DOES EVERYONE HAS CARB PROBLEMS?

[BIG--T]

I've read a lot of post about all kinds of carb problems. If I maintain them with good gas and carb cleaners and stabil/seafoam in the winter, can I expect problems? Seems like I hear about floats, puddles of gas, sync carbs, etc. Is this the norm or are there people that never had problems with carbs? I do know you can't let one set up too long. Also a lot of Hydrolocking- whatever that is? but it sounds pretty bad. Guess I need to learn more about it. I guess I'm getting paranoid . I also have a VTX 1800 that's never given me any trouble other than the mods and tweaking that I brought on myself. Probably the same with the Valk, so I'm leaving her alone! Besides a lot harder to work on than a twin. But they are both great bikes...I mean they are Hondas, right?!

[Super Santa]

I have ZERO problems.  I bought my 2000 Interstate 4 years ago with 25,000 miles on it.  I now have over 100,000 miles on it.

I live in Texas, ride whenever it is reasonable.  I say, just ride it.  Keep that gas flowing through often enough to keep it fresh.

I have never changed plugs or synced my carbs.  Consistently get over 38 mpg.

Get out and RIDE!

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I own ( 3 ) Valkyrie's and everyone of them run outstanding     I think some if not most of the carb problem is folk's messing with them in the first place.

[SteveL]

I've read a lot of post about all kinds of carb problems. If I maintain them with good gas and carb cleaners and stabil/seafoam in the winter, can I expect problems? Seems like I hear about floats, puddles of gas, sync carbs, etc. Is this the norm or are there people that never had problems with carbs? I do know you can't let one set up too long. I guess I'm getting paranoid

I live in New England, so have to store the bike every winter. I've had my 98 standard since new, and it now has 93K. I have never had a carb problem.

Bike just runs.

[Trynt]

60,000 miles, 6 years, no carb problems.

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I've got a 97 I bought in 2004 with 5500 miles on it. It's got 83,000 now and I live in Indiana so there are parts of the year when I can't ride. I thought I had carb problems just a week or two ago but it turned out to be bad vacuum caps.

That's the closest I've come to having carb problems. Carbs have never been synchronized, and never dissembled or removed. They've been cleaned with "sea foam" every spring and anytime she runs a little rough but no mechanical work on them at all. I also drain the float bowls a couple times a year to get rid of any moisture  or gunk that might get in there.

My son has a 2000, never any carb problems with it either.

[Michael K (Az.)]

Put 115,00 miles so far no problems. Synched them once but it was mostly something to do. Twist wick go in a forward direction. Can't beat it wit a stick!!

[Valkahuna]

I own ( 3 ) Valkyrie's and everyone of them run outstanding     I think some if not most of the carb problem is folk's messing with them in the first place.

+1  You are so right, Joe!

IMHO, there is entirely too much un-needed maintenance going on. Use common sense. Do the drive-line maintenance regularly, and ride it! It's a Honda. Lube, Oil, Filter, Tires.

[BIG--T]

Thanks guys, I feel a lot better now! I was actually thinking about selling it because of that. I have tried to work on carbs in the past( on cars) and never could get them right!

[9Ball]

and I was thinking of selling my house because I've heard that the roof could leak.....

[Slyk Willy]

Over 70K on my I/S with no carb issues. "course I have FUZZY to sync them for me every 2-3 years. I avoid crappy gas and use SeaFoam in the off season. 

[Big IV]

every carb problem I've ever had on a bike or car has been a result of it sitting still too long. Keep riding and your carb should be fine. Things happen, but overall the Valk carbs are tough.

[Tundra]

I own ( 3 ) Valkyrie's and everyone of them run outstanding     I think some if not most of the carb problem is folk's messing with them in the first place.

+1 I agree...I HAVE had problems that were self-inflicted by myself playing with the airbox, carbs and exhaust. It's all good now and was a learning experience. I remember my old friend Tom Sealskiner used to say "Would you leave that bike alone and ride it" I did have clogged low jets. Fixed that and many happy miles

[Hook#3287]

Clogged jets seem to be the main problem, caused by the crappy gas.  If they left the gas alone there would be few carb issues.  My only carb problem was the clogged 35 slow jets and being stuborn, I "Fixed" everything else until I finally changed them and solved it.  I also was one of those frugal idiots that thought I could just clean them, making the job twice as long.  Honda has done excellent engineering with this carb bank and to get six carbs to act together is pretty impressive.  If you use a fuel additive on a regular basis, most likely, you'll be fine.

[BIG--T]

and I was thinking of selling my house because I've heard that the roof could leak.....

 I would wait til the housing market is up!!   

[9Ball]

likewise, the used bike prices are falling...

[MP]

No.  Just be sure to get fuel stabilizer in the fuel and carbs if laying up for a while.  Seems like the "new" gas is much worse for going bad.

I also used to subscribe to the "lay it up and leave it alone all winter" idea.  I now run the bikes some in the winter, every month or so.  Seems to help.  I know about the moisture in the exhaust problem, but it seems to help with the bad fuel.

MP

[BIG--T]

Clogged jets seem to be the main problem, caused by the crappy gas.  If they left the gas alone there would be few carb issues.  My only carb problem was the clogged 35 slow jets and being stuborn, I "Fixed" everything else until I finally changed them and solved it.  I also was one of those frugal idiots that thought I could just clean them, making the job twice as long.  Honda has done excellent engineering with this carb bank and to get six carbs to act together is pretty impressive.  If you use a fuel additive on a regular basis, most likely, you'll be fine.

Hooker, is running an additive all the time- even in the summer a good thing? I was thinking maybe Techron a couple of times in the summer and of course keeping Stabil or Seafoam in it in the winter months.

[BIG--T]

I own ( 3 ) Valkyrie's and everyone of them run outstanding     I think some if not most of the carb problem is folk's messing with them in the first place.

+1 I agree...I HAVE had problems that were self-inflicted by myself playing with the airbox, carbs and exhaust. It's all good now and was a learning experience. I remember my old friend Tom Sealskiner used to say "Would you leave that bike alone and ride it" I did have clogged low jets. Fixed that and many happy miles

Tundra I added to my post probably close to when you posted. Yes, I think we bring a lot on ourselves!

[BIG--T]

likewise, the used bike prices are falling...

But not on those American bikes built in 1903- they are going up!!

[BIG--T]

No.  Just be sure to get fuel stabilizer in the fuel and carbs if laying up for a while.  Seems like the "new" gas is much worse for going bad.

I also used to subscribe to the "lay it up and leave it alone all winter" idea.  I now run the bikes some in the winter, every month or so.  Seems to help.  I know about the moisture in the exhaust problem, but it seems to help with the bad fuel.

MP

It is getting harder to find gas without ethenol around here. I was working on a mower yesterday and drained the gas getting most of it on my hands and for the first time I noticed how cold it was- just like alcohol. It's been so long now but seems like real gas used to feel hot! Especially when I spilled some on my pants, it lit me and my boys up!

[rodeo1]

i have been working on valks and gold wings since the get go, 5 gold wings over the years, and now my second valk. i have said it many times, that from a mechanics perspective this gold wing engine is absolutley bulletproof.

but

that bulletproofness comes with a cost. you must do basic maintainance, oil changes, spline lubes, etc. i have never done a valve adjustment, never changed fork oil, greased head bearings, or (and this is a big one) tried to modify one.

honda hired the best engineers and designers available to design their bikes. they are, and have always been the best out there. i do not pretend to know more than them, and i feel these bikes cost too much not to take care of them exactly the way they say to.

as far as carbs go, well six carbs is just plain crazy -- but ? they work, and work well, why is beyond me, they should need constant syncing, but don't - hmm ? problems with them is almost always due to someone letting one sit with gas in it for a year or more. the gas turns to crap and clogs the slow jets. the second valk i bought sat for 4 years with a full tank of gas. all the gas in the carbs evaporated leaving the jets a nasty mess. i tried everything i could, had the carbs out three times boiling jets. i finally gave up and replaced all the slow jets with new ones and replaced one carb diaphram, and it runs like new now.

i have covered needles and seats here before, but you cannot hydrolock an engine unless one or more of your needles and seats are leaking. in older carburated engines, fuel pumps threw 6 to 10 lbs of fuel pressure at the carb all the time, the needle and seat kept the fuel bowl full, with no gas leaking into the manifold. i keep my carbs clean by adding a couple oz. of marvel mystery oil every 8 to 10 tankfulls of gas. there are a lot of good fuel system cleaners out there, i just like MMO.

pingle valves. yeah, they are a good idea, i have never had one on a valkyrie or a wing, but had them on every other bike i owned, but you still have a bowl full of fuel there, below that pingle, so its a crap shoot, i don't know the foolproof fix there.

anyway, bottom line guys. just take basic care of your valk and you will see 200,000 miles and sell it to someone who will put another 100 on it, maintain it, but its not nessesary to over maintain it. run good synthetic oil to quiet down the tranny, but understand that delo 400, or any 10W40 including wal marts store brand will make it live 200,000 if you are changing it every 3,000 miles.

just my opinion
rodeo

[R J]

I've read a lot of post about all kinds of carb problems. If I maintain them with good gas and carb cleaners and stabil/seafoam in the winter, can I expect problems? Seems like I hear about floats, puddles of gas, sync carbs, etc. Is this the norm or are there people that never had problems with carbs? I do know you can't let one set up too long. Also a lot of Hydrolocking- whatever that is? but it sounds pretty bad. Guess I need to learn more about it. I guess I'm getting paranoid . I also have a VTX 1800 that's never given me any trouble other than the mods and tweaking that I brought on myself. Probably the same with the Valk, so I'm leaving her alone! Besides a lot harder to work on than a twin. But they are both great bikes...I mean they are Honda's, right?!

242K + miles and ZERO carb problems.

If people would leave stuff alone they would not have 1/2 their problems.

Preventive maintenance is good, but damn, it can be carried to extremes.

I put a full can of seafoam in when I'm ready to park the bike for the winter.

Come spring, I run that tank out and about 1/2 way through the riding season I run another full can of SeaFoam through it and I've had zippo problems.  I also run 10% ethanol with NO problems.   I suspect some of the problems people have with ethanol, is the distribution station does not add it correctly.

[BradValk48237]

+10000 on preventative Maint...

I have always had Honda Road bikes for almost 30 years...

As long as you keep them maintained, clean, amd used (not sitting them for years) you will ahve no problems. I live in Michigan and At the end of the season would just fill the tank, add some kind of stabilizer and maybe start it up a couple of times and keep the battery charged.... In the spring change the oil, rear end oil and check the tires and they were always ready to go....

B

[BIG--T]

i have been working on valks and gold wings since the get go, 5 gold wings over the years, and now my second valk. i have said it many times, that from a mechanics perspective this gold wing engine is absolutley bulletproof.

but

that bulletproofness comes with a cost. you must do basic maintainance, oil changes, spline lubes, etc. i have never done a valve adjustment, never changed fork oil, greased head bearings, or (and this is a big one) tried to modify one.

honda hired the best engineers and designers available to design their bikes. they are, and have always been the best out there. i do not pretend to know more than them, and i feel these bikes cost too much not to take care of them exactly the way they say to.

as far as carbs go, well six carbs is just plain crazy -- but ? they work, and work well, why is beyond me, they should need constant syncing, but don't - hmm ? problems with them is almost always due to someone letting one sit with gas in it for a year or more. the gas turns to crap and clogs the slow jets. the second valk i bought sat for 4 years with a full tank of gas. all the gas in the carbs evaporated leaving the jets a nasty mess. i tried everything i could, had the carbs out three times boiling jets. i finally gave up and replaced all the slow jets with new ones and replaced one carb diaphram, and it runs like new now.

i have covered needles and seats here before, but you cannot hydrolock an engine unless one or more of your needles and seats are leaking. in older carburated engines, fuel pumps threw 6 to 10 lbs of fuel pressure at the carb all the time, the needle and seat kept the fuel bowl full, with no gas leaking into the manifold. i keep my carbs clean by adding a couple oz. of marvel mystery oil every 8 to 10 tankfulls of gas. there are a lot of good fuel system cleaners out there, i just like MMO.

pingle valves. yeah, they are a good idea, i have never had one on a valkyrie or a wing, but had them on every other bike i owned, but you still have a bowl full of fuel there, below that pingle, so its a crap shoot, i don't know the foolproof fix there.

anyway, bottom line guys. just take basic care of your valk and you will see 200,000 miles and sell it to someone who will put another 100 on it, maintain it, but its not nessesary to over maintain it. run good synthetic oil to quiet down the tranny, but understand that delo 400, or any 10W40 including wal marts store brand will make it live 200,000 if you are changing it every 3,000 miles.

just my opinion
rodeo

Thanks Rodeo that's very encouraging. Yes maintainence is the key. I run the Mobil 10/40 T4 oil and I know a lot of people who swear by MMO.
Thanks

[Sludge]

I think some if not most of the carb problem is folk's messing with them in the first place.

My thoughts exactly!

[Old Geezer Richard]

 Hey XGUY , I'm just now having a high RPM glich on my old Fat Lady when I get up around the 4500 - 5000 RPM's and I'm leaning towards maybe a possible pin hole leak in one of the diaphrams  ...  but before that my old girl has ran like a top all the 7 yrs I've had her  ...  I have always used Amsoil 20 - 50 Syn. oil with the Amsoil gear oil in the differential no problems and every payday which is once a month , I run some 109 oct. unleaded VP racing fuel about two gal. to a full tank and she really perks up    ....  now with this crappy ethanol gas and keep in mind that different parts of the country their gas maybe alittle different because of how its blended for their particular area for emissions  ...  I like using Techron fuel cleaner about twice a year , no sea foam unless its sitting up , had good luck with Berryman B-12 fuel cleaner in my pressure washer & mowers but here lately I have been using HEET in a yellow container its a gas dryer they use up north to help clear out the moisture in the gas... it has Naptha in it and it works in both of El Caminos and the Valk .... I can feel a difference in the get up and go and quicker starting .... XGUY JUST ride your bike , like Early Bird said keep fresh gas going thru it and don't worry , just go ... Thanks the Geezer

[fudgie]

98 Tourer with 63k. No problems. I run carb cleaner in it every month. Have a Pingel and inline filter that I change every year. Sync them every few years. Dont get started on ethonal!  I love it and use it every time I cross the Mississip.

[Steve K (IA)]

242K + miles and ZERO carb problems.

If people would leave stuff alone they would not have 1/2 their problems.

Preventive maintenance is good, but damn, it can be carried to extremes.

I put a full can of seafoam in when I'm ready to park the bike for the winter.

Come spring, I run that tank out and about 1/2 way through the riding season I run another full can of SeaFoam through it and I've had zippo problems.  I also run 10% ethanol with NO problems.   I suspect some of the problems people have with ethanol, is the distribution station does not add it correctly.

Same here, but I use a 1/2 can of SeaFoam.  '00 I/S & '97 Std. both around 50,000 miles.  And  on the ethanol.  I think we just have better corn squeezin's here in the Tall Corn State. 

[Pete]

I bought 2 low mileage Valks (97 Std and 99 IS).

Both had been sitting more that riding and so carbs and jets were in desperate need of cleaning.
You should expect that on any bike that sits lots.

I think that if you check back you will see that the bikes that sit end up having carb issues.

Those that are ridden and maintained do just fine.

[sugerbear]

mine has set for about 4 months no stabil, no techron, nothin but ethenol gas.

started like new the other day. buy good gas from a high volume station. been working for about 8 yrs
now.

[Hook#3287]

With 108k, my lady never sat long in season, off season I always drain the carbs.  My mid range sputter started in the middle of the summer in 08.  I've always used name brand 93+ gas.  Never touched the carbs.  Still got the dreaded jet clog.  Now I use a gas additive about every 3rd or 4th tank, but with 38's, I'm hoping clog is history.

[ArmyValker]

I started mine for the first time the other day in over 6 months (I know, I've got a good excuse though) and it's been setting with gas in the tank, no stabil, no nothing. It runs just fine. I've had a lot fewer troubles with the Valk carbs than my older bikes.

[Fudd]

Hey Xguy, I certainly didn't mean to frighten you about your bike or anything.  I love my Valkyrie, of all the machines I've owned, this is my favorite.  I'm the dude who woke up to a fuel leak this week.  It was just a small setback, it didn't even stop me from a benefit dice run today.
I see all these people with all these millions of miles who never had a problem and I think that it's wonderful, I wish them another million miles trouble free.

The reality is my problem was not self-inflicted, it was not a result of "tinkering".  As a matter of fact I'd never even seen under the hood before.  I don't try to fix things that ain't broke.  Except, every now and then, I'll smear some grease in appropriate places.

It's wonderful to have a website full of knowledgeable people that will take time to help you.  I feel I got some great feedback on my issue.

Bottom line...If something happened to this one, I'd get another just like it.

[9Ball]

likewise, the used bike prices are falling...

But not on those American bikes built in 1903- they are going up!!

that's because they are "investments".....

[Stude]

 I don't have no stinkey carb problems 
My 99 I/S has 107,000.0 no problems
The 00 I/S has 6,400.0 no problems... knock on wood 

Like the old saying goes "USE IT OR LOOSE IT"

[bigfish_Oh]

I bought 2 low mileage Valks (97 Std and 99 IS).

Both had been sitting more that riding and so carbs and jets were in desperate need of cleaning.
You should expect that on any bike that sits lots.

I think that if you check back you will see that the bikes that sit end up having carb issues.

Those that are ridden and maintained do just fine.

Some you can also agree, If you have had older cars, tractors and lawnmowers, motorhomes, all at the same time I've rebuilt as many as 18 carbs in one year. do I need to mention hedge trimmers, weed eaters and chain saws that see little action? My stihl has been good for 26 years and can sit 5 years at time and still run.

[BIG--T]

likewise, the used bike prices are falling...

But not on those American bikes built in 1903- they are going up!!

that's because they are "investments".....

I don't kow about "investments" because they do depreciate, just not as fast.

[BIG--T]

I've read a lot of post about all kinds of carb problems. If I maintain them with good gas and carb cleaners and stabil/seafoam in the winter, can I expect problems? Seems like I hear about floats, puddles of gas, sync carbs, etc. Is this the norm or are there people that never had problems with carbs? I do know you can't let one set up too long. Also a lot of Hydrolocking- whatever that is? but it sounds pretty bad. Guess I need to learn more about it. I guess I'm getting paranoid . I also have a VTX 1800 that's never given me any trouble other than the mods and tweaking that I brought on myself. Probably the same with the Valk, so I'm leaving her alone! Besides a lot harder to work on than a twin. But they are both great bikes...I mean they are Honda's, right?!

242K + miles and ZERO carb problems.

If people would leave stuff alone they would not have 1/2 their problems.

Preventive maintenance is good, but damn, it can be carried to extremes.

I put a full can of seafoam in when I'm ready to park the bike for the winter.

Come spring, I run that tank out and about 1/2 way through the riding season I run another full can of SeaFoam through it and I've had zippo problems.  I also run 10% ethanol with NO problems.   I suspect some of the problems people have with ethanol, is the distribution station does not add it correctly.1

Thanks RJ and congrats on the almost 1/4  of a million miles! That is very encouraging!

[highcountry]

Most carb "problems" are probably caused by vacuum leaks.  Syncing carbs is just a maintenance procedure; takes about 45 minutes max and most of that time is setup and buttoning up afterward.