2004 Sabre, 4K miles, looks beautiful but...

[alltimeqb]

Hi all,

I am currently looking at a really nice looking Sabre. I went to see it a week ago. The owner (original) had it out and I heard the engine cooling so I knew he had it running before I got there.

He's got V&H Longshots on it and no rejet. He's the original owner and has only filled it with premium gas.

He was apologetic as he went to start it up. Saying he maybe got some bad gas two nights ago because it just started acting up. It started ok, revved ok except when letting go, it popped & backfired a bit. Not overly problematic but not running up and down smoothly when cranking on the throttle.

Just some questions for the experts as I am thinking of buying this bike: are there any known problems that may creep up like this? Even if the gas was a lower octane, I would expect this type of reaction would you?

This could be a very simple thing like a leak in the airflow or fuel filter problem but does anyone have any advice? I don't need to get stuck with a problem right now (who does!).

Thanks in advance.

[Stoopy]

I wouldn't buy the bad gas theory. Sounds like it maybe has OLD gas in it or the carbs gummed up sitting around not running over the winter and it needs a good cleaning at a bare minimum with a couple tankfuls of fresh gas with some SeaFaom mixed in.....and hopefully not a carb removal & cleaning.

Also since he didn't rejet it could be running naturally lean. Ask him if he adjusted the Air/Fuel mix screws after putting the pipes on and if he says yes, have him show you where they are and how he did it. The screws are on the bottom-side of the carbs and are covered with plugs that have to be either removed or drilled out to get at them....if they're covered it's probably at the stock (read: VERY LEAN) setting and this would at least partially explain why the bike doesn't sound happy when coming back down from RPM.

[alltimeqb]

Thanks for that angle, I'll check the plugs tomorrow.

Did I forget to mention??... he claims he's had the longshots on the bike for 2 years without a problem. He is not mechanical so I highly doubt he's done anything to it other than taking it in to the dealer for maintenance.

Could this act up by being lean after 2 years with the longshots?

[bananabenda]

I concur with stoopy bad gas my a$$

[Stoopy]

The miles rather than the time are probably the thing...since it hasn't got a lot of miles I'm guessing the lean condition couldn't permanently hurt much in that length, but that's a guess.

IF he had an intake upgrade (like adding a K&N air filter) then for sure it's be lean, but you do hear plenty of folks who just upgrade pipes and don't rejet and claim they don't need to. When the intake and exhaust both get upgraded and you're flowing more through the whole engine in & out, I'd say you definitely must rejet.

Had the same roughness issue on throttle application with my Sabre back in April due to not running it much over the winter (very, very bad of me but the benefit is I found this site when looking for a solution)...a couple of tanks of fresh gas didn't help much, but then trying seafoam in the next two tanks cured it completely. Popping on decel is an idle A/F lean setting thing usually and gently seating the screws then backing them out 3-1/4 or 3-1/2 turns usually makes it happy. But a good running-out with a cleaning agent like seafoam added to fresh gas can also be a must. Cheap, available at Pep Boys or wherever, and I was completely convinced it works.

Only drawback is since you're looking at someone else's bike it's not gonna be possible to have him put a couple hundred miles on it for you to show this is the problem.....unless he's interested in fixing it before it gets sold.

[alltimeqb]

Thanks for the help Stoopy.

I'm going to take another look at it today and I'll check to see if the mixture screws have been exposed. I've got a friend going along who knows this stuff better than me but he doesn't have any in-depth knowledge of the Honda twins (Yamaha rider).

I'm going to ask the owner to not start it before I get there, I need to see how it starts cold. And I agree, the Seafoam stuff works wonders so that's the first thing I'd do if I bought it.

Thanks.

[Stoopy]

You're surely welcome and good luck. All the above aside, the Sabre is a wonderful scoot, love mine, and if the price is right and the little issues dealt with (more than likely so) you could have a real nice machine on your hands if you're comfortable with the deal. Best of luck.

[alltimeqb]

It's a done deal. The bike needs a rejet cause it's running lean. I gave it a ride while the owner road my bike and man, this thing runs!

I'm going to put the stock pipes back on until I can afford the kit.

BTW, is it hard to do the rejet kit myself? I have replaced the starter clutch on my Kaw in-line 4 700, that was pretty involved so I think I can handle it... What's the consensus??

Thanks.

[caveman7700]

I recommend keeping the exhaust on it. The jet kit only costs $65 at www.motorcycleproshop.com I have been buying from them for about 4 years and love their service as well as prices. They ship real fast too. the jet job only takes about 2 hours if you are mechanically inclined. Remove the tank. remove the hoses and lines and remove the carbs. I know easier said than done but its some where in this forum do a search for the details. Then once the carbs are off the jet process takes about 10 min and that includes the possible cleaning that may be associated with the "Bad Gas" story. but those are my thoughts

[Stoopy]

Agree. Maybe the seafoam and an air/fuel adjustment will help out in the interim until the jet kit arrives (worth a try at least?). And take a 12mm wrench to those exhaust bolts to make sure she doesn't have an exhaust leak if the previous owner wasn't mechanicaly inclined (hopefully he also put in new crush gaskets too) . And as stated above the rejet isn't overwhelming and most of the effort is getting to the carbs and getting them out and of course back in properly and well-seated. A service manual does help in this regard for all the little things and I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow one from a local buddy Sabre-owner that I met through this forum. Might be able to find or order one online, since you have a few days before the jet kit arrives I'd guess.

Once you get the carbs on the workbench it's almost a letdown how easy it is. A carb synch when it's all back together (well except for the tank) is a good idea too, and you will have one STRONG running bike.

Congrats on the new ride and welcome to the Sabre club! Good luck and can't wait to hear how it pans out.