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motorcycle grease-monkeys: help!

post #1 of 10
2/12/10 at 2:28am
Thread Starter 
< i posted this on a motorcycle forum too, but i prefer head-fi and i know there are a lot of bike enthusiasts here so i though i'd post here as well>

Hey guys. so after waiting a month for my clutch to be replaced (won't ever go back to this mechanic) i go to pick my bike up, but it will not start. now when i purchased the bike last spring, i was aware that the choke did not work. this never did pose a huge problem aside from starting the bike on colder mornings but i have never been stranded because of it and i learned how to start it better. i had always wanted to fix that issue though when i had more money to spare.

now it will not start at all and he says it's most likely that the carb and choke needs to be cleaned. this does sound ok to me ; my question is that he quoted me that it'd take 3-4 hours of labor to clean it out. my brother tells me this is way too long for a carb clean. i don't think this mechanic is ripping me off, despite taking forever on the clutch, he seems like a good guy. but i just wanted to run this by you guys as i don't have any experience. thanks.
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post #2 of 10
2/12/10 at 2:36am
3 hours maybe to rip the entire carb apart clean every single part of it then put it back together.
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post #3 of 10
2/12/10 at 2:54am
I was having trouble with rough idle and throttle hesitancy. I decided to disassemble part of the carb to clean idle and run jets. It was a simple task of removing the air box and diaphragm followed by spraying carb cleaner through the several mixture circuits and using compressed air to blow out the residue. It took about 3 hours to clean all four of the carbs.
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post #4 of 10
2/12/10 at 3:04am
what bike, and what are the problems starting? Turns over and doesn't fire?
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post #5 of 10
2/12/10 at 3:34am
Thread Starter 
it is a '97 honda shadow vlx600. when i had issues starting the bike before i took it in, it would turn over and fart out. as i said before, i found a sweetspot where to keep the throttle which significantly reduced the amount of attempts to start it, though the idle would be reaaaally low. then i'd just slowly warm the engine up. but now it won't even turn over we tried until the battery started to die.
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post #6 of 10
2/12/10 at 3:57am
Why don't you try running some Seafoam through the carbs? My '85 Nighthawk had been sitting for a couple of years when I bought it and gas had been left in it.

It still ran at first, but the carbs weren't up to snuff. A little Seafoam and running it around worked wonders. It cruises without a hiccup now, and I was worried that the carbs would have to be rebuilt. It got a new set of tires (the others had cracked) and it's doing great!

Give the Seafoam a shot. It's cheap and you can DIY it. If that doesn't work, a cleaning/rebuild would be in order.
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post #7 of 10
2/12/10 at 4:09am
Yes, your carbs need to be cleaned. Why don't you just take the carbs out yourself (just detach them from the airbox and engine) and then take them to a mechanic or dealer who can do a really good rebuild. Taking just the carbs in will save you the hassle of bringing your whole bike there. Of course you can try spray-in carb cleaner first, but that wont work if they are really gummed up. You should take them to somebody who really has experience with this stuff, like a dealership or performance shop. A shade tree mechanic will probably just mess up your jetting.
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post #8 of 10
2/12/10 at 4:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post
Give the Seafoam a shot.
X2. I have a 5 gallon tank and I pour about 4 oz into a full tank in the spring and fall. With the lack of quality fuel these days, an aging bike, rust, etc... It does help.
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post #9 of 10
2/12/10 at 5:25am
I think 3 hours sounds reasonable.
If that time includes taking the carburetor out, clean it, then mount it back in that is.
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post #10 of 10
2/13/10 at 4:50am
perhaps it would be a good idea to fix what's broken (choke) before putting money on maintenance like carb cleaning.
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