synaptik

ok so i went out on a spirited ride this morning with friends and on the way back the bike started acting up

i didnt run it real hard ....

it seems like it is starving for fuel intermittently, at one point i was in 3rd gear at full throttle just to keep 70 mph.... then it would stall, take a few tries to start back up and it would run fine for a while then do it again .... i thought possibly a clogged fuel filter but according to the stealership the SH doesnt have one ?????

what could this be ???

and to top it off when i pulled over to the shoulder to get it to start again i got a nail in an almost brand new dunlop on the back .... just not my day

drew_c14

Did you buy gas from somewhere different than normal?

synaptik

i just got the bike on wed ... i put in chevron gas at the same station i put gas in my car at .... i put some fuel system cleaner in that tank also, cause it did it once on the old gas but i figured it was cause i was almost out of gas ... the po said the back sat for 6 monthes but once a week he started it and let it run for a few min to cycle fluids

drew_c14

Depending on how much cleaner you put in, that could be it. Could be water in the tank. Could you tell if there was smoke coming from the exhaust at all? If so you might be burning something you shouldn't be.

I'm sure someone has a better idea, but I would remove the tank, drain all the gas, and inspect the carbs real good to make sure they are operating smoothly.

synaptik

anyone got a good how to on that lol i dont have my manual yet

drew_c14

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=11365

there it is

MudSwettinGears

Watch those vacuum lines! Make sure you don't put the vacuum line on the bottom of the petcock, it goes on the rear. Sounds stupid, but I wish I would've known that...would've saved me a lot of head scratchin'...

synaptik

it did it once before i put the cleaner in that is why i put the cleaner in

i didnt see any smoke and neither could the guy behind me but he could smell gas ....

i am not real familiar with working on vehicles :-(




will be looking at it tomorrow as i hate to pay the stealership a couple hundred dollars for something simple

Hawkrider

Make sure you don't fill the tank all the way up. This'll cause vacuum lock in the tank. Fuel gets in the vent line and will prevent the tank from venting. Also, check that the vent line is clear. It comes out the bottom of the bike near the lower cowl.

RK1

If it continues and you want to troubleshoot it yourself, I'd start by draining the carb float bowls through some tubing into a container to see if you have any water, rust, gunk etc. in there. Anything besides clean fuel in the bowls might result in the bike still running OK at mild throttle and crappy when you opened it up.

If you find contamination in the float bowls, might need to drain and clean out the fuel tank. Might want to clean the carbs either way. I've had good luck cleaning carbs without taking them off the bike, by pouring carb cleaner down the fuel lines so it fills the floatbowls. I'll let it sit for half a day and rock the bike a few times an hour to slosh the cleaner inside the carbs.

FL02SupaHawk996

Good advice RK1 and how many beers does it take to do all that sloshing?
TGIF!

RK1

That of course can depend on ambient temperature, individual temperment, quality of said beer etc.

The important thing is that you don't pour beer in the carbs or drink the carb cleaner.

434josh

synaptik,
Where are you in Dallas?
I live in Denton, just north of Dallas.
I don't know how much time i will have this weekend, but I will be glad to help however I can.

synaptik

i am in princeton just east of mckinney ... i found a very nice person on the texas sportbike forums that is going to help me disassemble and clean everything tomm afternoon :-) hopefully that fixes it

synaptik

ok so the nice guy had something come up and cant help me for a month :-( i cant wait a month to get back to riding the weather is too nice here ... gotta do something ... .SO ...

i just unbolted the gas tank and found 2 places on the petcock(i think it is lol) with no hose attached is this right? one on the front and the other on the bottom ... if i can find my damned camera i will take a pic but the woman has put is god knows where

also i cant find a "vent line" in the manual ... is that the vacuum line or the drain tube or breather ,,,, ah hell i will just pull 1 by 1 and make sure they are not clogged ;-)

there is still a half a tank in there how can i get the gas out of the tank and remove without spilling it on my fairings?

RK1

Should be five lines connected to the fuel tank- the fuel lines to the carbs- one on each side. the vacuum line from the rear cylinder manifold to the fitting on the rear left of the petcock and parallel to the ground- plus a drain tube and a breather tube for the fittings which point down from the tank itself in front of the petcock. The piece pointing down from the petcock doesn't take a hose.

synaptik

what about the square fitting on the front ... the pic in the online manual doesnt show the hoses connected

edit : ok all five are there and do not appear to be kinked in any way ... if i unhook the vacuum hose is gas going to spray out?

forgive my noobness

RK1

I'm not sure what you mean unless it is the petcock's on-off valve, and btw I can't remember which way is on/off, but the only tubes which actually connect to the petcock are the two fuel lines and the vacuum tube.


ps just saw your edit. no, pulling the vacuum line just means the petcock won't flow fuel.

also, when you say "online manual" are you talking about the official Honda pdf version or something on a website?

synaptik

the pdf file ... i have a strange sinking feeling there is something clogging the vacuum line since the issue is intermittent ... dont think it is the carbs or it would always happen (so the shops keep telling me)

do i have to do anything to "represurize" (sp?) the vacuum when i reconnect ...

i feel so stupid asking so many questions but i love this bike and dont want to screw her up

RK1

You'll know when you've asked a stupid question when people just let it hang out there in space unaswered 'till it drops off the page. You're fine.

The vacuum actually gets "unpressurized" (?) aka starts working, when you start/run the engine.

I wouldn't bet my life on what the dealership says. There might not be anything wrong with the carbs per se, but if you have water, rust, gunk etc. in the fuel tank and then in the carb float bowls, it might run normal with light throttle and for **** when you gas it. Then it might run better until more flotsam works its way from the tank to the carbs.

Im still am guessing you're gonna have to empty the fuel tank and float bowls, clean/soak them with something like Yamaha Carburetor Cleaner, drain, flush and put in fresh gas. That's what I'd do anyhow.

synaptik

can i get the tank off without it spilling gas everywhere?

RK1

Yeah, if you siphon the gas out first!

But I'd try this first without removing the tank from the bike. Still have to pull the gas out though. I'd try pouring about half a quart of carb cleaner in the empty or near empty tank. Let it sit there for a few hours. Rock the bike a few times an hour. Then I'd siphon/pump out all I could get and let the rest run out through the drain valve on the float bowls. You have to get vacuum on the petcock, I use a piece of tubing and a hypodermic type thing used to inject marinade into meat. It's all a pita but it's doable and beats paying a tech to do it.

synaptik

slowly making progress .... got the tank and all lines off -- they appear to be clear .... got a nasty headache from siphoning the gas out LOL -- got the airbox off and can finally see the carbs .... not too incredibly difficult so far, not diggin the images in the online shop manual occasionally they are a pain to follow,

can i drain/check the floats with the carbs still in the bike?

rk1 -- i am wondering if all the carb cleaner/fuel system cleaner i tried didnt further the issue along, it didnt get real bad till after i put in the stp treatment, :-)

RK1

synaptik;

I'm guessing yeah maybe bad on the STP fuel system cleaner depending on how much you put in, but I've never tried it that way. I've only used the Yamaha Carb Cleaner on bottom of tank and the carbs- after I got all the fuel out, and didn't run it 'till the cleaner was drained out and fresh fuel put in.

The manual leaves a lot to be desired if you're not real experienced and doing a task you've never done before. Taking the carbs off, esp. the first time is a pita. Actually it's putting them back on and hooking everything up that's pita squared.

And yes, you can drain the float bowls with the carbs on the bike. Each float bowl has a drain nipple pointing down from the bottom. You can fit some plastic tubing over each of these, you might need needle nose pliers or forceps to reach, and run the tubing down to an old coffee can etc. Each float bowl valve can be opened by turning counter clockwise the slothead brass screw. Check the fuel that drains into the can for water, rust etc.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, after you've drained the bowl and closed the valve, I'd take Yamaha Carb Cleaner, 'cause lots of people swear by it and it's worked for me, I'd pour it through a funnel into each of the 2 fuel lines
you disconnected from the petcock until they're full. Rock the bike a few times per hour for several hours and then drain it out. It worked real good for me on a bike which had been sitting for several years.

synaptik

would it be a bad idea to pull the petcock and clean it ?

if not how would that be done ... i just want to make dang sure i get it resolved befor ei put everything back together and get 30 miles down the road and it starts again

Hawkrider

I've done it before. Take it apart carefully and slowly. Make sure you know the order of parts. Also, clean the diaphragm gently with silicone lubricant.

synaptik

is there anyone in dallas area that can come look over my shoulder/assist for some beer and food :-) this weekend i really want to get her on the road but am very worried i will eff something up but cant afford a shop

speedhawk

im also in the dallas area.. synaptik and RK1...we should ride together some this summer. When we all get our bikes running.. and i can come sometime and help if you want synaptik. beer and bikes are my favorite... not usually at the same time, but one, or the other makes me extremely happy haha. i am not the best mechanic, but i do a lot of my own stuff. 469-338-1595 ~ Preston

speedhawk

i also have the service manual i believe you need

RK1

synaptik;

If you don't want to pull and dismantle the petcock, you can clean it, and the bottom of the tank by pouring a pint or so of that carb cleaner in the tank, leave it for a few hours, agitate a few times. You can then drain it out through the petcock by applying vacuum, check to see both fuel spouts are draining good, flush with a few ounces of fresh fuel.

speedhawk;

Thanks for the invite, but I'm a 1200+ mile ride from Dallas.