Seafoam cause poor running?

[Schweisshund]

You may have a gunked up fuel filter - the seafoam could have washed all the resin and rust in your tank which made a beeline to your filter and gunked it up. Just my 2 cents.

[salty_monk]

Sounds like what mine did when I tried adjusting the mixture screws back to lean (1.5 turns out). My bike won't idle properly unless it's at 3 turns out!!

Not sure why yet

[t3rmin]

On a more positive note, I put some SeaFoam in the 700 and it's idling better today. ;-)

[Clone]

How old was that tank of gas youput the seafoam in? I would bet that you had a problem before the seafoam. if you pull and clean the carbs right the first time, you don't have to do it everytime you let the bike sit. There are thousands of people who winter their bikes for half a year every year for 25 years. Drain your tank clean out the petcock, if you have already cleaned the carbs twice, just take off the bowls and clean the float valve screens, replace your plugs and ride your bike.

[Nessism]

How old was that tank of gas youput the seafoam in? I would bet that you had a problem before the seafoam. if you pull and clean the carbs right the first time, you don't have to do it everytime you let the bike sit. There are thousands of people who winter their bikes for half a year every year for 25 years. Drain your tank clean out the petcock, if you have already cleaned the carbs twice, just take off the bowls and clean the float valve screens, replace your plugs and ride your bike.

Tank is the same age as the rest of the bike, 25 years. It's clean though so I'm not worried about that.

After reading though all the good suggestions I think the problem could be either the Seafoam in the gas has changed the gas's characteristics in some way or I have some debris in the pilot screw passages. I didn't get a chance to change the gas today but I will tomorrow. And spray out the pilot circuit while I'm at it. The carbs didn't look that bad when I had them off recently and the bike really does run pretty well. Last possibility is a vacuum leak but everything looks well sealed. Sprayed WD-40 on everything while the bike was running and nothing. Even tried the propane gas around the clamps and still nothing.

At any rate, I'll report back tomorrow after doing some more work on the bike.

[Steve]

I use Stabil in the winter and run my bike at least every other week to keep the fuel moving. You will have less problems if you at least fire it over every once in a while.

~Adam

I respect your decision to do whatever you like to your bike, but I reserve the right to disagree. :shock:

Once your fuel is stabilized, whether you use Sta-Bil or Seafoam, or whatever, you should not run the engine unless you are going to run it long enough to get the entire bike to operating temperature. This does not mean running it in the garage for 10-15 minutes.

Have you ever noticed the water vapor coming from the exhaust pipes when you start your bike or car in cold weather? If you don't get the pipes warm enough to boil off all that moisture, you might be setting yourself up to have moisture puddle inside the mufflers, causing them to rust out from the inside out.

To prepare the bike for extended storage (winter or other reasons), you will be far better off by stabilizing the gas, riding around the block to get the stabilized mixture in the carbs, then going home and changing the oil and filter. Run the engine for a bit to circulate the fresh oil. Put the bike on the centerstand, put a small piece of plywood under the front tire to get it off the floor. Connect a Battery Tender (or similar device, but it has to be a charger/maintainer, not just an automatic charger), cover with a breatheable cover, like a sheet or light blanket, and let it sit.

I have done this for years with motorcycles, lawn mowers, weed whackers and snow blowers. The only difference is whether a Battery Tender gets connected or not.


.

[marz]

this is the same problem im having!

my carbs were clean and dry whence i packed them .from the last engine.
i know that they were clean and dry when i put them in (insync too) too this other engine.with all the info hereim thinking its the vavle clearences.if i put 94 oct.in it doesnt happen as much.but it still does..
carry on with the story.
marz

[Nessism]

Wanted to provide some closure for those who offered advice in this thread. Changed the gas tonight and bike ran the same. Then tweaked the pilot screws from two turns out to three and the rpm's increased significantly.:shock: After readjusting the idle downward the idle is rock steady. No hunting at all.\\/ I always though the pilot screws on CV carbs were supposed to be in the neighborhood of 2 turns out but clearly that was wrong, on my bike anyway. Going to play with it some more to try to optimize the setting - out to 3.5 turns maybe. There's a hint of a flat spot at partial throttle still but overall the bike is running great. Have to be careful running it around town since I still don't have a plate but at least it's getting real close now. Maybe raise the needle a smig? At any rate, thanks for the help and hope this helps someone else. :-D

[t3rmin]

Mine are 3+ turns too. I figured the pilot jets were a bit on the small side...

[smagnusen]

I was waiting to hear this, thanks for posting your feedback Nessism. I'd be interested to hear about your findings with the needle position as well.