jjmcjames Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 (edited) Hello to All: 1998 XX was put in storage due to overseas trip. Bike sat for nearly 90 days. Unfortunately I did not drain tank. When I tried to start the bike the idle was terrible and starting was difficult. I finally got it to run and rode 30 minutes. Idle is still rough. With the clutch disengaged the engine has the "marbles in the motor" sound. When I pull the clutch in the sound quits. I suspect the gas is old/contaminated. I put half a can of Seafoam in the tank-no change. Any advice/ideas will be appreciated. Thansk Craig Edited August 13, 2016 by jjmcjames Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Just fresh gas for starters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 3 months shouldn't be enough to plug up the carbs unless they were part way plugged to begin with. Being how you have the Sea Foam in it, I would run the bike until the fuel is almost gone and put fresh in. If you want to waste it, you can remove the fuel, refill with fresh and add the Sea Foam. If you still have the problem, cleaning the carbs is in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Krypt Keeper Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Agree with what was mentioned above, 3 months really isnt that long of a time for serious harm to occur unless something was already in motion. K.I.S.S Fresh gas in tank would be my starting point Next time riding, adj the choke and see if condition improves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 (edited) 9 hours ago, jjmcjames said: With the clutch disengaged the engine has the "marbles in the motor" sound. When I pull the clutch in the sound quits. I suspect the gas is old/contaminated. I put half a can of Seafoam in the tank-no change. Any advice/ideas will be appreciated. Thansk Craig First off, disengaged is the same as clutch lever pulled. Engaged is lever out. It may seem like nit-picking, but using the wrong words can cause issues when getting help. It's fairly common to have some 'marbles' with the clutch engaged (lever out) at idle, but if everything is perfect you wouldn't have any really obvious noise. I suggest draining the seafoam or running it out and see if it's still rough once you have just clean gas in the tank. Seafoam is more like diesel fuel than gasoline, don't judge the motor's running characteristics while it's running on seafoam or any other snake oil. 3 months shouldn't clog carbs. Edit: Don't run any cleaning additives that have no OEM approval. Technon and Yamaha RIngFree, which seem to be the same thing but with different concentrations, are the only cleaning additives I use. Both are OE approved by different engine manufacturers and I've seen the evidence to support their use. No engine manufacturer supports seafoam. Edited August 14, 2016 by superhawk996 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjmcjames Posted August 14, 2016 Author Share Posted August 14, 2016 Thank you all for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 18 hours ago, superhawk996 said: Edit: Don't run any cleaning additives that have no OEM approval. Technon and Yamaha RIngFree, which seem to be the same thing but with different concentrations, are the only cleaning additives I use. Both are OE approved by different engine manufacturers and I've seen the evidence to support their use. No engine manufacturer supports seafoam. If Sea Foam hurts a Honda motor, 99% of the bikes on this forum would be junk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John01XX Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 37 minutes ago, blackhawkxx said: If Sea Foam hurts a Honda motor, 99% of the bikes on this forum would be junk. +1 Seafoam has always been highly recommended at the BlackBird Bash in England as well. Many Europeans swear by it. After working at a dealership for a couple years and talking with salesman and product reps the supposed latest and greatest product available today is K100. That is what I transitioned too from many years of Seafoam use. The sample bottle tests with K100 verses seafoam and the Techron products have been sitting on the counter at the dealership now for over 2 years. The 4 bottles are all labeled as to what product is inside and there is a nail and some water inside each one. The K100 is the only one that can sit for months without the water separating out or allowing any rust on the nail. Even the reps said that none of the products will do any harm except most products will not do any good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I'm not saying seafoam will hurt a Honda or any other motor, tho it might, just saying I don't think it's all that great. Having sample bottles of water infused gas with additives on the shelf with nails, while I do applaud your test, is no indication of what they'll do when burned in a motor. It's only a loose representation of what your gas tank and other steel fuel system parts will do. In America most of us have E10 and ethanol holds a fair bit of water in suspension and has it's own ups & downs. It also changes the 'needs' and usefulness of fuel additives. Most of the "proof" videos and photos I've seen of seafoam is the smoking tailpipes "proving" it's burning off residue in an engine....hogwash. The shit will make smoke when burned no matter what the condition of an engine is. Any product that resorts to lies as proof is junk 'till proven otherwise. My guess is that the shit is closely related to diesel fuel. It's also questionable when an additive claims to work wonders in gasoline, diesel fuel, and crankcase oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 (edited) 2 hours ago, blackhawkxx said: If Sea Foam hurts a Honda motor, 99% of the bikes on this forum would be junk. I know that 99% of us don't put that stuff in our bikes. Edited August 15, 2016 by superhawk996 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 27 minutes ago, superhawk996 said: I know that 99% of us don't put that stuff in our bikes. Did you fact check that? Kidding. I retract my 99% and replace it with many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 1 hour ago, blackhawkxx said: Did you fact check that? Kidding. I retract my 99% and replace it with many. Nope, ain't gotta. Yea, I get what you were trying to say and many people use the stuff. Many people use antibiotics when they get the sniffles. And many people use pain meds the moment they have any discomfort. While Seafoam hasn't been proven harmful AFAIK, it's a product thats not proven to do what it's supposed to do. I fixed an oil burning motor with odorless mineral spirits. If I'd had seafoam sitting around I might have used it instead and it would have added to the credibility of the stuff. Based on my test I would say OMS is the problem solver. I used it because it seemed like the logical solution of the options I had on hand for what I suspected was causing the oil burn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redxxrdr Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Craig, My luck with sea foam has been OK, my luck with Ethanol fuel, not so much. My SV will gunk up the carbs after sitting a couple of months. The good news is that it doesn't sit that long now that my daughter rides. 😄 As stated, I too would run through the tank with additives, then put in a full tank of fresh non-ethanol if you can get it. I see that you have been a member for a while. Do you service your own? How fresh are the plugs? I have seen many threads on poor running bikes that flooded and fouled a plug. It wouldn't hurt to look at them after you run through a couple of fresh tanks. And how is you battery? Does the bike turn over quickly. I recently posted about a really bad running 01, that ended up being my cruise control messing with my ignition. The pilot jet controls much of the idle circuit. And it seems to be the easiest to clog. Plus, it's the one normally under a cap to keep it from being adjusted. (Epa thing). You may have to pull and clean the carbs. I haven't done it on a XX, but there are plenty here who have. Good luck, Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjmcjames Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 Thanks for the excellent advice. Yes I do all may own maintenance. Biker cranks fine-I keep it hooked up to a battery tender due to prior charging issues. Plugs are about 3 years old. I will get it out this weekend, weather permiotting and try and run out some of the old gas. As my luck would have it the tank is nearly full. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RXX Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Look for dirt dobbers plugging up something. Those fuckers will build nests in ANYTHING. What oart of middle TN you in? I am in Cookeville this week. Gainsboro right this minute. Also, go to pure-gas.org to find some ethanol-free gas near you pretty quick. Also, everything those above posts suggested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superhawk996 Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 Good thought on the bugs, but the only place I can think that they'd effect the engine would be the air box/intake hole and that would be most noticeable under power when the air demand is highest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjmcjames Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 I am in Middle Tennessee-Murfreesboro, to be exact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Yeah, mud dauber wasps are fairly amazing. I might have a couple pictures of the structures they built in my MCCs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.