Okay, I'm back after my honey moon and with full force I tore into the bike project. So I disassembled it somewhat (removed fairings, tank, seat, lights and such) and did some minor repairs regarding lighting, replaced some rubber dampeners around the tank and other small stuff, nothing major. Today I felt like going for a ride (it's winter in Sweden so it had to be in the community garage) so I put the tank back, fastened the headlight and upper fairing, got the seat back on and turned it on. Dead. So I fully choked the bastard and she started with around 1 500 rpm. No matter how I turned the idling screw nothing happened and as soon as I cut back on the choke she died. Didn't matter that she was warm. It is like she's running super lean and I have to flood her to get her attention. Before I did my magic stuff she started immediately with choke and after half a minute the engine revved so I could cut back on the choke and rely on idling.

Somewhere I must have done something wrong but I really can't find the problem. Oh, before she always smelled heavily from gasoline when starting her up but now the smell is gone. One thing I did though was using a rubbery tape to repair a minor leak where the hose connects from the carbs to the petcock. Could that be the problem, that I wound it too hard? Don't think I squeezed the cable...

Any suggestion what the problem could be would be greatly appreciated.

 

I'm guessing the smell of gasoline has gone because you repaired the fuel leak in the hose from the petcock. That doesn't seem like it would cause a problem to me but you could always remove the tape and try to start the bike and see if was having some effect on something.

It's always easier to diagnose these situations if you give some more information. Does the engine crank over fine? When you used full choke and got it started up did it start easily or need a lot of cranking?

Since you removed the tank I would focus on that first. Check all the hose connections and make sure fuel is flowing when the fuel valve is turned to the ON position. Remember there is a vacuum hose from the first cylinder to the petcock that needs to be connected for the petcock to work.

 

As Optimus pointed out, check all your vacuum lines. You may have switched the the lines. I did that a couple of times when I first got my bike. The tape should not be the culprit. The most important vacuum line is the line coming from cylinder #1 to the petcock. Check that first.

 

Thanks guys. Will check this during this week. Maybe I did connect the tank in a new and non-improved way...

 

Okay, so I finally got around to check the problem. First I did a couple of test starts. It started without a problem when fully choked and stayed around 1700-1900 rpm no matter how much I turned the idle screw. As soon as I started to let the choke back it died. I checked the fuel lines again and discovered that the hose that I tried to repair was a mess, leaking fluid and having partially melted the supposedly fuel resistant tape that I used to repair it. That may have solved the issue but without a fuel hose I couldn't really verify that.

Thing is, the fuel hose clearly reads "10 mm" printed on it, but when I ordered a replacement part from PowerSports a while ago I got a part with 8 mm sent to me although I used the OEM part number specified in the parts list (16955-MV9-000). Weird. The fuel hose should be 10 mm, right? Just to clarify, I'm talking about the part connected to the petcock.

Concerning the other lines, they seem to be fine and connected as they should be. No nicks or nothing that I have spotted. I will either order an OEM replacement part which I assume would be saying 3/8 in the description or buy some standard and cut it down to the proper length myself.

And while I am at it I might aswell ask about the fuel filters. Where am I supposed to place them? On the 10 mm petcock hose or somewhere else? Because most fuel filters states that they are 6 mm or 8 mm, not 10 which I have yet to find. Sorry about all the metrics but it makes it easer for me.

Thanks,

 

I replaced the fuel hose and bought some spray paint from a professional business with the correct color (Fighting Red) so now I'm ready to tear into the looks of my beauty. I was thinking of getting this replacement kit since the bolts on mine are a non-coherent bunch but I am hesitating due to the fact that my last attempt to replace the bolts (on the clutch cover) ended up with me trying to pry out a broken bolt from within the cover... Has anyone used this kit or bought stuff from Motorcycle Fairings, Fairings Bolts, Race Track Fairings, Bodywork, Bolt Kits - EasyFairings I prefer function over form so I'd rather stick to my old, somewhat rusty bolts than replacing them with great looking but weak ones.

 

I personally have not, but if we're talking about fasteners just for the fairings, then all you really need to worry about is corrosion resistance... even low quality bolts/screws, with regards to their strength, are gonna do fine, since it's not really holding up anything remotely heavy - the plastic is gonna give sooner than any quality of fastener!

 

Thanks brother, I knew I could count on you and of course you're right: I am talking about just the fasteners but was so emotionally injured by the broken bolt in the housing that I failed to see the obvious. Then I'll order a set right away. As it is now, with a peculiar blend of different bolt heads, I am going to be subjected to public ridicule will I not fix this.

 

Sometimes the obvious just fails to be all that obvious!!

That's why it's good to seek counsel on occasion!!

 

regarding your fuel problem, I have/had a F2 and worked extensively on her in my shop. Has the bike been sitting a long time with fuel in it? have your rebuilt the carbs, you probably have the gravity fed fuel petcock if so, they go out all the time and need to be re placed. instead of replacing oem I went with pingle petcock you will never have a fuel problem again. sound like you fuel mixture circuit is plugged,slow jet is by-passed by the choke so it will start, but will not get fuel fed to it beyond that point. check those things and let me know I will help you like I help JNS