I'm new to bikes so I can't help a mate but I thought I'd ask here. He has a Suzuki GSXR400. He's had it in his shed for a couple years. Last year he started it up ok but didn't take it on the road. This year he's wanting it on the road again. He's flushed and cleaned the tank out and replaced the air filter. The problem he's having is after bike has started, any turn of the throttle kills the engine. The bike only starts with choke too. I suspect something with the carbs, with fuel supply. Am I on the right lines? Any advice for him? Will the carbs need taking out and cleaning? Ta. --
His carb jets will be gummed up. The pilot jets are apparently clear, but as soon as the throttle is opened, the main jets come in to play and there's not enough fuel getting through. Carb removal, strip and de-gunge with carb cleaner is the only way, really.
Thanks a lot Pip, much appreciated. Kinda what I thought, though I wasn't aware there were pilot and main jets. --
Wot he said - we had no end of trouble getting my girlfriend's GS500 started after a long sit in her dad's garage, for this very reason. One other point to bear in mind: if the bike has been run for any length of time with blocked carbs - depending on where the various breather hoses / overflows go - some of the fuel may have found its way into the airbox, and made a mess of that shiny new air filter. Took us a while to figure out that was why the bike still wasn't running after getting the carbs cleaned.
It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember dundonald Urgh... -- Dave GS 850 x2 / SE 6a SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3 FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10
Yup. I have that problem more and more, these days, when renovating SOBs. It's the additives in unleaded petrol that makes it worse, apparently. Replacing, quite probably. I've given up trying to clean carbs when they're gummed up. You can get the jets sorted, but all the little galleries in the carbs will still be blocked. A total *complete* carb strip and ultrasound cleaning may be the only way. From the sublime to the ridiculous - I'm restoring a Z200 single, and I bought a second donor bike for the carb (an a few other bits) as the one on the bike emitted that horrible varnishy small when I drained the fuel.
It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember (The Older Gentleman) saying something like: <makes note not to clean underwear in petrol> -- Dave GS 850 x2 / SE 6a SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3 FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10
(The Older Gentleman) thoughtfully wrote: Cheers TOG. I'll advise him to try cleaning and if no success, start looking at used prices. --
