Hi all - Couple quick questions about performance of these bikes. I learned, and have been riding a Suzuki VX800 - which is a V-twin, and it's been a great starter bike, but I wanted something a bit zippier.

Picked up an F3 for pretty cheap, and she runs and drives pretty well - but there are some innate differences between the workings of the two that I'm curious about... mostly, if it's normal or not.

Firstly, I'm curious about the clutch. On mine (F3), it seems there's no 'feather zone' - it's all on, or all off, which makes it really difficult to get moving, at least it'll take some getting used to. Is this normal? Are these bikes supposed to be like this? Is that the *definition* of performance?

Secondly, when I'm in gear, I have zero power until I'm at least at 4-5k rpm, then it's got boat loads. Like, if I'm in neutral, it'll rev right up no problem (and it hangs high, but I'll touch on that later, for I know that's not right). But the second I put it into any gear, I have to really get on the throttle, and try my hardest to *EASE* out the clutch, because if it kicks into gear fully, it take *forever* to get past 3k rpm, and once it does, it's zippy like there was never an issue. Question is, does the clutch have something to do with this? To me, it seems like it could be a carb issue - but why would it work at a low RPM, and not a high? It also idles just fine - doesn't seem to sputter really. (Caveat - it sounds like it runs smoothly, but if I'm in neutral and rev it up a bit, (even all the way up), the bike's idle doesn't fall back down, it hangs about 2K under the peak of what I just revved (happens in gear too, giving me a 'cruise control' type of feature that is completely unsafe). The throttle cable's are all lubed up, the throttle handle releases freely, the carb's butterfly plates spring back quickly.... I can't figure this out)

And this is what I believe to be a carburetion issue: Mileage. It seems like I spent a full tank doing somewhere around 80 miles total. This is a major issue, I'm aware, because I thought these bikes were supposed to get around 45mpg, if you're easy on the throttle? This 80 miles I got was about 70% freeway driving, and 30% city driving. I don't think I was being *too* agressive with the throttle, but since it *is* new to me, maybe it just takes some getting used to?

With 67(ish)k miles on the clock, and having just replaced the CCT with a manual one, I'm looking forward into tearing into this beast more. The PO did some very serious modifications to it, and it's very streetfighter. Just needs me to polish up the edges, and make his ideas / thought trains a much more pleasant experience.

 

If it's fightered chances are it's also jetted and probably not tuned in properly. I'd start with a full carb disassembly, checking the jet values, clean everything squeaky clean, replace any seals or gaskets that look even a bit dodgy, check the carbs sit tightly in the carb boots, and check the boots for any cracks, they are known to dry and harden over time. If you take them fully apart you need to also sync them after it. And if you take all apart at once make sure you fit the same parts to the same carbs as the jets on the outer cylinders are different than the inner ones.

 

Thanks, Mattson.

This is kind of a pain to work on, due to the PO's mods. The battery is in the way of adjusting the pilot screws, when running - in order to remove / replace the battery, the entire carb assy. must be removed. The tail end of the frame has been cut / welded (if it was a structural part, like towards the forks - I wouldn't have made the purchase).

Also makes it damn near impossible to do any sort of tightening on the screws. Time to invest in a wobbly bit, methinks.

I'll get the carbs torn down soon and report back!

Note: The inside of the gas tank looks super clean. Basically no varnish to speak of, which I'm really happy about.

 

Other F3 riders can correct me if I'm wrong but you should be getting around 110-150 miles on a tank of gas. 67k is a ton of miles but there is no reason you cant get another 67k out of it with the proper care, good luck with your project man.

 

Thanks for that info! I always like to hear what people are getting, vs. figures printed in a pamphlet.

Since I do a lot of driving (and a lot of maintenance), are there any other options as far as drive gears, or final gears go? I wonder if it's possible to extent this mileage even further?

Thanks again!

 

if your mileage is that bad, then something is wrong with the carbs. with stock headers and a slip on mine easily got 140-160 miles before i hit reserve.
With a full TBR exhaust, im usually around 120-130 before reserve.

So definitely take apart your carbs and clean them real good.
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