matthend

just because the injectors are down there by the carbs and it was suggested to pull the carbs. I am not the most mechanically inclined and am always scared I will screw something up

the wet shot was installed when I bought the bike, I was going to remove it but it is very cleanly installed. I have NEVER used it so that variable should be out the window.

figures, I put the toolkit back incorrectly and lost the entire contents about a month and a half ago... I am in Louisville KY. How hard is it to pull the carbs and float bowls (How likely am I to f#$% it up with my mechanical ineptitude)? Keep in mind there is a wet shot installed also...

hmmm, the manual was saying to remove the lower fairing, upper inner cover and move the radiator, but I would much rather come at it from above. I really hope it is the plugs... this is so frustrating!

is there an "easy"way to check the plugs? The bike died again this morning. Yesterday morning when I started it it sounded like it was only running on 2-3 cylinders when I tried to rev it. After a few twists, it kind of cleared it's throat and ran fine afterwards. This morning, I tried the same trick, but it never seemed to "clear it's throat", eventually just totally dieing when I twisted the throttle. Once it was doing that, I left it alone on full choke but it went from about 1100 rpm to 0 in about 10-15 seconds and wouldnt start thereafter. This issue is always in the mornings. I talked to the mechanic and if it doesnt do it when I take it in, he is not sure what he can do for me.... Help Please!!! :icon_wall: :icon_wall:

just changed to Rotella full synth, seems great so far

just changed to Rotella full synth, seems great so far

no, havent changed the plugs, They were new when I bought it. Been about 12k though... Would it run great the majority of the time if it was a plug though?

97 carbed bird, 56k miles, no recent major maintenance. I replaced the petcock diaphragm because it quit passing fuel through about 7k miles (3 months) ago. I am getting fuel to the carbs fine, that was the first thing I checked. I just got off the phone with the mechanic, he said to open the gas cap when it does this to see if it is the gas tank vent not functioning. When I go home today I will check all my hose routing again too.

well, I played hooky from work yesterday when the bike died on choke in the morning again. Changed the oil (no gas smell btw), and ran some seafoam through it. It did start no problem in the afternoon and every time thereafter. This morning same !@#$ thing! :icon_wall: :icon_wall: So I drove the car in and I am racking my brain to think of what it could be. I am wondering if the high humidity in the mornings has something to do with it? There is always dew on the bike when this happens, and i would almost guarantee it will start if I go home at lunch and try. Anyone have any ideas? Battery checked out fine btw...

not the petcock, getting fuel to the carbs no problem. besides, I just replaced the diaphragm a few months ago... I am pretty sure it is the carbs. Guess I will take it to the carb guy and have him pull and clean/sync them.

The bird coughed and sputtered, then died on tuesday when I gave it some gas getting on the freeway coming home from work. It would not start back up and I almost killed the battery trying to get it started. Trailered it home and charged the battery, then it started fine. It has been popping on decel lately, something I hadnt noticed before. Then this morning I came out to start it to ride to work and it started immediately on full choke. Once the revs started rising, I cranked the choke down to about 1800-2000 rpm and went back in to finish getting ready. While I was inside, I heard the revs dropping so I went to see what was up. I cranked the choke up, but the revs kept dropping. If I touched the throttle, the revs would drop completely. The revs slowly dropped until the bike died, and I could not get it started again. Any ideas as to what this could be? Something in the carbs somewhere maybe? TIA guys!!

I have Michelin PRs on my bird and love em, I will probably go with PR2s next though

ahhhhh... going out to do that in just a minute now

I know this is probably a stupid question, but I would rather ask it than not know. I can see air in my clutch res sight glass. Can I just remove the lid and top it off? Thanks!

so the nothing nipple does not need a line on it? I assumed that was some sort of overflow also.

pulled the tank and all lines looked fine... anyone have any other direction at all here? :icon_wall:

no, it would lose power and die completely previously, the petcock was not allowing any fuel through at all. I cut a hole in the diaphragm and it was feeding fuel via gravity while I waited for the diaphragm to come in at the dealer and running fine. I will check the vent line though, I could have set the gas tank on it or something.

This problem has now reared its head 4 or 5 times since I replaced my petcock diaphragm (about a month) If I am on the closed private road/freeway and roll into the throttle to anywhere in the triple digits, it will run fine for about 30-60 seconds, then start sputtering and losing power until it eventually dies. I have found that it I give it full choke and start it back up, it will run rough for a minute or two and die if I try to twist the throttle.When the revs rise to 3-4 k I can give it some gas and it will cough its way through the rev range for a few twists, then eventually run fine again. This has never happened on the surface roads as of yet, and has me baffled. I just filled it and dumped a can of seafoam in the tank, anyone have any ideas as to what could be the culprit? Thanks in advance!

Thanks man, you were right. There is pretty much one way to do it. You were also right about the manual. For anyone else that may need to know this it is page 147 of the manual

I think I have it correct, the only thing is the main diaphragm has a nub on both sides, one being bigger than the other. I am not sure which way it goes in... and the smaller one has a kind of o ring that would fit perfectlly in a groove on the outside of it, but somehow that doesnt seem right. Arrrgh!!!!! T can probably post pics of it half assembled on my desk if that would help

lol, yeah that was me. Thanks a lot BTW, you two saved my ass... I have the manual in pdf but cant find it in there

I picked up my petcock rebuild kit today for the 97 Bird, and would really like to see an exploded view of how it goes together. Anyone have any ideas on how I can accomplish this? Thanks!