Bike suddenly running rich

[greenie]

"  I would check the foam, or whatever you used to block part of your air box intake to make sure it's still in place."  That got me once. Also if there is water in the tank it will stay there for a long time way down deep. Ethanol added to gas has changed how water in gasoline can be treated. Might try running the tank low, then removing the tank and pouring what is left out. Take an old t shirt and try to dry the tank's inner recesses where water likes to hide. Refill with a known quality of gas purchased from a busy gas station... and make sure the foam is still partially blocking the air box inlets as it was previously.

[DC Concours]

Thank you man. I wish I knew more about these carbs. Too many parts even with good instructions. I have seen people on youtube fill up whole egg cartons with little parts. And I don't have a garage like most of you. I'll have to do this on my dining table! Wished one of you guys lived closer. Beer, dinner and a fat cigar could be doable!

And about Heet, I need to use a little at a time. My riding is not as much as you guys would think. Mostly weekend rides or jammed in traffic!

Yeah it really should . I'm afraid it's time for carb cleaning . It's not that hard especially if you go by MOB's method in the Fall 06 Concourier . I've been doing mine for several years now with great success .

[DC Concours]

Thanks man. I plan on doing this. I have heard tapping the carbs may help. I don't know if it is solids stuck there because I have a fine mesh type 3006 inline filter (which is kinda dirty). I must admit haven't changed it in a few years. But it seems like a water issue though.

How much water can these tanks hold? I have almost run down a half tank of new gas by now!

crack the drains on the carbs and catch the mixture in a glass bottle. let sit, look for water. will be obvious. better than guessing.

remember: the main jet is the 'lowest' jet in the carb with the pilot being quite a bit higher. water settles to the bottom of the bowl/tank. 

[DC Concours]

Thank you greenie.

The first thing I did was "wash" my air filter and reseat the foam. That was my first line of attack. Then new gas-- I am still on my first tank since coming out of winter.

During the winters I have always used 4oz of steve's recommended marine oil plus 2-3oz of stabil per tankful. Worked well for me these past years. Don't know what happened last month. 

"  I would check the foam, or whatever you used to block part of your air box intake to make sure it's still in place."  That got me once. Also if there is water in the tank it will stay there for a long time way down deep. Ethanol added to gas has changed how water in gasoline can be treated. Might try running the tank low, then removing the tank and pouring what is left out. Take an old t shirt and try to dry the tank's inner recesses where water likes to hide. Refill with a known quality of gas purchased from a busy gas station... and make sure the foam is still partially blocking the air box inlets as it was previously.

[m in sc]

i have no idea how much water they can hold. but the carbs have drains easiest thing to do to verify.

put on prime, open drain one by one and see whats in there.

[Nosmo]

Some years ago a COG member took the time to analyze the Connie tank and found that the lower "cheeks" by where your knees go hold about 1/3 gallon of water, rust, mud, dirt, dead insects, sub-microscopic alien spaceships, and miscellaneous other crud, that cannot be drained out except by dismounting the tank and running it all out the filler hole and the petcock mounting hole, and flushing with new fuel.  This area is below the level of the fuel petcock, so there's no other way to get it out.  You really really need to do this about once a year.

[BruceR]

I know the old adage about oil & water not mixing but you'd think the water would eventually get sucked into the combustion chambers with the fuel and eventually expelled.  But I've also heard the only true way to make sure the water is out of the tank is to remove tank and petcock and drain tank that way.  If you run the tank into reserve it isn't a tough task at all to remove it. 

[m in sc]

however the pockets at the back dip down and can hold water. even running it on prime or reserve will keep it in there.

when i line my tank with caswell, i made sure the leftover stuff sat in those back ears to reduce the amount that can collect there.


I agree, it should suck it out but ONLY will get pulled out (of the carb bowls) when its pulling fuel out of the main jet circuit.

[Stasch]

Did you re-oil the air filter after cleaning it?

Lack of oil would cause lean running symptoms.


Since this seems to only happens at higher speeds, I have a question:

Are the 2 carb vent tubes in place, and where are they routed to?

[DC Concours]

Thank you guys for helping. I appreciate it. I don't want to mess with the carbs because I really don't know how. Just know how to clean lawnmower ones! I will have to send these off if that is the case.

I will drain the bowls as recommended. I can drain the side bowls but I will need a longer allen wrench for 2 and 3. Any recommendation on ball end wrenches that are thin and angled or what you guys use?

Stach, the issue started a few weeks before I did anything to the filter. I then cleaned the filter and oiled it and put it back. No change. The vent tubes are in place and I have not touched them since reinstalling the carbs a few years back. Do they come off by themselves? The routing was what you guys told me years back. Frankly, I don't remember and haven't taken the tank off since.

[cra-z1000]

Any long ball end allen wrench should work .

[Stasch]

the issue started a few weeks before I did anything to the filter. I then cleaned the filter and oiled it and put it back. No change. The vent tubes are in place and I have not touched them since reinstalling the carbs a few years back. Do they come off by themselves? The routing was what you guys told me years back. Frankly, I don't remember and haven't taken the tank off since.

Then its probably not that.  There can be issues similar to yours if they are routed down under the bike by the battery and gas tank vent tubes, which creates vacuum at speeds causing fuel starvation.

[cra-z1000]

I just had an issue yesterday . After switching to reserve she ran like crap . I barely made it to the gas station and put a little over a gallon in . Got back home and immediately drained the tank then swabbed out the rest with a rag on a coathanger . The fuel at the bottom was pretty crappy . It had been too long since I had run a tank completely out and I haven't drained the tank in months . Fresh fuel and it's all good now .

[DC Concours]

Well, I finally ran down to reserve. I then drained some gas through the bowls but found no dirt or water.

Now I am on my second full tank and have ridden 30 miles on it. I am showing 10 mpg loss on my last tankful. Still having the same issue. Low gears have good pickup but when I am on 4-6th gears any sudden throttle starts off with a slight bog and shaking as if you are climbing a hill on a higher gear unable to get a crisp acceleration.

I guess I need to start taking stuff off. How the hell does this happen suddenly one day when I switch to reserve?!

[Boomer]

How the hell does this happen suddenly one day when I switch to reserve?!

You dislodged a bit of crud when you switched to Reserve and it got stuck in one of the float needles, so your fuel level is too high in one carb leading to over fuelling. It needs to be sorted before you get a hydrolock situation.

[DC Concours]

Yes. I am getting worried about that too. And I have an inline fuel filter too. So annoying.

[DC Concours]

Belated update.

After running 2 tankfulls of fuel the bike got better and finally after the third tankful the richness went away. From this I can only assume the water finally ran through. It's back to normal.

I am surprised the water lingered so long or I was repeatedly getting bad gas. I am on my 6th or 7th tank now.

[VirginiaJim]

I wish my bike would run rich....I need the money.