Over the last week or two, I started to develop a new issue. When it first started, on off-throttle the RPMs would drop very slowly, as if the butterflies were closing slowly. Idle would also be ~ 500 - 760 RPM too high at a stoplight, and I would have to let the clutch out in 1st to 'suck' the carbs closed and bring the idle down to 1050 where I have it set.
The issue got progressively worse to the point where it would 'rev' in between shifts, and then this past Saturday it was actually accellerating in 1st gear through a turn...and damned near put me into a parked car.
By now I suspected that the old throttle cable was hanging up, and needed either lubed or replaced. So yesterday, I pulled the tank off and disconnected the throttle cable to look at it. Didn't seen any kinks in it, but after rolling on the throttle, it was very difficult to pull back out, and hung up particularly bad in one spot. I sprayed some PB Blaster down into the sleeve, let it soak for a bit, and moved it through the throttle motion 20 or 30 times until it pulled out easily and smoothly. Reconnected everything, and took it out to see if the issue had been resolved.
Here's the strange part that I can't figure out; the bike feels AMAZING now. Pulls smoothly and firmly throughout the RPM range, and the hesitation I was getting on accelleration is all but gone. Obviously there is no 'revving' between shifts anymore, and it idles where it should at stop lights. I just can't figure out what could have been causing all of these issues in the first place? I don't understand how a hanging throttle cable could have been affecting performance throughout the RPM range, including hesitation when rolling on the throttle.
Any ideas?
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