Emergency

[lovetoride]

Anybody that could help i could really use it fast. I have a motorcycle skills test in the morning, so i need to get this fixed fast. After taking my bike out for a ride today and touching up some paint on it i decided to take it out again. I was riding about 10miles an hour and the bike revs up to 6,000 rpm's. It did it twice and the only way to stop it was to turn the bike off. Please help.

Thanks

[Stahlgrau333]

Sounds like your throttle cable is hanging up.

[lovetoride]

Sounds like your throttle cable is hanging up.

Is there a quick fix for something like that?

[cowboyup3371]

Follow the cable from the throttle and see what it's catching on.

[lovetoride]

I just found out that the bike is reving high when the choke is engaged. Do you think it is carb related?

[tom203]

Put bike on centerstand in neutral and see if you can get this behavior to show itself as you fiddle with handlebar/throttle.

[cowboyup3371]

The choke adds in fuel so yea, it will rev high when already warm. Why is it on right now? Is this the first time you started it up today? What happens when you shut off the choke? Is the throttle cable hung up anywhere?

[Steve]

I just found out that the bike is reving high when the choke is engaged. Do you think it is carb related?

If it's revving when the "choke" is engaged, then dis-engage the "choke".

If the bike is still cold enough to be using the "choke", you don't want to be doing a skills test with it.
You probably don't want to be practicing your skills test, either.

Not sure what bike you have (it's not in your profile, hint, hint), but on some bikes, the clutch cable passes between the intake tubes for carbs 1 and 2. There should be some retention device there to keep the cable away from the throttle linkage. If that device is missing, the cable can get tangled in the throttle.

.

[tom203]

I just found out that the bike is reving high when the choke is engaged. Do you think it is carb related?

With "choke" on, it will rev high, but with clutch out and load on engine, it shouldn't hit 6k. My bike will stumble if I try to rev it with "choke" on as I move thru gears.

[mike_of_bbg]

If it's revving when the "choke" is engaged, then dis-engage the "choke".

Yes, this.

The choke adds in fuel so yea, it will rev high when already warm.

The choke adds an enriched air/fuel mixture; the air is what causes the RPMs to rise once the cylinder is warm enough for complete combustion. But the bike will still be hot immediately after you shut it off so I wouldn't expect you to leave the choke on and just shut off, restart, and have idle return to normal.

I never let mine get above 3k on choke. Not sure exactly what it would do if I didn't start turning it down before then. 6k does seem quite high. What is your "normal" idle? Should be between 1000-1200 RPM. Have you sync'd your carbs recently?

If your bike won't run after warming up a minute without the choke, then your carbs need cleaning and adjustment because you're lean.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I assume we are talking about your '83 Katana 650G. It's not polite to make us look back through your old posts to find out.

You're not supposed to run with the choke on all the time. If you have to run with the choke on all the time then you must fix your bike.

Have you properly completed all of the required maintenance on your 30 year old motorcycle?

Your symptom could be caused by several conditions; stuck throttle cable (take it out and lube it, check for kinks in the route where it might get stuck, etc), air intake leaks (see: Air Intake Repair), stuck choke plungers (see: Mikuni BS(CV) Carburetor Rebuild Tutorial), etc. Have you adjusted the valves (see: Valve Adjustments (8 Valve)? Have you tested and serviced the charging system (see: the Stator Papers)? And that's just the start of it. See also your "mega-welcome".

Good luck on your test.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[lovetoride]

Yes, We are talking about a 83 Katana 650. I only use the choke in when i first start the bike for a few minutes, then i turn it off.

I do not know if all the 30+ year maintenance has been done because i just purchased the bike from a friend who had only has it for 2 years. He did not do all that work that you have listed.

Hi,


I assume we are talking about your '83 Katana 650G. It's not polite to make us look back through your old posts to find out.

You're not supposed to run with the choke on all the time. If you have to run with the choke on all the time then you must fix your bike.

Have you properly completed all of the required maintenance on your 30 year old motorcycle?

Your symptom could be caused by several conditions; stuck throttle cable (take it out and lube it, check for kinks in the route where it might get stuck, etc), air intake leaks (see: Air Intake Repair), stuck choke plungers (see: Mikuni BS(CV) Carburetor Rebuild Tutorial), etc. Have you adjusted the valves (see: Valve Adjustments (8 Valve)? Have you tested and serviced the charging system (see: the Stator Papers)? And that's just the start of it. See also your "mega-welcome".

Good luck on your test.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Steve]

Yes, We are talking about a 83 Katana 650. I only use the choke in when i first start the bike for a few minutes, then i turn it off.

If you have to use it "for a few minutes", you need to adjust your carbs, probably after cleaning them and replacing the o-rings.

I can ride any of the bikes in my stable within 30 seconds of firing them up.

I do not know if all the 30+ year maintenance has been done because i just purchased the bike from a friend who had only has it for 2 years. He did not do all that work that you have listed.

You are contradicting yourself here. You "don't know if [it's] been done", but you know that it was not done within the previous two years?

In that case, you should simply KNOW that it hasn't been done, and, quite frankly, you are foolishly riding the bike before doing the maintenance.

.

[lovetoride]

Thats great news that you have plenty of time and money to work on all of your bikes in your stable. Some people like myself do not have extra money or the know how to fix or adjust a carb.

An opinion with an attitude is not helpful.

If you have to use it "for a few minutes", you need to adjust your carbs, probably after cleaning them and replacing the o-rings.

I can ride any of the bikes in my stable within 30 seconds of firing them up.



You are contradicting yourself here. You "don't know if [it's] been done", but you know that it was not done within the previous two years?

In that case, you should simply KNOW that it hasn't been done, and, quite frankly, you are foolishly riding the bike before doing the maintenance.

.

[1_v8_merc]

Turn the idle knob counter-clockwise, see if that brings the RPMs down.

But first, yank the throttle a buncha times(bike OFF) and watch the throttle cable, to see if it's doing anything funny....(near the carbs, you'll see the actual cable and everything moving.)