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Sabre choke adjustment

5K views 20 replies 4 participants last post by  ShadowFlo 
#1 ·
Hi my choke lever doesnt stay down when i engage it. It slowly slides back up.

Also the bike squeals at certain points in the choke levers journey, and it starts doing it near the bottom. So i engage choke, it slides out a bit and starts squaling. I have to either hold it down, or push it up to about halfway where the squeal stops.

I used the search feature and found that the sliding back probably just needs a slight adjustment.

BUT, I can't figure the exact procedure on my bike to do that. And, I didn't see anybody with this problem also mention squealing so I am now wondering if my choke has a different, or additional problem.
 
#2 ·
Mine does the same but without the squeal. Any idea where the sound is coming from? Does the sound change with rpm?

Remove fuel tank.
To adjust the choke cable follow it down from the lever to the carb, remove the boot and the holding nut then the SE valves pulls out. Move the lever and check the SE valve is moving and not binding. Set lever to OFF ie up and adjust the free play by using the elbow at the lever end so you have 10 mm gap between valve and end of the threads on the cable.. That should do it, however after twice doing this I just got used to mine being "automatic" so I just hold it open for 20 seconds and then let it close and then when moving I make sure it is closed.
 
#3 · (Edited)
It sounds exactly like a car with squealing pulleys. Just comes from down by the engine, I just figured it was from the carbs and never tried tracing it. I don't ride with it in the squealing zone so I don't know if it'll change. But a couple times when I was first riding in the cold with the choke at half, it idled WAY too high as I came to stops with the clutch in. The only thing that dropped the idle was to either put the choke all the way off, or release the clutch. As soon as I did either one the rpm went back to normal.
 
#4 ·
It's terrible too because I see other models online where you just pull back a sleeve and twist a nut a little bit. This seems like a case of the work not being worth the small gain. At least as far as the adjustments go.

I would rather put a bit of something in the lever to hold it in place better. But the squealing is what keeps making me think something needs proper adjustment. Because it's not normal. Whether or not the choke lever holde firm, there shouldn't be any squealing at any point in the chokes positioning.

Maybe one or both sides are sticking and not pulling in and out freely with the choke lever?
 
#5 ·
See if you can find the area that squeals. It may be a vacuum leak and the choke operation is masking it. A split vacuum hose can do that.
 
#6 ·
OK There is nothing in the engine or in the carb that can squeal so I think Swifty is right: what you are hearing is air being sucked into a vacuum hose at a certain rpm. Crouch beside the engine and identify where. split hose you can spray some ether (Quickstart) around them and carb boots and If rpm goes up it means a hose or boot is letting air in.

Next you should not be riding with the choke at half ever. Start FULL choke NO throttle and if you must, hold down choke lever for 30 second but by 1 minute let it go up and by the time you out gloves on and check lights etc the choke should be OFF/UP. If not there is another problem.
 
#7 ·
I've known it's a little lean and I think the carbs might need a clean but I can't afford it and don't feel comfortable doing it myself at this point. In weather around 60 or less it takes a while to warm up fully. Maybe 5 to10 minutes or so of riding around. In that time it will bog down a bit in low rpms in second gear if I don't have the choke on. It's very minor and only in that narrow range, but it's embarrassing if people are around to see and hear, so I leave choke on. (Only for about 5 minutes max, then I just ride gently for another 5 to 10.)

Then the lever creeps up a little when I let it go, but not all the way. It stops at about 3/4 down. But it squeals right there, so I manually push it up until the squeal stops, which happens to be about halfway. I didn't think it was bad to ride with the choke on for a few minutes, and didn't think half was worse than full.

As for the vacuum, I removed all the air hoses and capped the ports with vacuum caps. Did that recently so that's not the cause. Just saying I have no hoses to check for a leak. What does that leave, the intake boots and what else?
 
#8 ·
OK 5 minutes is too long and 10 minutes means something is really wrong. As mentioned my choke lever (and others) drift up to off but no one really cares because the engine is idling well by then and worst case thats about 2 minutes. You need to hold yours open way longer so no wonder its a pain. We need to look at why.

The SE valve (choke) permits an additional source of fuel to be opened in the carb in order to vaporize more fuel than air to permit easier starting. Thats it. Its not really required to warm the engine. So there are a few possibilities:

1. As Swifty mentioned, you have a split hose that is allowing air in. Because there is too much air, you need to add fuel so the choke has to remain open to compensate.

2. Maybe you have set the idle too low so the engine is stumbling and you are compensating using choke. I would turn up the thumbscrew 1 turn. I have a video that you can hear a 950 rpm idle. This is from 6 months storage so takes a while to start but you can hear rpm drop as I reduce choke. 1995 Honda VT1100C2 its 25th birthday. Taking it out of...

3. Your pilot (low speed) jet may be partially gummed and you dont want to dismantle so the poor mans mechanic is Seafoam or Berrymans fuel additive/cleaner. But if 2-3 tankfulls dont help then stop using. Also use Top Tier fuel PON 89 E10 if available. The Top Tier fuel E10 will help clean the carb
 
#9 ·
Ok I was under the impression that 5 to 10 minutes to fully warm up is normal. For a 13 year old carbed bike. I was told that by multiple mechanics and even on this forum. The manual says 5 to 10 minutes of stop and go riding too. I don't HAVE to have the choke on for 5 minutes. It's not like it will die. All that happens is it hesitates at the bottom of second gear. If I give it less gas (ride VERY gently) it's ok, and if I give it a lot more gas it's fine. I can turn the choke off after 1 to 2 minutes and it won't die. I can start it with no choke if it's not really cold, though I may have to rev it up a bit with no choke. Anyhow I don't do that but I've tried and I can. But yeah the idle seems fine. Actually since I removed them air hoses the idle has been really solid. It no longer does the popping on decel like at all. Even going downhill.

I used seafoam a while back by pouring a few ounces straight into the fuel line and ran it out, then I was putting in a little in the tank when I filled up. It's running way better than when I bought it. But still a slight hesitation in second for the first 5 to 10 minutes.

About the vacuum leak: I got down by the engine and listened yesterday while I purposely left the choke in the squeal zone. I couldn't pinpoint it by ear. Sounded like it was coming from everywhere. But again, I removed the evap hoses and also the air injection system hoses and capped all the ports. So where else should I check for a leak besides the intake boots?
 
#11 ·
So I just tested it again. I get no change in rpm when spraying starter fluid around the carb boots, nor the cylinder heads where I plugged the air injectors.

Also I put the choke off before pulling away and rode around for a few. It ran fine. I was a little gentle, not a grandma I still kept up with traffic when pulling away from a red light, and it didn't really hesitate.

Is the choke supposed to be able to pull out a bit like this? I was checking to make sure they were screwed in tight and both sides can just pull right out like this.
 

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#15 ·
Mine are tight on my old 1983. Maybe other guys with the newer bikes can compare theirs.
 
#17 ·
When people discuss 5 - 10 minutes they are referring to get the engine to operating temperature. You do not want the choke on to do this. Use the choke only to start the engine and until it can remain running with no choke ie 1 minute. You want choke off as soon as engine will not die. In my video thats about 30 seconds. That was in March about 60F and bike was stored for 6 months.

Sounds like you dont have boot leaks but I am concerned about all the hoses you plugged and capped so maybe talk about that a bit.
 
#18 ·
I have the California model so I had the evap canister and 2 plastic valves with a mess of hoses everywhere. But I found out it wasn't even hooked up right. It was all a mess, and it wasn't even connected to the carbs in the center piece anyways. So I just removed it all. I decided to take off the air injection control valve as well, which is on all the bikes but can be taken off. It gave it a slightly deeper note and reduced decel popping. And it's so clean looking now without any hoses. All it has is the coolant hoses.

You can get metal plates too block off the cylinder head ports, but for now mine are just plugged and doing fine.
 
#19 ·
I am not familiar with that Cal rats nest and have been forever happy to skip over those pages so I am at a loss. The only thing I can think of is a pinhole in a hose somewhere and at a certain rpm its evident. I really dont think this has anything to do with the choke, its just coincidental that the choke up a bit is the perfect rpm for the pinhole squeal. So what you can do is this:

Start the engine, move choke lever until you get the squeal, now close choke and increase rpms slowly using the throttle stop screw but write down how many 1/2 turns. When rpms are up a bit and squealing you can find out where by checking the hoses and the caps. Turn idle stop screw back to original.

If this doesnt work, and you can still replicate the squeal, take a video and post it and I'll call the doctor.👨‍⚕️
 
#20 ·
A piece of hose 2 or 3 feet log held up to your ear can help pin point the noise.
 
#21 ·
I have a california model as well but I don't have that hose beside the choke. That evap is pita when taking carbs out and back in for tuning.

I have read that one's not allowed to lube the choke lever and cable, as it won't stay in place like that. Probably some brake cleaner may help. But it's useful to lube the throttle cable.

Didn't you write that you have decel pops? You could turn out the pilot screw (probably you have to get rid off the metal cap), like half a turn each side. Show us the spark plugs, to see if it's running too lean. When it's jetted properly for sure the warm up works better. The best way would be to service the carbs and probably do a rejet. I understand that you're not into doing the carbs, I was like that too. After I got them cleaned and tuned by a shop I did it by myself, as I wasn't happy with the result. When you are patient, read a lot here in the forum and watch some yt videos (there's a lot of BS but good helpful stuff as well), it's not a big problem.

Did you put that rubber thingie back on?

good luck
flo
 
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