[bike1962]

Need some input. Bought this 2002 1100 spirit about 6 weeks ago. I believe I may have a fuel delivery issue. It will turn over without choke, but then dies. It won't take any throttle off choke, just dies. If I choke it, she cranks over revs nice and then idles fine when I back off the choke. I am talking when out side temps are in the 70's. It shouldn't need choke with these kind of temps should it? After I get on and ride about the first 3 miles, she sputter and bucks a little, then smooths out, but never dies. After that she runs fine and no issues? Should I rule out a fuel filter as wouldn't that cause problems all the time and not just when its cold? I have run an entire can of seafoam thorough her in about 6 tanks of gas. I have put about 700 miles on her and she's still acting up a little. Has new plugs, air filter. I do know that these particular models tend to be shipped a little "lean" from Japan. I noticed that the a/f screws have not been exposed which means they have never been adjusted. She also "popps" on decel, but so did the other two 1100's I owned over the years. It may need to be "richened" up a bit. Is that the first thing I should try before I get into a major carb overhaul? Thoughts? Is it hurting anything to choke this bike in warmer weather? I know on nthe 1300's, over choking can load up the plugs.

 

[jpr1968]

Carbs probably need cleaning. Seafoam doesn't always work.

 

[bike1962]

Agree, but why once its warmed up, it runs fine?

 

[smilie]

I always choke my bike when I start it, 40*or 70*. I just back it off after starting to where it's running smoothly. After a minute or two, no choke at all. When it takes throttle without stumbling, I roll. If you're taking off down the road before it's warm, she'll stumble some until warm. Just my own experience.

 

[Harryc]

I always choke my bike when I start it, 40*or 70*. I just back it off after starting to where it's running smoothly.

Same here. It's just that when it gets warm out I don't have to choke it as long...maybe half the time at 80*f compared to what it needs at 40*f. If the bike is already warm...no choke needed.

 

[gdb069]

Always use full choke on a cold engine.

G.

 

[Eagle7840]

Agree, but why once its warmed up, it runs fine?

Because you're not using the choke correctly. Your carbs sound like they're in good shape if the engine runs fine after warming up. Even after a 1/2 hour of sitting I still full choke and start without using any throttle and back off bit by bit on the choke as the rpm's come up on my VT1100. Once the engine is running without the choke I'll rev the engine a bit more so, if it has been sitting overnight to speed up the warm up. Rule of thumb is never use the throttle with the choke engaged, it disengages the choke, at least for my bike model. And don't let the air temp fool you, it's not the air temp but the engine temp that determines to choke or not.

 

[swifty2014]

It sounds like it runs pretty good after full warm up. So instead of tearing into the carbs why not drill out the mixture screw covers and adjust a little richer and see if that helps.
Every vehicle with carbs has it's own personality and have a routine to start .

 

[Furball Zen]

The only time i ever had to use choke was when it was below 50º.

 

[bike1962]

Thanks for the replies. I just didn't know if using the choke in all temps was normal. I do agree that adjusting the a/f mixture could/would help, but I am a little apprehensive about doing that myself? i am getting about 40-42 mpg with mostly two up riding with a mix of highway and city driving. Does that seem to be in the normal range?

 

[spudbuzz]

We have had a 700, 1100 Spirit, and now 1100 Sabre Shadows and they are all cold blooded.

The Spirit was a little better, the Sabre seems the worst. It will start about half the time without the choke but if you don't have about 1/4 choke for 1st 1 - 1 1/2 miles it will stutter. It needs a little bit of choke starting out if it is 50 degrees or 80. It doesn't help I start out at the bottom of a hill.

The Spirit was also the newest and lowest mileage.

Does it have stock exhaust and jets?

Run a couple of tanks of 87 octane from a good gas station and with a full tank run your bike on reserve so it will run from the bottom feed and help clean the fuel line and get rid of junk in the bottom of your gas tank.
I use carb/fuel injection cleaner when I buy a used bike or if it has been sitting long term.
You don't have to ride it like a crotch rocket, but take it out on a back road and open up on it a little bit. You don't have to hit the governor in each gear but try to shift well past 3000 rpms. Try full throttle or close to it and get up to 85-90 a couple times.

I have ridden a couple of bikes that ran like crap from lack of use (stuttered, no power, top speed way lower than normal, loading up etc.) and after putting in fresh fuel, fuel cleaner, revving them up a little and not being scared to twist the throttle they started running normal again. They just needed the carbon blown out.

 

[bike1962]

Thanks for your input. Took her out today for about 25 miles. Let her warm up about 10 minutes under choke (75 degrees out) and she sputtered up the hill for about a mile and then smoothed out, so its getting better. Just makes me wonder if the temp was 30 degrees out, how she would act?

 

[Eagle7840]

Thanks for your input. Took her out today for about 25 miles. Let her warm up about 10 minutes under choke (75 degrees out) and she sputtered up the hill for about a mile and then smoothed out, so its getting better. Just makes me wonder if the temp was 30 degrees out, how she would act?

Your bike should warm up faster than that with the choke on and at 75*. Sounds like an ignition spark problem in one of the cylinders caused by bad plugs, wires or a loose primary coil wire. You can identify the culprit cylinder by comparing the heat of the exhaust pipes. Both should be too hot to touch. The colder exhaust pipe indicates your problem child. I had a similar problem with my Shadow, long warm ups, low power. Rear cylinder exhaust pipe I could touch without burning my fingers. New plugs with same results. Check for spark when it acted up viola no spark. Turned out to be a loose primary coil wire connection at the coil and I was only running on 1 cylinder. Give it a check.

 

[gdb069]

Thanks for your input. Took her out today for about 25 miles. Let her warm up about 10 minutes under choke (75 degrees out) and she sputtered up the hill for about a mile and then smoothed out, so its getting better. Just makes me wonder if the temp was 30 degrees out, how she would act?

If you need to choke for 10 minutes you have another problem. Choke is required for about 1 minute or less. Start the engine full choke and then close choke as to keep engine running. Now with no choke what does the engine do while idling and taking throttle without any load?

G.

 

[bike1962]

Let me clarify. It was a 10 minute warm up but on choke only for a minute or two. Sorry for the misinformation. Once off choke, she idles smooth with an occasional burp. Once we take off, she smooths out and will run as fast as i would like her to. Bottom line is that after coming off a 1300, I just don't remember having to warm that bike up as long.

 

[Furball Zen]

Why do you insist on warming it up while idling? Any motor warms up faster when you drive it.

 

[bike1962]

Why do you insist on warming it up while idling? Any motor warms up faster when you drive it.

If I don't let it warm up, it will run like crap when I take off.

 

[Eagle7840]

If I don't let it warm up, it will run like crap when I take off.

For schmidt and giggles try adding some B-12 fuel system cleaner to your gas. Follow the directions on the can on how much to add. It's more aggressive in removing gum and varnish deposits than SeaFoam and cheaper. It just may improve your warm-up time and engine performance and gas mileage. Also when was the last time the plugs were inspected and replaced? If it were me I would replace them with Honda's recommended NGK's standard heat range plugs and gap them in the middle of the gap range.

 

[jwinker]

If I choke it, she cranks over revs nice and then idles fine when I back off the choke. I am talking when out side temps are in the 70's. It shouldn't need choke with these kind of temps should it?

Just to put it in perspective, normal operating temp of your engine is going to be around 180*-210*F. The bike doesn't really care if it's 40* or 70*, it's much lower than your normal operating temperature, so it sputters. That's the bike BEGGING you to give it some enrichment (choke) and/or let it warm up a little bit more.

Think of it as your bike hitting the snooze button one more time after you start it up.

You could discover the solution on your first attempt, or you could chase this issue for months. Your best bet, take it to a respected shop and ask them to do a tune-up. It will cost you some $$$, but maybe they will find problems you wouldn't investigate for months (like a cracked spark plug wire boot, for example). If it's worth it to you, it's worth it.

 

[bike1962]

Thanks for the input. I will try some B-12 and see if that helps. I realize its a 13 year old bike and its not perfect. I liked the quote about hitting the snooze button. Kind of puts things into perspective.

Just a weird question. Seems as though that if bikes with carbs sit for a long time w/out being ridden, the carbs get gummed up. If you let FI bike sit for the same amount of time, would there be any issues?