Carburetor problems?
Hey guys, so I bought a 06 v star 1100 2 months ago and after the first month it cut off on me for the first time, it just started running lean, it happened out of nowhere on the highway. This trend continued until the point it just wouldn’t start up.
So I’m gonna list what I’ve done so far and I’ve got a video of where it’s currently at when running that I’ll post as well.
I just don’t have money to take it to a mechanic and besides as I’m beginning my riding career, I want to be able to work on my own machines. Any advice or tips to point me in the right direction are greatly appreciated.
1 I pulled Carbs for cleaning cause I figured pilot circuit was clogged, cleaned the jets (both pilots were clogged) float bowl and the needle that comes from the top of the carb, because I didn’t have faith I was gonna do it properly.
Bike still wasn’t working
Took carbs off again and cleaned jets again (both pilots were clogged again must’ve not cleaned the carbs well enough. This time I made the pilot circuit was clean) I adjusted the pms screw 3 turns out and put carbs back on. After some effort and playing with the idle set screw (did not sync carbs) I got the bike up and running and went for a ride that day. It was running lean for the first couple minutes but after really opening the throttle that went away and the bike seemed to be running good as far as I could tell.
Next day went to take her for a ride, started up but after 5mins down the rd she started doing what she was doing in the beginning and running lean she cut off and I couldn’t get it started for 3hrs.
Replaced fuel filter, cleaned tank and petcock, and pulled the carbs to clean again (pilot jets were yet once again clogged so I must be doing something wrong.) cleaned carbs and after a lot more frustration than I was expecting I synched the carbs. Went for a ride up the street could and it was still running lean.
The we get to today pulled the carbs (didn’t check jets probably should’ve) adjusted pms screw out to 3.5 and hooked up all back up then I decided to dump half a bottle of seafoam in the gas tank to see if it would help. Idled the bike for about 45mins with the sea foam in the tank, at the end it started to die again like it was running lean so after I got the bike running again I synched the carbs again and thats where I’m at.
It’s still not runnning great and I don’t trust that if I go for a ride that I won’t have to get towed back. I’m super frustrated cause I want the thing to work. I don’t understand why it’ll run for 30mins then just cut off, there’s plenty of fuel in the tank.
I have inspected all the rubbed fittings there are minor surface cracks but nothing that’s created leaks as far as I can tell.
Haven’t cleaned the air filter cause up until 2days ago I didn’t know they had oil in them.
A strange thing I noticed the last two times I pulled the carbs I noticed that one of the float bowls did not have quite as much gas as the other but still had a little, so i dont know what that means.
https://vimeo.com/309593860/recommended
So I’m gonna list what I’ve done so far and I’ve got a video of where it’s currently at when running that I’ll post as well.
I just don’t have money to take it to a mechanic and besides as I’m beginning my riding career, I want to be able to work on my own machines. Any advice or tips to point me in the right direction are greatly appreciated.
1 I pulled Carbs for cleaning cause I figured pilot circuit was clogged, cleaned the jets (both pilots were clogged) float bowl and the needle that comes from the top of the carb, because I didn’t have faith I was gonna do it properly.
Bike still wasn’t working
Took carbs off again and cleaned jets again (both pilots were clogged again must’ve not cleaned the carbs well enough. This time I made the pilot circuit was clean) I adjusted the pms screw 3 turns out and put carbs back on. After some effort and playing with the idle set screw (did not sync carbs) I got the bike up and running and went for a ride that day. It was running lean for the first couple minutes but after really opening the throttle that went away and the bike seemed to be running good as far as I could tell.
Next day went to take her for a ride, started up but after 5mins down the rd she started doing what she was doing in the beginning and running lean she cut off and I couldn’t get it started for 3hrs.
Replaced fuel filter, cleaned tank and petcock, and pulled the carbs to clean again (pilot jets were yet once again clogged so I must be doing something wrong.) cleaned carbs and after a lot more frustration than I was expecting I synched the carbs. Went for a ride up the street could and it was still running lean.
The we get to today pulled the carbs (didn’t check jets probably should’ve) adjusted pms screw out to 3.5 and hooked up all back up then I decided to dump half a bottle of seafoam in the gas tank to see if it would help. Idled the bike for about 45mins with the sea foam in the tank, at the end it started to die again like it was running lean so after I got the bike running again I synched the carbs again and thats where I’m at.
It’s still not runnning great and I don’t trust that if I go for a ride that I won’t have to get towed back. I’m super frustrated cause I want the thing to work. I don’t understand why it’ll run for 30mins then just cut off, there’s plenty of fuel in the tank.
I have inspected all the rubbed fittings there are minor surface cracks but nothing that’s created leaks as far as I can tell.
Haven’t cleaned the air filter cause up until 2days ago I didn’t know they had oil in them.
A strange thing I noticed the last two times I pulled the carbs I noticed that one of the float bowls did not have quite as much gas as the other but still had a little, so i dont know what that means.
https://vimeo.com/309593860/recommended
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
It doesn't sound terrible.
If you're concerned about the fuel level in the carb bowls double check the float level and anything that might be restricting the fuel flow to the carbs. (Fuel cap vent, fuel filter, lines, petcock, petcock screen, any hidden little screens in the fuel system..)
I'm also not sure about letting the bike idle for 45 minutes. The engine needs air flow to cool and this in itself may cause some running issues - you might be chasing something that's not really a problem in normal operation.
Since you have an aftermarket exhaust you might want to bump your jet sizes up a notch or so - that might help.
If you're concerned about the fuel level in the carb bowls double check the float level and anything that might be restricting the fuel flow to the carbs. (Fuel cap vent, fuel filter, lines, petcock, petcock screen, any hidden little screens in the fuel system..)
I'm also not sure about letting the bike idle for 45 minutes. The engine needs air flow to cool and this in itself may cause some running issues - you might be chasing something that's not really a problem in normal operation.
Since you have an aftermarket exhaust you might want to bump your jet sizes up a notch or so - that might help.
Sounds like you had bad gas or crud in the tank. You may want to add an inline filter before the carbs and I think you will be OK if you can get it running again. If you started with the tank first you might have saved a few carb breakdowns.
Best of luck I think you will be fine being you are able to clean the carbs yourself this is more then most can say!
Best of luck I think you will be fine being you are able to clean the carbs yourself this is more then most can say!
Just so everyone is on the same page, what are the characteristics of the bike running lean? What do you notice that tells you it is?
What did the 'Crud' look like? because the fuel system goes Tank>line>fuel filter>line>fuel pump>line>carbs. So if it looked like rust particulate their could be some left in the pump/lines. If it was the gooey jam like old fuel build up... you get the idea.
If it was running lean, lean combustion runs hotter. If a bike is running lean it can easily overheat. In the Vstars case, they overheat tell they tell you to go to hell and won't start tell they cool off.
Me personally. I would start at the beginning and go down. Is the fuel Fresh? is the fuel filter new?(You already did this part) Are the intake boots in good shape? Can you hear/see any vacuum leaks?
It sounds like you are on the right path as you found crud in the fuel. But sometimes it might be simple. Try to rule out the easyist stuff before going all out on it lol.
What did the 'Crud' look like? because the fuel system goes Tank>line>fuel filter>line>fuel pump>line>carbs. So if it looked like rust particulate their could be some left in the pump/lines. If it was the gooey jam like old fuel build up... you get the idea.
If it was running lean, lean combustion runs hotter. If a bike is running lean it can easily overheat. In the Vstars case, they overheat tell they tell you to go to hell and won't start tell they cool off.
Me personally. I would start at the beginning and go down. Is the fuel Fresh? is the fuel filter new?(You already did this part) Are the intake boots in good shape? Can you hear/see any vacuum leaks?
It sounds like you are on the right path as you found crud in the fuel. But sometimes it might be simple. Try to rule out the easyist stuff before going all out on it lol.
Air cleaners have oil in them?
Generally not in them but some do have a very light coating of oil on them such as K&N filters.Air cleaners have oil in them?
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
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