high idle, i'm stupid

[rnicholas]

Okay, I've read all the discussions on high idle, and I still don't get it!!!!! 

I have an 89 which I switched to bars in place of the oem clip-ons.  Cable has plenty of slack, I ran it out of the forks to test and be sure.  It starts and runs great with an idle of 12-1300.  I get it warmed up and I have to turn out the idle screw as once warm it idles at 3500 or higher.  If I ride and run the throttle up, it comes back down very slowly to a super high idle.  Then after riding a little more, it dies at stop signs, etc becuase it isn't getting any gas at idle.  I try to start with no luck, and have to give it throttle to get it to start, so I turn the idle screw in to keep it started and we start the whole process over again.  I don't think its vacuum as it adjusts with the idle screw, it's just freakin tempermental!!!!

Carb was rebuild 2 weeks ago and all parts were fine.  no dirt, no rust, all functioning well.  I did not lubricate the slides before putting them in but I can't imagine that is going to contribute this much.  What am I not seeing??

Thanks for all your help!

[yamahonkawazuki]

perhaps a vacuum leak in the rubber umbrella in the slide, but the lube does have some effect

[resistor]

Did you have this problem before the carb rebuild?  If not I would double check for air leaks with either some WD40 or a can of air.

[rnicholas]

thanks for the ideas.

To check for leaks I just spray the wd40 into the intake, right?  Then if idle drops it is rich, and if it goes up it is lean, right?

[resistor]

Here ya go!

http://roadstarclinic.com/content/view/55/96/

I used a can of air and sprayed it at the intake boots and found a leak, hopefully this will help you out!

[rnicholas]

gracias, will do this tonight!

GS Gods, please let this be a simple fix!

[Jared]

Hanging idle is a lean condition. It's an 89... and probably has the original intakes bolted to the head... They get hard and crack....potential big air leak.

Check your pilot jets ( did you remove and clean them or just spray them while in the carb? )- They run the bike at idle and if clogged also will make the bike lean higher up in the rpms.

Double check the vacuum line to the petcock. Make sure your little O-ring on the carb top is good/actually on there...Airbox/filter installed?

Aren't carbs fun?

[erbilabuc]

check your choke cable, you might have stretched it?

[DrtRydr23]

check your choke cable, you might have stretched it?

+1

[mullethunter3]

Mine does the same stupid thing. However, I don't have a choke cable anymore (long story).

[rnicholas]

So my wife calls me at 3pm and says there is a strong gas smell in the garage.  YEAH!!!  Turns out, good old me left it on prime. 

So when I got home I pulled the airbox off, drained it   checked the oil......luckily no gas. 

Started it up after much trouble considering it was flooded more than...[insert bad joke here]

It ran horribly for about 5 minutes and then POP!  it's dead.  smoke is pouring out of the intake of the carbs.  That is never a good sign.

I removed the carb and intake boots and inspected them, all is well.  no cracks, etc.  Removed the plugs and guess what, fouled and nasty.  cleaned em up and the work fine.  Bike has plenty of compression and turns over when rolled. 

Checked gas for oil again, none.

I totally rebuilt the carb, cleaning EVERYTHING.  (I think a float was stuck and caused it to overflow, etc. etc.)

I checked the jets......will need to replace soon...but they will do for this test (any advice on stock vs. others?)

It's a CA bike, or at least it was, until I ripped out all that BS.  Don't tell arnold.  I actually think it's better off without all that crap.

So, I put it back together, started it up (first crank!!), and let it warm up a good 5 minutes.  Then rode it for 10 mins, coasting a lot to check idle speed.  It continued to idle high.  I let it sit, running, for another 5 minutes and adjusted the idle.  Rode for 20 minutes, continually checking the idle speed, and on the 2nd ride it did not idle high 1 time. 

So (1) Thank God it started back up.  (2) it didn't idle high in the end.  (3) I have no freakin clue why!!!! 

I'm going to keep watching the idle and see how it goes.

Thanks for all of your help.

[resistor]

Well glad it's working for you!  When you checked the intake boots, did you have an actual o-ring on the back that was soft?  When I pulled and replaced mine the other week the o-ring was as hard as metal and didn't even budge with my fingernail... the new intake boots had a really nice set of o-rings and I also added some RTV to help keep the seal.  Hope you found the problem and got it fixed!