[64749]

2005 Yamaha 1700 Roadstar was purchased used from dealership. It's previous owner had the carb re-jetted and fitted with Vance& Hines pipes, and a K & N air filter installed. The bike ran great, up until I decided to clean the air filter. Now the bike will run approx 30 seconds to a minute. It sputters and backfires and dies at idle. It also does this around 2000 to 3000 rpm while on a dyno. It sounds like the bike is starving for gas, but the carb has gas in the bowl. All options have been exhausted, all vent lines have been checked there are no obstuctions. The carb has been dipped in a vat of mild acid to clean the jets. Anyone out there with any suggestions or similar situations that have been resolved, please help! I have been without my bike for 3 months and the mechanic has developed a large knot from banging his head against the wall. By the way the mechanic came highly recommended from several sources. He's not some kid from the local dealership. Anyhow please help with some suggestions. Thanks.

 

[sachiwilson]

So, didja oil the filter after all that?

 

[The_AirHawk]

Not to be rude or anything, but sounds like your mechanic needs to go back to mechanic-school if all he can do is "dip the carb in a mild-acid".

There are so many little things that could cause this, I can't even begin.

But, I WOULD start with pulling the air-cleaner off and see if it runs correctly without it, "just in case" I munged it up cleaning it improperly and somehow caused that cheap-ass K&N cotton bandage-material to swell-up and disallow air-passage. ('Cuz they are STUCK ON BAND-AID)

Next, I'd check over Every. Single. Thing. That. I. Laid. A. Single. Finger. Upon. And compare the settings to baselines outlined in the Motorcycle Shop Manual.

Next, I'd look-over the entire fuel system, paying close-attention to the fuel-petschlong, any in-tank filter-screens, inline fuel-filters, fuel-hoses, those stupid-ass filters they have a tendency to put in carb fuel-inlet pipes that clog without warning even though the tank is spotless inside, and the fuel-pump/pump-relay (if so equipped).

If none of that worked, I'd probably then remove the handlebars and attach a new motorcycle to them; preferrably a stock, unmolested one.

Or not. As I'm not a Motorcycle Mechanic, nor do I play one on TV.

 

[seruzawa]

Not to be rude or anything, but sounds like your mechanic needs to go back to mechanic-school if all he can do is "dip the carb in a mild-acid".

There are so many little things that could cause this, I can't even begin.

But, I WOULD start with pulling the air-cleaner off and see if it runs correctly without it, "just in case" I munged it up cleaning it improperly and somehow caused that cheap-ass K&N cotton bandage-material to swell-up and disallow air-passage. ('Cuz they are STUCK ON BAND-AID)

Next, I'd check over Every. Single. Thing. That. I. Laid. A. Single. Finger. Upon. And compare the settings to baselines outlined in the Motorcycle Shop Manual.

Next, I'd look-over the entire fuel system, paying close-attention to the fuel-petschlong, any in-tank filter-screens, inline fuel-filters, fuel-hoses, those stupid-ass filters they have a tendency to put in carb fuel-inlet pipes that clog without warning even though the tank is spotless inside, and the fuel-pump/pump-relay (if so equipped).

If none of that worked, I'd probably then remove the handlebars and attach a new motorcycle to them; preferrably a stock, unmolested one.

Or not. As I'm not a Motorcycle Mechanic, nor do I play one on TV.

The carb was dipped in a vat of mild acid? WTF???!!!

 

[longride]

The carb was dipped in a vat of mild acid? WTF???!!!

With solutions like that, no wonder it runs like shyt! Get yourself a real mechanic!

 

[The_AirHawk]

With solutions like that, no wonder it runs like shyt! Get yourself a real mechanic!

'Cuz if you're NOT part of the Solution - then you're part of the Precipitate.........

 

[64749]

You know when I wrote in I was looking and hoping for sincere helpful suggestions. But all I got was a bunch of smart a$$ replies. This site is a joke, what a waste of time.

 

[mscuddy]

Letsee, the bike was running fine until you cleaned the air filter. Sounds like a major air leak. Did you clean it with the K&N kit that has the chemicals & oil & instructions and all that stuff? Also, you might want to check any PCV or other smog control device that hooks up to the filter housing. As for the smart a$$ remarks, all I saw were posts trying to help you out, 'specially Airhawk's. And if you want sincerity try St. Alfonso's Pancake Breakfast.

 

[The_AirHawk]

You know when I wrote in I was looking and hoping for sincere helpful suggestions. But all I got was a bunch of smart a$$ replies. This site is a joke, what a waste of time.

There's gratitude for ya!

You asked for help - I told you what I would do, and in what order.

You claim the bike ran until you/your mechanic touched it - ergo YOU are the apparent problem with the bike! (whether inadvertent or not - the laws of probability point right at you)

What did you expect us to say? "Yeah man, sounds like the guy you bought the bike from really screwed you - you should go thump his ass and get him to refund your money or pay to have the bike fixed" Is that it?

This is not a professional motorcycle-repair site.

I've got news for you too, dude - LIFE is a Joke! You can laugh at your own misfortunes, or somebody-else will. Either way, God's gettin' a huge chuckle out of us all, you can bet.

 

[sarnali2]

The best thing you could do is put it back stock, that way you have a baseline to refer to. Anytime a bike is "upgraded" you throw in a whole new set of variables. With the stock set up you can methodicaly go through each set point and be sure it's correct.

Your problem is the same as the sparkplug guys was. It ran fine till you touched it, ergo whatever you touched is causing the problem.

As to the site being a joke, we're just a bunch of riders who like to BS on here, we're not the cause of, nor are we responsible for fixing your problems. If one of us through or years of experiance can come up with a fix for you or anyone else that's grand, if not well at least we tried.

A smart ass response would have been along the lines of "you broke it, you fix it" or "If you can't fix it you can't ride it" I hope that clarifies matters for you, please come back soon.

 

[longride]

You know when I wrote in I was looking and hoping for sincere helpful suggestions. But all I got was a bunch of smart a$$ replies. This site is a joke, what a waste of time.

So you joined here so you could possibly get a free fix for your bike and it didn't turn out that way so you get pi$$ed at us? People here gave you suggestions. Did you take any of them? My suggestion was the best. I think the guy that calls himself a mechanic sucks. Get someone that knows what he is looking at to look at your bike, get it? You don't have a clue, so you need someone that does have one. FIND A REAL MECHANIC!!!! I wrote it big so you could see it real good this time.

 

[longride]

I have a question for all here. Is it me, or is this the first time you ever heard of anyone f&cking up their bike by cleaning the air filter?

 

[Kenneth_Moore]

You know when I wrote in I was looking and hoping for sincere helpful suggestions. But all I got was a bunch of smart a$$ replies. This site is a joke, what a waste of time.

Smother the motorcycle in Kramp Easy-Lube. Drain all fluids, disconnect and remove the battery, and submerge the motorcycle in warm salt water for 18-24 hours. Remove the motorcycle from the salt water and dry carefully, using pressurized air where needed. Discard the motorcycle.

 

[The_AirHawk]

Although I've heard of some mighty strange ways of breaking something - this here is the first time for that one.

 

[seruzawa]

I have a question for all here. Is it me, or is this the first time you ever heard of anyone f&cking up their bike by cleaning the air filter?

Well, I made the big mistake back in the 80's of putting a pod filter on my wife's CB125. Never could get it to run right. So I imagine that if his filter was reassembled incorrectly it could screw things up.

But soaking the carburetor in an acid solution has probably ruined it permanently. This is like the first time I've ever heard of a "mechanic" doing something like that. I've had mechanics screw my cars up a few times over the years. The motorcycles I screw up myself.

Plenty of idiots put out signs saying "Motorcycle Mechanic" who don't their @sses from a hole in the ground.

 

[sarnali2]

I have a question for all here. Is it me, or is this the first time you ever heard of anyone f&cking up their bike by cleaning the air filter?

Well I have to admit that's a first for me. Some bikes like Triumph Trophys are a little more difficult than others but as a general rule, no changing an air filter isn't real high on the skill set curve.