Throttle Killing the motor?

[Charlie Foxtrot]

I pulled the bike out recently to get it ready for spring and the rest of summer and after I got it started the engine dies when the throttle is turned. I let the motor warm up for about 5 minutes or so and pushed the choke off all the way and when I went to turn the throttle it still happened. I was thinking there is something wrong with the choke or perhaps there is something else going on with it now, Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

[blaine]

If bike will run with choke on,put some carb cleaner in tank and let run.It sounds like carb gummed up.Did you have fuel stablizer in the bike during storage?

[Easy Rider]

I pulled the bike out recently to get it ready for spring and the rest of summer and after I got it started the engine dies when the throttle is turned.

Very typical this time of year. All the bike forums are FILLED with that exact problem.......worded a little differently, but still the same.

When storing a bike for winter, you need the tank FULL and some stabilizer in the gas, otherwise, gum forms as the gas in the carb evaporates and plugs the tiny fuel passages and the result is what you have now.

When you get the time, please read through the technical posts here; there is a lot of good information in there.

In the mean time......if the situation is not too bad, you might be able to ride it by leaving the choke out just a bit; easy enough to try just sitting there to see if it will rev up with a bit of choke.

Either way, you need to drain out the old gas (most of it anyway) and put in fresh gas with some carb cleaner. Berryman's B12 Chemtool is good; use a little more than the per-gallon recommendtion. Then you need to run the engine to warm it up, either riding or not, and then let it soak overnight. Hopefully after one or two cycles of that, it should run better. If it does NOT run better after 3 days or so of warming and setting overnight, you will need to get a manual carb cleaning.

If you browse through the forums here a bit, you will see that LOTS of GZ riders have that same problem......if the bike is not ridden often. A shot of cleaner every 3 tanks or so can help prevent it again in the future.

Good luck !!

[Charlie Foxtrot]

Alright, it starts fine on 3/4 choke and it will idle properly with the choke off. But when I turn the throttle more than a 1/4 it cuts the bike off. No matter what the choke setting is the bike also power to the bike after 1/4 turn but the coke keeps it running if I let go of the throttle right away. I never did set the bike up for winter storage mostly because I was planning to ride until it got really cold but I blew a clutch cover gasket and I didn't get around to fixing it until last week. Mostly because of trying to get the part and a lot of other crap that was going on.

I did look through some of the posts on the forum here but I wasn't able to find anyone with this specific problem. I tried several things I found including looking to see if the choke was sticking and trying to see if it would work with the petcock in the prime position but neither worked. I checked the Air Filter and cleaned some of the stuff out of it. I smelled the air filter and it smelled like gas but what that had to do with anything escapes me at the moment. I also saw some fluid of some sort had come out of the drain hose that is attached to the carburetor and smelled that. It smelled like water and I would think that if it smelled like anything it should be gas from when I primed it to first start it yesterday. I was afraid that the carburetor may be gummed up a little but I figured if I just let it run it would blow the gunk out of it since it has only been sitting for about 5 months and not a few years like the last time I had problems with it.

I will try using fresh gas and carb cleaner to see if that helps. I should also note that the bike has been pushed over twice since its been sitting by some douche bag living in my apartment complex so I was wondering if that would have anything to do with the current problems. Both times it was laying on the throttle side and the second time it bent the throttle side of the bars pretty bad.

I apologize for the long posts but I wanted to explain the whole situation more clearly, I'll try y'alls suggestions and post back with the results as soon as I can get back to it.

[blaine]

If bike was stored outside I would drain float bowel as it sounds like it has water in it.

[bonehead]

If bike was stored outside I would drain float bowel as it sounds like it has water in it.
:plus1: :2tup:

[Easy Rider]

I was afraid that the carburetor may be gummed up a little but I figured if I just let it run it would blow the gunk out of it ..........

Sorry but it doesn't work that way. The GZ seems to be more sensitive to gum due to old fuel than most. Sometimes 30 days without use is enough for the problem to start coming back.

You are right, though, in that the first symptom usually is failing to hold an idle.
You aren't doing this test with the air filter OFF are you ?? That makes a HUGE difference on this engine. It won't run right without it.

A slight smell of gas on the air filter is pretty much normal; should be OK as long as the paper isn't soaked in gas......or oil. The drain hose from the air box should have a plug on it.....but that likely isn't part of your present problem.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

How exactly does one go about draining the float bowl on the carburetor? Is there a post that already explains it somewhere on here?

[Easy Rider]

How exactly does one go about draining the float bowl on the carburetor? Is there a post that already explains it somewhere on here?

Yes but it might be hard to find. Try a search on "bowl"; shouldn't be too many hits on that.

At the bottom of the carb is a nipple and brass screw. The nipple is the drain and the screw is the ON/OFF valve. Don't remember if the nipple has a hose attached or not; I think not.

You actually can drain the whole tank through that nipple......if you also put the petcock on PRIme.......but that might not be a good idea as any "crud" in the tank might end up in the carb bowl.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

Alright Easy I'll check that out too.

[Charlie Foxtrot]

Alright, I drained the carburetor float bowl, or so I'm assuming I did, and I let it drain until it was strait gas that was coming out. How does water get in there anyway? At first it smelled like water and then it smelled like water and gas and then finally just gas so I'm assuming i drained it correctly. The battery was dead though so I couldn't see if that is what the problem was. I am currently charging the battery over night and I will reinstall it tomorrow to see if that was all that I needed to do. If not then I will add the gas treatment along with a full tank of fresh gas to see if that helps.

One question that I have is will a higher octane fuel remove any gunk that is in the carburetor such as 105 octane or will that just cause a failure of the spark plug? Or should I just stick with the gas treatment?

[alantf]

One question that I have is will a higher octane fuel remove any gunk that is in the carburetor such as 105 octane or will that just cause a failure of the spark plug? Or should I just stick with the gas treatment?

(1) octane is NOTHING to do with carb cleaning.
(2) NEVER use high octane fuel in the GZ
(3) ALWAYS use the lowest octane fuel you can get
(4) use fuel without ethanol if at all possible

All the high octane fuel does is retard the firing point. This is only needed on high compression engines, where the heat generated during compression could cause premature ignition. BTW, it's nothing to do with causing failure of the plug. If you have a carb problem (& this seems to be the GZ's achilles heel) you need a carb cleaner, & if this doesn't work, I'm afraid it's a carb strip & clean. As a precaution, I usually add a fuel additive every 3 or 4 tankfuls. :2tup:

[Easy Rider]

How does water get in there anyway?

I am currently charging the battery over night and I will reinstall it tomorrow to see if that was all that I needed to do. If not then I will add the gas treatment along with a full tank of fresh gas to see if that helps.

One question that I have is will a higher octane fuel

Water sometimes comes in WITH the gas but mostly from condensation during times of wide temp. changes and a low gas level in the tank.

It is NOT necessary to remove the battery to charge it......or for winter storage. Matter of fact, it is not even desirable as an "oops" during removal or re-install can soil your undies !! :cry:

Higher octane fuel will do NOTHING except lighten your wallet. Only in the home state of NASCAR would anybody even talk about 105 octane !!! Normally that's avaition fuel. :shocked: