85 Vf500 idle/choke issues?

2 days, 2 posts...boy, the new guy is burnin' up the thread count already!

So...wanted to get the WOTL on one other thing. When this thing is cold (after sitting overnight for example) and I pull the choke lever, it still is hard to start. In fact, it basically refuses to start. I've gone around it a couple times by turning the idle speed screw in, but of course then it starts, idles high (really too high for warm-up), and when I push the choke lever off, it of course is still too high and I have to turn down the idle screw again. I shouldn't have to touch that idle screw again in order to get it to start when cold I think.

I checked to see if the little plungers are extending out from the carb bodies when the lever is pulled, and they are. Also, the choke cable is screwed tight at the very opposite end of the cable holder, so the cable is getting maximum extension, and the cable is indeed pulling the bar.

Right now I start it and hold the throttle open in order to get it warmed up. Moving the choke lever doesn't seem to raise the idle at all.

Any ideas? Are these things just cold-natured and the choke is only there for looks? It runs/idles fine when warm, right @ 1300 RPMs. The carbs were recently off (last week) and soaked and throughly cleaned, and come to think of it the choke lever seemed to work then, though it would not idle at anything below 2700 RPMs, and cut off when I closed the choke lever (hence the reason for the full R&R/cleaning)

Love to hear your thoughts...

greginLA/OC
forsaleinfl@aol.com

 

Carbs are not clean unless you can put a thin wire through the pilot jets, and mixture screws should be set about 2 1/2 turns out, floats @ 6.2 mm

 

Sounds like your enrichener circuits aren't doing anything. The fuel supply for the enrichener ciruit are fixed jets inside the float bowl. Since they're not removable, it's a little harder to verify if they're open or not...did you do that when you had the float bowls off?

You also may want to verify the compression is 'up to snuff'.

 

You should have shot some carb cleaner into the long brass tubes ( enrichener circuit) followed by compressed air......as the Dizzyman suggests.

starting is easiest when throttle plates are not too far open, so don't let your idle adjustment screw keep too high a setting on startup.

 

It sounds to me like there is something awry (damaged or plugged) with your pilot circuit(s). What it sounds like you are doing is opening the throttle enough to pull in some fuel from the midrange circuit enough to get it to run. One way or the other, it sure sounds like your carbs need a good cleaning.

 

[QUOTEOne way or the other, it sure sounds like your carbs need a good cleaning.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I thought it just had a good cleaning! They were soaked for a week in carb cleaner, completely disassembled!

 

I had the whole thing apart. But you say they are not removable?

Compression is OK. The choke worked fine (increasing idle speed when open) before I took the carbs off/apart.

 

Hmm. So you would.....take it apart (again) and try the spray carb cleaner down the pipe method, thinking that somehow, someway there's STILL crud in this enrichner circuit?

But you are correct: In all other aspects of running and idling, it's perfect. Just can't get it to take choke upon start-up.

 

Not necessarily. Also, I never said that the choke circuit wasn't plugged - thus the "needs cleaning" comment.

I've found the best way to clean varnished carbs is with an ultrasonic cleaner. I've used every carb-spray-wire-compressed-air trick in the world on some bad carbs and it didn't work. Ultrasonic cleaning was the only way that got them free again. For carbs that aren't real gummed simple carb spray works great. Pushing a wire and using compressed air are common methods but you need to take care because these can damage components of done incorrectly.

 

The carbs were soak-cleaned and ultrasonically cleaned less than 3 weeks ago. What are your thoughts on this idea/scenario:

Float bowl o-ring gasket leaks fuel on #1 cylinder now, out of the blue after riding it for 2 weeks now. This allows it to suck air into float bowl. Air/fuel mixture is off accordingly.

Would this affect the choke circuit? Thing is, the choke hasn't worked in 2 weeks, and it just started dripping fuel sunday (2 days ago). MAYBE it has an air leak around that bowl for a while, and just now broke thru to start dripping gas?

Way off base with this hypothesis?

 

Which might lead to the choke issue I'm having? Just thinking out loud. Wondering if the leaking and the non-choke are related. (In my mind I have basically taken the cleaning/gummed up carbs line of thought out of the running since they were soaked and ultrasonically cleaned and the choke worked fine before the cleaning.)

 

Well, I was riding it home while it was leaking, unknowingly. When I got home and turned it off, I immediately smelled gas. Shut off the tank, hooked a line to that carb, and drained fuel from the bottom of the bowl post haste. Sure, it was leaking while it was running as I was riding it for 10 miles though...

 

NO, leaking and choke not related.