Has anyone unscrewed the idle adjust cable ('91 F2) and put it back successfully? I cannot find where it goes for the life of me. I haven't taken the whole bike apart yet -- I'm new to this and the less I touch, the less likely I'll **** it up. If somebody could tell me definitively that I don't need to take the air filter off and remove the carbs, that would be good news. Why can't I find the hole???

For those who want a chuckle about how I got into this predicament: I forgot to look and see if my fuel valve was on and the bike started stalling. Instead of thinking calmly about what might cause this (uhhh - no gas) , I was frantically moving the choke and idle adjuster cable all around. Anyway - by the time I realized the culprit was no fuel, I had completely unscrewed the idle adjuster cable. I managed to save the spring and washer from getting lost, although they were just sitting loose inside the bike body.

 

The hole is in between the #2 and #3 carb.. the screw should run vertical, you will have to come up from below the carbs with it and if you can fit your hands in there you shouldnt have to take the airbok off.. Make sure the spring is still on the cable too! I had this happen to me yesterday, my throttle cable was too tight and it would rev up on its own. I kept turning the idle down until I had just a cable in my hand.. I got to it just fine with the tank and airbox still on.

 

I did the same thing while cleaning the carbs on my F3. Fortunately I had a spare F2 carb on hand to figure it out. Its a pain in the neck to thread in but it will. Just be patient. Goodluck

 

I finally got it screwed back in today... Used a little mirror to see the hole on the 3rd carb, and took the advice about making sure it was going straight up- vertical as I was screwing it in. Thanks for the responses!!

I had drained the tank, so I need to put gas in before I get it going again.

Follow up question - I'm going to put gas in, start it with the choke on and let it run for a while. I should turn the choke off before I adjust the idle with the cable, correct?

 

You can start the bike with the choke on. Sometimes with the idle screw back in a starting position you wont need to. Let the bike warm up before adjusting the idle screw and yes, turn off that choke before you do this. Usually a warm up period for a bike is 2-3 min. you should hear the revs start dropping as the bike idles. once warmed up and the choke is off turn the idle adjust screw out 1/2 turn at a time from starting position (1 1/2 is startin position on an F2/F3) until desired idle speed is steady.