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New to me bike, has issues


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Just bought my bike today. 2001 RSV with only 9K miles.

 

I cannot put the choke back in with out the bike dying. I have to rev the heck out of it to get it to take off in 1st. It tries to dies when the throttle is at less than a quarter.

 

I have looked around on here, and I think it is the fuel pump, but I wanted some opinions.

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I agree with Dan. Before taking things off and apart, try running a can or two of Seafoam through it. It is one of the additives that actually work! The cost is low and if it doesn't do the job, you can still clean the carbs but if the idle jets are not completely blocked, then the Seafoam should clean out the deposits.

 

Andy

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Don't pull the tank yet. Put some Sea Foam or Star Tron or B&G gas treatment ( my prefered cleaner) or Berryman's B12 and pour in the gas tank and mix well and then drive it around. It may take 2 to three tanks but it will clean it out. I brought an 08 back to life that had been sitting for 3 years without taking anything apart. I have used all of the above mentioned cleaners and they all seem to work B$G and Berryman' are my favorite.

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Yup!! I agree with everyone!! Pour a can of Seafoam in the tank, start it and run it for a while like you stole it and let it soak overnight. Try again the following day.

 

Worst case scenario you drain the tank and "Cream" it, and rebuild the carbs and reset them up. Fuel filter change is not a bad idea but do a search on the subject of relocating the filter, it's a real PITA to get to!

 

With waaaay less than 1000 miles per year, the poor bike is SCREAMING to be ridden!! These bikes ain't broken in until around 100,000 miles...

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Welcome to the forum. Best place for guidance and friendship on the web. Just to be clear, it is not the fuel pump. I have become quite the maven on the topic and if your pump doesn't work your bike doesn't run period.

I agree with all the above. Try the "gum out" products first before tearing into the inner bits.

Once it is back to running then watch out cause all the great ideas for making the RSV better will cost ya ( but worth it).

Don't get frustrated, there is plenty of help here.

I will be in Vegas for work about April 1 lets connect up for a spot of tea.

 

VentureFar...

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Ya don't have to ride her hard really. But the products mentioned are the first step for sure. It may very well be all that is needed.When I got mine it had only seen 7000 miles in the previous 20 years. I store it now with Seafoam, Stabil, and a touch of Marvel Mystery Oil.

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You can get full strength seafoam directly into the carbs, if you shut the petcock off and let it idle until she starves for fuel. Then take the hose off the petcock and add an extension to it that will reach into a can of seafoam. Turn the key on and the fuel pump will suck the seafoam directly into the carbs. Let it set for several hours to loosen everything up , hook the fuel hose back up to the petcock and start her up and let her idle for a while to get the seaom out of the carbs and the gas mixture back in. May be a little hard to start on pure seafoam, but it will start may run a little rough at first but will even out once the gas starts to reach the carbs.

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Also, after the seafoam treatment you may very well want to change the plugs. NGK seems to work well, and the Iridium ones are worth the money as they will last longer than the regular ones. Remember that these engines like higher RPM's. Don't be afraid to "blow the carbon out" on these engines. There is a rev limiter on the RSV so don't fear the red line...

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Don't pull the tank yet. Put some Sea Foam or Star Tron or B&G gas treatment ( my prefered cleaner) or Berryman's B12 and pour in the gas tank and mix well and then drive it around. It may take 2 to three tanks but it will clean it out. I brought an 08 back to life that had been sitting for 3 years without taking anything apart. I have used all of the above mentioned cleaners and they all seem to work B$G and Berryman' are my favorite.

 

2nd that , it's those small low idle jets that are blocked, a couple patient treatments. Drive in town at low speeds. Once you have completed that a few clean tanks of gas then change plugs, fuel filter and sync the carbs.

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Thanks for all the replies, you guys rock. And yes I am going to subscribe, but I hate to waste free days.

 

Put the stock pipes back on her this morning then went for a 45min ride. the bike was great at speed. I even pushed the choke back in. came back into the town, forgot that choke was in and it died. oops.

 

Also my fuel gauge does not work. it was full this morning and then all the bars just disappeared. No big deal seeing as I have never had a fuel gauge before, but I just wanted to make sure ya'll had all the info on my bike.

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Your idle jets are completely closed due to gunk - gonna need to pull them and soak in a cleaner to blow them out with compressed air. Your main jets are going to have some stuff in them too, so once you have the carbs out, do not neglect to do them all. Also possible that your diaphragms have pin holes at this age, but that is not yet a common problem with the 2nd gen bikes (and would not be related to idle problems).

 

Do some research here on old threads, particularly in the tech section for instructions on how to pull the carbs. While you are in there, make sure to set the floats properly - they are NEVER correct from the factory. I have a detailed set of instructions for that in the tech library.

 

And be very aware that those four carbs have THREE different main jet sizes, so do NOT mix them up. Pay attention to what carb each comes from and only do one carb at a time to be cautious.

 

Since you seem knowledgeable about mechanics, you need to spend a couple of days on hear just browsing lots of old threads in the tech section to learn about this bike. And go back several years. Many things are well documented, but some of us old guys just get tired of saying the same things over and over again, so the best info is the older info.

 

Welcome, and good luck,

Goose

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Darn it Goose!! everybody body else was getting my hopes up with less work needed to fix this issue. You did say I seem to be mechanical so i guess with that compliment, we can still be friends.

 

Here is a bike I did a few years back. Before, during and after. I like to think of myself as mechanical.

 

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/coffeyR6/Bobber%20Project/April120119.jpg

 

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/coffeyR6/Bobber%20Project/IMG_6575.jpg

 

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/coffeyR6/Bobber%20Project/IMG_7355.jpg

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Yup,..I would say you are Mechanical! Nice Job on the Bike and Welcome to the forum.

 

I am planning a Bobber Build starting soon as soon as I get my RSTD done. I have a Yamaha V-Star sitting in the back of the shop just waiting,..

 

Lots of good info here to help you out! Good luck with the new ride, Get the maintenance done and it will last you for Years!

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