Hey first post please help =)

[NewRider795]

I've looked far and wide for a solution which im pretty sure is simple.

My katana's (93' 600) battery is pretty much dead. I plan on replacing it soon. When I boost it there enough juice to leave it running however. When they choke is on full, it stays on and runs fine. However, when i turn the choke low or off, it just eventually dies on me. even when im riding and i pull up to a stop sign with the clutch pulled in, the engine will just get slower and i have to use my throttle to have it stay running. I guess it's an idling problem.

Now ive been told a few things

1. its the battery, where the bike relies mainly ont he battery at low rpms to keep it running
2. the gas is bad (also a possibility)
3. it could be the carbs ( but i doubt it because i just recently cleaned them) i will however use some seafoam just incase.

maybe its a combination of all three?

do you guys think there could be another possible issue? any suggestions would be helpful. i hopeing this is all that could be all thats wrong with it because these arent big issues.

SO i was just wondering if this has happened to others and what they did to fix it or how i could go about it, what better place then this site.

Thanks in advance

S.

[arsenic]

it's the carbs bro, you're pilot jets are dirty.

[NewRider795]

so how exactly do i clean those? do i have to take out the carbs all out and clean them? or would seafoam give me a temporary fix, because thats all i need for now.

thanks!

edit: sorry forgot to add.
how can i fix my handle bars. they seem to be off by about 3-4 degrees. what exactly do i loosen, the forks aren't bent im positive.

[arsenic]

seafoam could possibly help If the pilot jets are gummed up to the point of not letting anything through, not only do you have to take the carb off. You have to remove the float bowls and take the floats out, take the rubber plug over the pilot jets off, and take the pilot jets out. Let them soak in carb cleaner overnight. Getting the pilot jets out of 90-97 Katana 600 carbs is a pita.

[whitecl0ver]

Listen to Arsenic and make sure you read the Carbs 101 post

[fireman1724]

Listen to Arsenic and make sure you read the Carbs 101 post

[Wild-Bill]

Wait a minute... Hate to differ with Arsenic but you're chasing carbs as the sole problem. Didn't you say your battery is dead? Will it take a charge at all? If it won't then it could be the cause of your problem and you do need to replace it. A battery that's completely dead can cause the bike to not idle just as easy as clogged carbs. You get a weak spark at idle which causes the idle to drop which causes less voltage to the coils (when the battery isn't supplementing) which causes weaker spark which causes... If the battery won't take a charge from either 30 minutes of highway riding or overnight on the battery charger then replace it. Try that before yanking the carbs to clean them.

[arsenic]

no it's not. If the bikes dies at a stoplight. That's a fueling issue, not a battery issue. What you're saying about weak spark is correct, but that isn't his problem. He says he just cleaned the carbs. Which obviously he didn't do very well, because I had to explain were the pilot jets were.

[HexKrak]

He says he just cleaned the carbs.

I musta missed that part when I read it twice over again, again...

Could also just be the idle being set too low. How long does it take before it dies out on it's own after riding around for a while? Just a few seconds or a minute +?

:edit: Arse is spot on about sea foam not helping if the jets are already so restricted that no gas is getting through.

[arsenic]

here ya go.

3. it could be the carbs ( but i doubt it because i just recently cleaned them)

[Wild-Bill]

You're probably right about the jets being clogged. (This is why I hate to differ with you. You're usually right.) A dead battery can cause stalling when you drop the RPMs to idle, though. I had it happen to me. Battery didn't take a charge so I jump-started it and the thing stalled on me as soon as I let off the throttle - repeatedly. New battery fixed it right up but that bike didn't have gummed up carbs. It'd been stored with dry carbs over the winter.

[NewRider795]

Hey thanks alot. I didn't clean the carbs myself, one of my buddy's a mechanic and i stored the bike with him and he cleaned them for me. maybe he did a bad job although it was for free. i will replace the battery soon and keep you guys posted. thanks alot for the information!

S

oh can anyone help me with the handle bar situation. sorry i dont know the katana much yet.

[Black_peter]

Yeah Wild Bill is right, he obviously has a battery issue and that need to be checked.
I know you know a lot about carbs Chris but it isn't always the problem..
Focusing on one thing at a time is good but tunnel vision isn't...