NEED SOME HELP WITH A MISS

[3fan4life]

I just picked up another Interstate.

It's an '01 with only 11k miles, the previous owner told me that he has not ridden it in over a year.

Obviously it hasn't been ridden much at all.

It has an obvious miss that gets a little better after it has ran awhile but definitely doesn't go away.

It will die at a red light if I don't keep the rpm's up but restarts easily.

The previous owner stated that he'd been running it in his garage and he had B-12 in the gas.

My initial plan was to run the gas in the tank out and then put in fresh gas with some seafoam.

Now, I'm thinking about draining tha gas instead of running it out.


I'm looking for suggestions about other areas to look at and to see what the general consensus is about what to do for this issue.


Thanks in Advance.

 

[Challenger]

I would set the enriching valve (choke) to run at 1500 RPM. Take a ride around the block, If it runs perfectly and has quick throttle response, I would suspect the slow jets are gummed up. Good luck with your reconnoitering.

[roadmap]

my thoughts are with a carb rebuild. then a electric fuel valve  fuel filter with a dan shut off i wouldn't worry about a petcock rebuild.
i went through the carbs myself, mam i pulled my hair out trying to figure it out. no matter were talking a simple rebuild compared to a possible vapor lock and then having a complete engine go to sh------t.
if it has been sitting that long pour out that old gas it might not hurt a thing but i try to treat my baby like i was giving her a steak dinner everyday.
members have offered help.

it is late a cold misty rain starting to fall. took a short cut home i like the long rides through the country side. pulled a to a stop sign hu????? reb it up a little thing thing still missing and not idling right. oh crap this thing died. won't start again. ok just call oh darn i forgot no cell service. miles from town no traffic this late this story happened to me. no shortcuts on repairs. canadian rockies for me coming back from alaska wham yolk goes our thought about changing before the trip had 110000 miles on her now you get the picture.  sorry just got bored at 3:00 am light misty rain out decide to stay home. lol
just rebuild the carbs simple repair or one off the list

[salty1]

I would set the enriching valve (choke) to run at 1500 RPM. Take a ride around the block, If it runs perfectly and has quick throttle response, I would suspect the slow jets are gummed up. Good luck with your reconnoitering.

  might also install new plugs . I just got an Interstate with 7049 miles.    It didn't run very well either at first , however the more I ran it the better it's performance. Good luck!

[Patrick]

I'd agree with getting rid of the old fuel and starting with new [non-ethanol if available] along with a heavy dose of cleaner [I like Sea-foam].

[Ricky-D]

I've always considered a "skip" and/or a "miss" as being two completely different symptoms.

Always felt a "skip" is most likely a fuel issue while a "miss" more to being ignition related.

So, I would also add to what Patrick says by suggesting replacing the spark plugs since they

are a relatively inexpensive item and by doing so will remove that equation from the mix.

***

[3fan4life]

Update:

Drained the old fuel and filled her up with new gas and 1/2 can of Seafoam.

Ran that out on the BRP yesterday.

Topped back off  and added the other 1/2 can of Seafoam.

Running better but not great.

Changed the plugs tonight, again a slight improvement but not there yet.

Looking at the plugs (will post pics tomorrow night) I'm pretty sure that the #4 cylinder is the most affected one.


My question is:

Has anyone here ever removed the float bowls and removed and cleaned the jets without removing the carbs from the bike ?

It looks do able but iffy.

I'm open to suggestions about the best way to tackle this, it does look like the jets are the problem.

[indybobm]

If Seafoam helped, I would try some Chemtool B12. Walmart has it for less than $4 a can. 1/2 half can to a full tank. Ride the entire tank out if possible. Keep the revs low and try to cycle between 1500 and 3000 rpms.

[Attic Rat]

If it engine runs fine above 3,000 rpm but not below then the slow jets are clogged. It would be really rare to see a main jet clogged. Was there any rust in the tank ? Try the berrymans it will work better than the sea foam.

[Ricky-D]

Continue the gas treatment program.

Jets are changeable without removing the carburetors, the difficulty is getting

the float bowl screws out. They are a special soft screw. Removing the intake

risers make the job easier.

Any crud found will not be rust, although it is red. It is organic and composed

of petroleum resistant algae and fungus. Gas treatment is the way to go with this.

***

[3fan4life]

UPDATE:

I cleaned the jets and put everything back together.

The bike still had issues.


Tore into the carbs last weekend and did a thorough cleaning of everything and replaced the old jets with new ones and replaced the fuel screen.

I followed the videos that someone suggested and found them to be very helpful. I didn't remove the set screws as suggested in the videos. I didn't want to cut into the carbs to make a slot in the screws. 

I got in a few miles yesterday and she runs great. 

There is rust in the tank, I'm hoping that the new screen will prevent any loose rust from getting to the carbs themselves.

I'm using fuel treatment pretty hard right now and plan on keeping additives in the tank for the next thousand miles or so.
 
The carbs were pretty gummed up so I figure that the continued use of cleaning additives is a good idea.

I'm also hoping that it will help with the rust that was in the tank.

If anyone knows of an additive that will specifically target the rust, I'm ALL EARS.

[Attic Rat]

That rust will be right back in those carbs again. It never fails. You need to remove the tank and clean it really well and then coat it.

[Ricky-D]

Calling it rust is a misnomer.

It may look like rust but it's not.

It is gasoline tolerant algae and fungus

that grows in the ethanol+water that is

mixed in your ethanol enriched gasoline.

That's what is crudding up the carburetors

and depositing in the tank.

***

[Paxton]

"You need to remove the tank and clean it really well and then coat it."
 ============================================
+1

[signart]

Those "set" screws you didn't remove might have that red silty stuff on them and so will the ends of the needles, if it is in your tank. You need to remove those and your tank and clean them. I think you can clean the tank without coating, I too don't think it is rust. That stuff likes to congregate around the petcock opening, and elsewhere in the bottom of the tank. All the wallet cleaner in the world will not remove it, it will not dissolve it or move the red stuff that has attached itself to the parts.

[Ricky-D]

The best cleaner for that "crud" is:

DRAINO  or OVEN CLEANER

It's organic, the crud is!

Need to attack it with an organic cleaner.

***

[Jess from VA]

Is it too late for this to help?