Idle problems

[83VisionAdventureBike]

Here's the deal.

The past couple of days when I go out to start my bike, I have been having some problems

1.) It was idling where it is supposed to, but no longer. (was 1300 rpm now more like 500 rpm)
2.) I have it fully choked, but it acts like it's not.
3.) While it is idling, if I roll the throttle even a little, it will kill the motor.

Any thoughts?

This is with a full tank of gas btw and has this problem in the "on" and "reserve" positions.

Thanks!

[Jimustanguitar]

It sounds like an air/fuel mixture problem. You have just enough gas to idle, but adding more air by opening up the throttle makes the mixture too lean to run.

Try running the petcock into a gas can to make sure that it flows gas freely. If that works, you might open the bowl drains to see if gas is flowing freely into the carbs. If not, you should check for a stuck float-valve. Tapping the carb (carefully) will usually free them up.

A vacuum leak might also be causing symptoms like this. Spray carb cleaner around the carbs and air cleaner while it's running to see if there are any leaks (it will make the engine rev when you spray near an air leak).

[83VisionAdventureBike]

Great! Thanks for the info. I will give those things a try.

[Rikugun]

What happened prior to the last few days that you noticed the problem? New tank of gas? Has it been sitting for 8 weeks and you just strarted it again a few days ago? Make any changes to the carbs or anything else?

[83VisionAdventureBike]

Well, I had let the gas run pretty low, so it is almost entirely new, fresh tank of gas. I ride every day (back and forth to work), and I hadn't noticed any problems or had a problem like this before. I haven't made any changes to the carbs either. The humidity was much higher than it usually is today as well. Not sure if that would have any effect.

[Lucky]

Also, check the YICS for internal & external leaks

[calipanda]

What kind of gas do you put in? Did you try some Seafoam or similar running through your gas tank? Put in some 91 gas and a bunch of Seafoam, Worked for me!

[jefferson]

Sounds like a plugged pilot jet to me. Check for water in the fuel too.