I just got my f2 like 2 months ago and it hasn't ran very well since I got it. When I get on the throttle pretty hard it sputters pretty bad and I lose a lot of power. Also it is running really rich I think judging by the smell of the exhaust. I have talked to a few people and they are saying it could be dirty carbs and one even told me that since I have 23000 miles on the bike I may need the jets aligned. Any insight? If I do need to clean the carbs or align the jets where can I get some info on how to do it?

 

I've never heard of having the jets aligned. I would have someone clean everything out as the jets and internal parts get crud build up on them. I am trying to put off the rebuild on mine as long as possible because of the cost. It runs a bit rough, although it revs easily to 12k, just twitchy on the low end. So today I pulled the filter box and started spraying the jets and carbs with cleaner and let the stuff soak. I already notice a slightly smoother ride and the sputtering at very slight throttle is almost gone. Still there a little and I'm not sure if the only recourseleft is a complete rebuild, or if I should spray the carbs again after a week or so of riding.

Anyway, I would run carb cleaner through the tank and then pull the tank and airbox and clean everything good.

 

I am pretty new to working on bikes. How do you get to the carbs to clean them? Where is the filter box?

 

The filter box is under the gas tank and the carbs under that.
Mine ran like **** when I got it because it had been sitting for so long. Took the carbs off and soaked them, replaced the air filter, oil and coolant all at the same time. Now it runs great.

 

Soaked them in what?

 

When I took off the tank and the airbox, I just sprayed the carbs with carb cleaner and let it sit for a few minutes and put it all back together. Now it doesn't want to start at all. Just wondering if I may need to let it sit for longer or if I may have done something wrong. One thing that I did notice after I had sprayed the carbs is that it said on the can to have the engine idleing and spray them, but I didn't. I disconnected the tank and pulled off the airbox completely. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

A few minutes should be enough, I would guess you disconnected some hoses and reconnected them incorrectly, consult your manual and ensure you have correctly re-attached the hoses.
This may sound silly, but you have checked that the fuel tap is pointing down, right?

 

Make sure you have the vacuum line hooked up that lets fuel go from the tank to the carbs.

 

If they are really dirty, you'll want to ake them to a shop, have them completely dissassembled and the carb bodies and pulled needles and jets soaked 8-12 hours in a vat/carb cleaning solution. The mechanic should then use tag wire...like really thin bailing wire, and poke clean all the holes in the jets, nozzles, and slide needle.

Adjust float bowls..

And install a new carb kit with all new gaskets, o-rings, and fue piping.

That will run you about $250-$400

 

Ya, that's probably the problem with my bike. It sputters at low rpm's, but runs like a bat out of hell at high rpm's. I bought the bike last year and it was the same way. The previous owner didn't take very good care of it and let it sit for a while. I think the carbs are just gummed up since the ignition parts are all new.