idle...then dies

[en12gine]

I know that I have a 97, but you all are the only ones who seem to have the answers for me. I made a HUGE mistake. My bike (97 Katana) was running alright, and I noticed that my oil was low. So I added some...too much! It died on the way to work...just lost power. I kicked myself repeatedly (while pushing it back to the house) for not paying attention to what I was doing...just in a hurry to go for a ride.

Well, I drained about 2 quarts back out of it (still has 3 in it)...yes...I know...what a dumba$$. I changed the plugs and it fired up again. Now, it only runs for about 5 minutes and then dies again. I took the plugs out again, wiped them off, and off she ran...then died again after about 5 minutes.

Have I TOTALLY messed this thing up? I thought it might be bad gas (still have a little surface rust in the tank). I plan on cleaning out the tank with the helpful hint of Kerosene and Zinc BBs that I found in the hints and tricks section. Also, the carb cleaning is coming as soon as the gaskets get here. I just want to make sure I didn't mess up something severe by the stupid oil adding stupidity. Any help would be (and always is) appreciated!

Thanks again.

Craig in KY

[seuadr]

replace your plugs first

[GQROD]

Over filling the case with oil i doubt would cause this. Especailly if you have re-filled it to the correct level. Clean the plugs and ride it then pull the plugs and check the color. If it's black and dry and sooty it's running too rich, brown to light tan good, white or grey it's too lean.

Once you determine what color are teh plugs then you can start looking at the carbs or ignition to resolve the problem but over filling with oil would not keep doing this unless you have leaking valve stem seals if so equipped. Hope this helps.

[Nessism]

Can't imagine any serious damage from too much oil. Might have filled up the crankcase breather system with oil so check the tube going to your airbox and clean up any mess you find. Most likely the running problem is something else.

[en12gine]

idle...then dies

I cleaned the plugs to find 1 and 4 were a little black. I appreciate the info. I figure this all stems from the carbs. I will clean them, replace the orings and gaskets, and then the tank. Hopefully this will cure most of what ails me. THanks again for the Suzuki help. This site IS the greatest, for us with not so new, and not so old bikes. Keep up the outstanding work fellas.

Craig in KY