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Bike low idle on cold and choke kills

2 posts Started 25 Apr 2016 Last recovered post 25 Apr 2016 Wayback Machine snapshot 11 Sep 2017

#1

I have a question that I hope can be confirmed, and I hope I am right. I just picked this bike up and it runs fine when warmed up. It doesn't have any issues with loss of power or anything, though it does smell a little rich. I just went out and tried to get it started this cold morning, and I couldn't get it to turn over. My buddy and I got it bump started and it was idling really low, in danger of stalling out. Tach was reading around 500rpm. When I would go to apply choke, the engine would die. If I tried to give it gas too quickly, it would die. However, after letting it run at that low idle for a minute and eventually slowly rolling on the throttle to let it warm up better, I was able to get it running reliably. I have been working on running a can of seafoam through the tank, and I am on my second tank right now. 

Anyways, I believe with the rich smell and the choke stalling the bike, that I am in need of a new air filter. Can any gearheads confirm my suspicions? I work on bikes a little bit and this sounds like it would be right to me, but I just wanted some third party confirmation. Any other things I should look into? I have a repair manual and it looks like the tank needs to come off for a filter replacement which would lead me to believe that it probably hasn't been serviced in a while because it's a bit of a PITA to service.

Thanks in advance. 

#2

I went ahead and took the gas tank off on break(waaay easier than I'm used to). Took about 10 minutes to take it off including running back inside twice to find tools. Unfortunately, I was greeted with disappointment. Air filter was not very dirty at all. I started it with no filter in to be greeted with the same issues. Felt the air flow in the carbs and I'm pretty certain at least one carb is blowing instead of sucking. That would explain the fuel issue. So now I'm thinking this evening is going to consist of adjusting my valve clearances. Does that sound about right? It also doesn't have an oil mod kit but that will be fixed as of this weekend.

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End of thread · 2 posts recovered Wayback Machine snapshot 11 Sep 2017