Hey all....wife and I did a great ride through southern Indiana yesterday but I hit a problem in the last 40 miles. Stopped for last gas, started no problem. Went around the corner to the DQ for a treat then went to start and it started backfiring through carb Big Time. I nursed it to a lot next door and found if I pulled the choke full on it would idle high of course, but run. Ran the last 40 miles of highway with choke in, but whenever I had to stop, pulled it out or she backfired and died. Very frustrating. Roadie got a BAK, longshots and jetted in 2002. Then I put on doolies, adjusted the baffles and carb PMS in 2005. Only recent performance mod's were removing the tip-over valve on gas tank and new plugs 6 weeks ago. Due to the not so great Indiana weather this May only about 150 miles since those were done, but no problems.

Now the Roadie was running great, lot's of high speed running and lot's of stops at place to see and re-starts no problem. So here is my list of possibles I am going to check this AM?
> bad gas.....but her modified VStar 1100 ran great off same pump/fuel.
> bad plugs....first time I used Autolites other owners had liked.
> dreaded SVS....(I pray not!)
> carb accelerator pump adjustment (as read somewhere here on a Mr.Tidy reprint)I think this is just for initial throttle-up though. This bike would not idle yesterday unless the choke was full out.

I plan on pulling carb today as it almost has to be something there as it would run like a banshee on the road once going choke in or out. I've noticed since last year sometime she was getting more and more cold natured. Even sputtering a bit in the first 2 - 3 minutes of riding after a 10 minute warm-up! Sorry for the long post, but wanted some input from better wrenches and needed to lay out what happened. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

Rob

If it started right after you got gas I would suspect the gas.

That was my first thought, but we fill up at the same time "handing" the nozzle over from one bike to the next and hers ran fine. Roadie ran fine at speed also, just backfired and stalled at idle? If it was the gas, have you ever tried Seafoam in the tank?

Thanks for the reply!

Seafoam is the only thing I use. If you got gas fisrt you would have got whatever junk might have been in the hose. That's just a guess. You could pull the gas line off the fuel pump and see if the flow is good. Take the gas line off the carb and see if you are getting a good flow from there.

Sounds like trash in the gas, and you got the first dose! If the low speed jet is clogged that would explain it not wanting to idle except with the choke on. If the high speed jet is clear then it cruises down the road fine but won't idle.

Clifford

You can also drain the bowl and look for trash or water in what comes out. Might give you an indication of what's going on. Bowl drain is aimed toward the fuel pump , so a longer tee handle Allen head wrench makes it easier to get to. BB

Pulling the carb off, will give it a very thorough look at the bowl and contents. Just tried wd-40 on the manifold and it seems leak free. But there is a slow, steady drip of gas coming out from bottom of carb. It is coming off the PMS!? Either that or there is a leak under there somewhere rolling to the PMS "stem."

I knew I could smell gas very faintly in the garage for last two months but couldn't pinpoint it as it was very faint. I wonder if the PMS or other leak problem just grew in size on the long trip yesterday?

Thanks everyone.....keep'em coming and will let you know when I find the "ah ha!"

If you're going into the carb then carefully inspect the fuel bowl valve and valve seat. They can wear.

Doc

In case you didnt know about this...Heres a thing everyone can do if you think you have water in the gas.... I used to check my diesel fuel in the winter, so my truck wouldnt freeze up on me. I keep a baby food jar at home, thought I had a batch of bad gas.... took the fuel line off at the filter, drained gas into the jar..(about 1/4 of a jar).. and left it set a few minutes, without moving it. You will see the water come to the top if it's in there. I've had to drain 2 tanks of gas in the last 2 riding seasons.

I like the jar check. Here is my latest update. PMS is GONE.....MIA, out on the highway somewhere. I took the cover off to adjust when I switched from Longshots to Dooley's long ago and apparently it's walked itself right out of the housing. Now I have to decide where to set the new one. Luckily, I ordered a new thumbscrew type from Barons a few months ago during a sale to have "next time" I might get at the carb.

I modified my Dooleys to open them up, but the plugs still indicate a slightly rich mix. Electrodes and ceramic light tan, metal seat of plug black. Which way "leans" the primary mix when setting the PMS? Was thinking I'd go to my last known setting with the Longshots then turn half lean from there, but which way to turn.

Oh yeah.......has anyone had the Barons back itself out? Hate to go through this again later. Thanks guys! You've been a great help.