start the bike up... usually it turns over almost immediately but then hesitates to go up to the warmup idle and then slowly stalls out. second start... little harder to start this time. does the same thing but doesn't stall out. the bike rides normally after this accept every once in a while it putters a bit and sounds like only 3 of the cylanders are firing for a short period of time. especially in the low rpms when i give it some gas. if i rev it sometimes it just cuts out until i release the gas after it first started. time for new plugs? bad valve timing? clogged filter? battery dying? thoughts/suggestions?

this happens every time i ride it which is about 2-3x a week.

 

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What year is the bike? How many miles does it have? Have the plugs ever been changed? Are the battery terminals tight? How did you store it this past winter ( fuel stabilizer or not)? There are alot more variables. Maybe it would be worth the money to get a diagnostic at a shop, especially if it happens everytime you ride.

 

Start with the basics. Really simple fuel and electric problems can manifest themselves in really weird ways. Make sure your gas is fresh, run some injector cleaner through it, and check your charging voltage.

 

the bike is a 2001 with 10,000 miles on it. Only non-cosmetic mods include vance/hines slip-on and pair reed valve removal done by me last year but it ran fine after the mod (well.. better than normal) until after it was stored. there was almost no gas in it over winter with no fuel stabilizer, battery is ok and terminals are tight enough... and i just put in $10 so it can't be the fuel. i'm not sure if the plugs have been changed ever i bought it used and abused.I'm guessing the plugs are starting to foul? I get pretty ****ty gas mileage too for a motorcycle.

 

Sure, go ahead and pull em to see what they look like.

 

i jus twanted to make sure first because from what i understand this is no simple task.

 

Yeah, that's why I suggested starting simple

 

it makes a sputtering noise in neutral throttle too and there is a lot of carbon/black smoke if i rev it before it's warmed up. more spark plug symptoms i suppose.