Bike shutdown....

[DayWalkerSC400]

Hey, So when I pull the bike out and turn it on to let it warm up, sometimes (lately more frequently) the idle sounds really really weak and then it just turns off....Sometimes I give it very little gas (barely 1 RPM) just to see if it won't shut off, and sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't....So I end up having to use the choke....Does anybody else have this problem? Is this common? Should I be worried? Thanks a million everyone!!!!

[The CyberPoet]

We don't know where you are, but if you park your bike "hot" frequently, it could easily be because the fuel in the carb's fuel bowls evaporated after you shut down, and so until they refill, the bike is a bit starved for fuel. Flipping the petcock to PRI (Prime) for 15 seconds and then back to ON will alleviate this symptom if that's the cause.

If the bike was parked off for the winter with fuel in the carbs, your smaller passages (the ones that handle idle) probably have dried fuel residues clogging them partially, and you need to run some fuel system cleaner through your tank to clear them out (I use Techron in the bottle to do this).

On the other hand, if the weather is particularly cold, or if the fuel is particularly old (or frankly, crappy), a bit of choke will help -- use just enough to get the bike to run at 2k RPM for 30 seconds, then shut it off, and then use the throttle as necessary to keep it running until it stablizes on it's own.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[DayWalkerSC400]

Ah I understand....Well Iam in South Florida so my problem is probably parking the bike hot...I will try the Pri idea and see if that helps!
I do have one more question...."Crappy fuel" would that be just regular? I use mid grade...Should I use premium? Thanks again!

[The CyberPoet]

Crappy fuel is no-name brand fuel; good brand fuels, such as Chevron & Shell, which contain 9 to 10 times as much detergents. The octane rating is NOT the important thing -- 87 octane is perfectly fine for your bike.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet