'00 Kat 600 problem

[SSMtC05]

Hey all I know kats are cold natured so im used to the usual hesitation while it warms up which is normally by the time i reach the end of my street which is why this ride today caught my attention. A little background is the bike is a 2000, 5,000 miles on it, ivans jet kit, d&d slip on. The bike was totally serviced back in april with 4400 miles which is when the jet kit was put in and everything, also new plugs as well. The bike has always run beautifully until today. It didnt want to warm up to save its life, It did the 3k-4k hesitation and spitting and farting for quite awhile and also had a bit more backfires as well. Also for the whole 30 mins i rode it my idle wouldnt come up to 1300 the whole time and as it idled it felt as though every once ina while it would miss. Normally the bike idles perfect at 1300. I last rode the bike may 31st and it was perfect so i dont know whats up, I put new gas in it on the 31st and today i mixed in some techron to try after i got home and i havent rode it since. Any help with this problem is appreciated. thanks

[evil-eye]

sounds like u got a tank full of bad gas i know theres one gas station here in town that i wont go to any more because of this

[The CyberPoet]

sounds like u got a tank full of bad gas i know theres one gas station here in town that i wont go to any more because of this

+1 - bad gas

Other possibilities:
dried fuel residues in the carbs, stuck choke cable, borderline battery.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[SSMtC05]

Put the techron in and went for a 75 mile ride and ran he tank down to about 1/4 tank by the en of the ride the bike was starting to idle a little closer to normal and the backfiring was starting to get better i hope with a tank of fresh gas it should be ok i have a ride im supposed to go on next friday, and ill also thro it on the the bttery tender maybe its goin down in charge. I ust hope its nothin major where i have to go into the carbs,


Jay

[Najus]

I love that techron stuff....its like $6 a bottle but if Cyberpoet says it good than its like have Jesus saying so, and yes I mean the mexican down the street.

[The CyberPoet]

Another line of thought to add to the list:

Condensation into the tank. Is the weather where you are condensing a lot at night or into morning fog? If so, keep your gas tank filled all the way and top off just before you run home each night. The more air space at the top of the tank, the more condensation will form in the tank, and that water will cause both rust at the bottom of the tank, and migrate forward into the carb bowls (PIA to empty because it's a PIA to get to them... until the water gets out, it would sputter and run like utter crap). STP & some of the other firms make special fuel additives to suck water content out of the tank & carbs with the fuel better (mostly alcohol) -- but because our tanks are not vapor-sealed, I will only suggest using that stuff if you are going to burn through the whole tank in a single day (otherwise it could be sucking in water from the ambient humidity). Problem is that methanol and ethanol-additive loaded fuels will do the same thing -- suck in extra water from the surrounding air when parked off... With most EPA "special mandatory compliance - botique blend fuel" areas turning away from using MTBE or TANE additive and instead using more ethanol/methanol, this could become a progressively bigger issue for all us motorcyclists.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[SSMtC05]

would that be a problem even if its kept in a climate controlled garage all the time?

[The CyberPoet]

would that be a problem even if its kept in a climate controlled garage all the time?

If you don't see condensation on the outside of the bike, then it's not a problem on the inside of the tank either, normally (exception: alcoholic fuels).

Climate controlled garage presents the evaporated fuel issue though. Next time you park off for more than 4 days, flip the petcock to PRIME for 10 - 15 seconds then back to ON or RES (whatever it was at before) before hitting the starter. This should help minimize starting issues by refilling the carbs before you start drawing fuel out. Adding techron just accelerates that evaporation while parked, because techron contains a lot of light compounds (designed to liquify gummi residues), which also evaporate very quickly again if not used -- and possibly leaving gummi residues it scavanged from the gas tank in the carbs when it evaporates again if it doesn't get to burn through them in a couple days.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[SSMtC05]

Ok now the problem is still here with a few more details. The bike still takes a while to warm up i dont know why, i put a new tank of gas in today and took it for another 70 mile ride. When i come to a stop it idles around 1000 rpm pretty rough for about 30 seconds then it comes up to the normal 1300 rpm idle and idles smooth. Same thing happens everytime i stop it will run great while moving ie; good power, strong pull, etc. Yet when i come to a stop it idles artificially low around 1000 then after 30-45 seconds it climbs back up to 1300 and idles perfect. Its not lean when i rev it, it return right to idle, and not rich, it doesnt drop below idle. The ambient temp is 61 with about 50% humidity could it be the bike is getting cool when riding yet when i stop it warms up and gets a normal idle or is there more to it? And also why is it all of a sudden taking so damn long to warm up? It used to warm right up when i first put the ivans in. Could it be plugs, even though they were changed about 500 miles ago?Please help, preferably cyber.

Jay

[The CyberPoet]

It may be a very minor vacuum leak at or before the carbs. Look for a crack in the vacuum line from the #4 carb to the petcock and in the vacuum nipple caps over the sync ports for the other carbs.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[SSMtC05]

would i be ok to go on a ride on friday with a slight vacuum leak or should i fix it before i ride it anymore? And also this means i gotta pull my fairings and tank off to check em right?

Jay

[The CyberPoet]

Odds are the problem won't suddenly do any permanent damage to your ride if you go out on Friday with it, but you may find yourself stranded away from home if the plugs foul up too much as a result.

To get at the carbs, you'd need to pull your fairing away at least (they don't have to come all the way off, but do need to move away from the engine by a couple of inches on each side to get the tank out), and the tank would need to be removed.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[SSMtC05]

How does a vacuum leak mess with the plugs im new to all this?

[SSMtC05]

And also where can i get new vacuum line or what can i use for it. And where can i get new vacuum caps. And where on the carbs are they located or will i see em when i take the tank off? I wanna try to fix this tomorrow for friday. Thanks

[The CyberPoet]

How does a vacuum leak mess with the plugs im new to all this?

The level of vacuum dictates how much fuel the carbs feed to the cylinders. With CV (Constant Velocity) carbs on the Kat, the amount of fuel & air fed in varies directly with the vacuum level. Leak vacuum and at low RPM's, the engine has one of two responses: either it increases RPM's to keep running, or it drops RPMs so low that it doesn't want to run at all. If it's a borderline vacuum leak (such as a diaphram cap that is getting sucked down into place), as the RPM's rise, the vacuum leak may go away. Or if it's only a really small leak, at higher RPM's, the amount being lost may be insignificant -- kind of like using a firehose to fill a bucket that has a small leak.

And also where can i get new vacuum line or what can i use for it. And where can i get new vacuum caps. And where on the carbs are they located or will i see em when i take the tank off? I wanna try to fix this tomorrow for friday. Thanks

Vacuum line: any auto parts store
Vacuum caps: any auto parts store -- take the smallest ones they have.
Carbs will be obvious, but I HIGHLY suggest you download the manual for your bike from this site (see the stickies at the top of the mechanics section).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet