve to stop fuel entering the carbs when the motor is off (in case the floats are stuck open). The 4th-gen doesn't have one as best I can tell from the parts fiche.
given the carbs are fed by a pump it's not likely too much gas got from one of them into the crankcase. unless the bike was running when the carb flooded, which you probably would've noticed by way of rough running (1 or more cylinders dead, especially around idle speed). my '95 has smelled like leaking gas twice so far, once due to a persistent weep from the body of the fuel pump (which still worked fine but dripped sporadically) , once from weeping around the float bowl gskt(s) on the carbs (not quite enough to drip much). try to find the source of the gas smell before assuming the worst.
Good morning guys,
I took the bike apart last night.
found the passenger side rear cylinder full of fuel.
cleared out the fuel and removed the carbs.
took the bowl off the offending carb and did not find any problem with debris.
the only thing that might be a problem that i can find is the seat is either corroded or worn not letting the needle do its job???
I need some advice here...
What direction do i go from here? Is there a way to repair the seat, because i dont see a wat to remove the seat from the carb?? Or am i missing something?? I will leave some pics.
Had this happen to a suzuki of mine. Petcock failed and and it flooded the carbs and cylinders in just a few short hours while I was at work. Replaced the petcock, drained the oil, and purged the cylinders of fuel. Closed everything up with a new filter and oil and never had another problem from it. I was not aware the 4th gens had electric pump feed carbs so I can not imagine that the petcock is your issue unless the pump allows fuel to still flow via gravity when not powered. Worth inspecting but probably not the likely culprit.
HA HA! Yes the front sparkplugs are tight to get to but with the body off and removal of the left side lower bolt of the radiator. it piots out of the way just fine.
I am on my way to pick up a new needle. Oil and filter. My only concern is what do i do with the seat?? In the pictures you can see that there is wear and i believe its the cause of the overlfow of gas. I know i cant replace the seat but how about running ome brass polish or fine steel wool in the seat to smooth it out??? I really dont want to replace the carb...
I'd replace the needle first, and then connect a fuel line to some gas and let is sit before reinstalling the carb. If it seals, then your good. If it doesnt . . . I have no idea what the angle supposed to be, but you might consider finding someone with a drill press and the right diameter chamfer tool? Or just find a carb repair shop, they gotta see this all the time.
Can you give some pictures of the float and the needle? Does your float bowl look alright? Did you check your jets while you're in there? Maybe the float bowl just got stuck and flooded the cylinder.
I went to the dealer to pick up a new needle. I talked to the service and parts guys. They all agree that the needle is probly bad. They dont think the seat is a problem. They said if i was that worried about it, i should use a brass polish to clean it up. But they wouldnt worry about it. So i will put the carb back together with a new needle and hook up the fuel line. Crank the engine over a few times to help clear the cylinders and make sure i dont have any more leaks. I hope i dont and get to reassemble the bike. I already miss riding it! Being its 110 degrees now i enjoy riding at night. My son and i both have really been burning up the roads and loving every minute of it! Thank guys for all your help. i will let you know how tonight goes.
[image: View Post]MidTNJasonF, on 19 June 2012 - 01:17 PM, said:
Had this happen to a suzuki of mine. Petcock failed and and it flooded the carbs and cylinders in just a few short hours while I was at work. Replaced the petcock, drained the oil, and purged the cylinders of fuel. Closed everything up with a new filter and oil and never had another problem from it. I was not aware the 4th gens had electric pump feed carbs so I can not imagine that the petcock is your issue unless the pump allows fuel to still flow via gravity when not powered. Worth inspecting but probably not the likely culprit.
4th gen owners have found out that when their electric fuel pumps die out, the system can still gravity feed to the carbs as long as there is enough fuel in the tank. It's only the bottom half of the tank that the electric pump is really needed for.
Hi guys, well i replaced the needle and tested every way i could imagine to ee if there was still a problem. seems ok.. So i put the bike back together and it runs fine. been a couple of days not and it starts fine everytime. I guess i had a bad needle. But i am nervous to fill the tank and let sit overnight. As i do not have the vacuum style petcock, i am worried that with a full tank it will continue to have a problem. I will fill tonight and we will see. I seemed to loose almost an entire tank of fuel when this happen. Glad i changed the engine oil. It was way over full and looked like tea in the drain pan.
Have a great weekend guys! Wish me luck!
Up date!!
Well the needle fixed the problem but not without consequence... Now my starter clutch ir broken and it sounds trerrible starting up... I ordered the parts and am anxious to get back on the road. Wish me luck!
Good morning fellow VFR lovers!
I replaced the starter clutch on my 1994 VFR 750. put it all back to gether, refilled with oil and installed a new oil filter. Hooked up the battery, double checked everything. Now it cranks normaly and sounds normal. But it cranks and will not start????? Damn, i am not having much luck with this bike... I went back through the very detailed repair procedure that i found on this forum. I cannot see anything i did wrong?? I am not even getting a pop, sputter or anything... Any ideas?? Please help!! lol.
Wow sorry to hear about all the difficulty you've been having. I've been following this thread from the beginning and waiting for the "All Better" post like the June 22nd "edition". Don't give up- you've got a beautiful bike!
BTW I'm not going to be any help with your current problem but I'm sure our fellow VFRD'ers will help you out... they rock!
Thanks Tyler, Im sure its something silly that i may have overlooked. Everyone has been great here and i am sure that someone will pop up and say (did you do this or that) and all will be good! lol. Thanks again!
Something of a mystery how the fuel got into the oil, but i DO NOT BELIEVE that any fuel can possibly flow through the pump, past the check valves and into carbs when the bike is not running--under any circumstances !
Is it possible that what you first thought of as a hydrolock might have been the sign of a failing starter clutch, which you replaced next ???
Cleaning up the float needle seat is best done using a green scotchbrite piece twirelled around with the pointed end of a golf T.
I tried all kinds of things. Including the kill switch. Now i have not checked to see if i have spark, That is my next test. I also do not smell fuel. With all of the trying to start, with choke, with out, open throttle, closed throttle. Twisting the throttle, ect... I would think i would start to smell fuel out of the exhaust??? But no. I powered the fuel pump remotely, Did not help. I need to check for spark.. i JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING.. THE STARTER CLUTCH IS THE PIEVE THAT TELLS THE COILD WHEN TO FIRE. IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET IT ON WRONG?? 180 DEGREES OUT???? HMM.
CAN ANYONE CONFIRM WEATHER I COULD HAVE PUT THE STARTER CLUTCH ON WRONG OR NOT??? HMM.!!! MAYBE!!
I did check fuel flow and petcock. Made sure the fuel pump had fuel and no the fuel will not flow through it without power to it. Last night i did have an Epiphany!!! lol. On the old starter clutch there is a pin that needs to be transfered to the new starter clutch. I missed it.. So i am going back into the engine tonight. I hope that this will make the difference but i do not know what exactly it does. Can anyone help? What does that pin do?? Am i dumping oil pressure and the ignition modual will not let the bike start without the propper oil pressure?? Anyway. I hope that this will fix the bike and i can report that i am on the road. I cant wait to get out on the bike, because its soo beautiful that everyone has to stop me and ask what it is and how much i want for it!! Make you feel good!! lol.
Thanks again guys! I will let you all know what i did wrong! lol.
Leo
I am feeling snake bit... i replaced the starter clutch, and the bike wont start. now that i have been back into it and paying really close attention to the two parts, old and new. There is a difference in the number of notches (for lack of a better word). The new housing does not have as many notches as the old one does. I think its missing 3. And i have no spark at all...
I dont know what to do.. Honda says its the correct part.
Andi dont feel like paying them to find out its not the correct part..
Please help a lost soul ..........
Please clarify what notches you are referring to. Are you referring to the small rotor that is related to the ignition timing sensor which I think is on the right side of the engine, off the end of the crankshaft? If that's what it is, it's not related to the starter clutch, and there should not be any difference between the old and new part.
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[image: IMAG0993.jpg]
Ok, here are a couple of pics. I am pretty sure the problem is the part that i installed. Its very frustrating because there seems to be many different variations of this part.
YES!! I got it running. I was the wrong unit. Lesson learned, do not buy parts from Cheapcycleparts.com It had to be a missbox because its the same part number and the bag was not open.
I am happy to report that the bike is running great and my son and i are loving it again! Thanks for all your help guys!
Any suggestions on how to set up the spring preload so i dont get myself in trouble? i know how to do it, just havent messed with it yet and its very soft. I want to stiffen it up a lot, but just adding 2lbs of air to the back tire made horrible results with all the bouncing and locking up.. So im running 18lbs of air in the back tire and am kind of hesitant to make too many more adjustments without some recommendations. I dont want any road rash... Just fun in the sun!!
I just went through the same starter clutch issue with my '93 3rd gen. I got it through the Honda dealership in town and it was still the wrong starter clutch. Got the correct starter clutch today and guess what!!!!!!!!! one of my carb floats stuck and hydrolocked the engine!!!
Looks like our luck is the same only backwards. Pulling it apart tomorrow evening, draining oil and checking to see which carb is the bastard. Fun fun fun.
End of thread · 38 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 27 Sep 2012