Won't Run Over 4500 rpm's??

[brmcconn]

Just bought an '02 Katana 600 about 2 weeks ago and I have put on about 350 miles since then and it ran great without any problems. Today I went out for a ride, but she was running low on gas, so I had to ride on reserve to get to the station to fill up on gas before the ride. Of course, I forgot to switch the fuel switch back to "ON" until after I rode about 10 -15 miles. Rode about 30 miles total with no problems and stopped to get something to eat. On the ride back home it suddenly wouldn't go over about 4500 rpm's... So it would only go about 60 mph or so in 6th gear. Of course this happened on the interstate, so I pulled over and revved it in neutral to see if the same thing happened. It seems to rev fine in neutral, but once I get going, no matter what gear I am in, it won't go over 4500 rpms. I'm guessing I might have sucked something up riding it in reserve that long, so maybe something is caught in the carbs. Hoping if I run some seafoam through it, maybe it will clear it up. Not too mechanically inclined, so not sure if it would be a good idea to take a look at the carbs myself if the seafoam doesn't work. I do have the haynes manual and I know there is the carbs 101 or 102 thread out there somewhere so maybe with those directions I would be ok. Thought I would post my problems to see if anyone else has had the same issues and what they did to fix it. P.S. Sorry about the essay, figure its always good to include as many details as possible, so hopefully one of the many smart people on this forum might be able to help.

[Kreylyn]

I would drain the bolws first. This can be done without removeing the carbs. You may simply have some water in them. If this is the case, you will want to pull, and fully flush your tank. Also check for rust in the tank. If you have rust, or see any debris floating in it... its times to pull and clean the carbs.

Krey

[random_kat_rider]

How's your idle ?
Exactly the same happent to me and the idle was rough. A ignition coil cable broken.
Your events are pointing to carbs but you can inspect ignition coils and spark plugs easialy before removing the carbs.

Also you can spray water on exhaust pipes to check if all your pistons run fine.

[brmcconn]

Thanks for the tips. I will take a look/try the things you have suggested. Hopefully it will be something simple.

[kevin2502000]

When you run that low on fuel on any vehicle you get the crappy gas. I second the draining the tank and bowls and start fresh.

[brmcconn]

Forgot to mention it seems to idle fine. Runs just fine until I hit the 4500 rpm mark. Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow so I can take a look at it.

[brmcconn]

Well I've got a funny story for everyone to laugh at. It's a pretty awesome mistake that I made, which I believe is what caused all of my problems yesterday. About a week or so ago, I decided to put a plastic bag over the battery + fuse box just in case my bike ever got caught in the rain. It seems like water would be able to get underneath the seat and get the batter + fuse box wet, which I figured would not be a good thing. Good thinking right?... No... Apparently not. So i get up this morning and drag myself out to the bike to get started on trying to fix it. I take the seat off to get to the tool kit so I can start taking the fairings off. Low and behold a little bit of the bag was sucked up into the hole for the air filter. So I pulled it out, and decided before I took the fairings off to look at anything else, I would take her for a ride to see if it could be that simple, and she ran like a champ. I guess I am happy that's all it was... but man do I feel dumb. So that leads me to my next question.. Do I need to worry about covering the battery + fuse box to protect them from water? If so, what is the best thing to use instead of a plastic bag? Or, do I not need to worry about it because water shouldn't be able to get down under the seat there anyway?

[depths_of_mind]

I don't cover any of mine.

[kevin2502000]

I don't cover any of mine.

Me either.

[Philskat]

You cant cover them when your riding them in the rain is my thoughts but what do i know right