Slow to warm up.

[YamaDuck]

I've checked the post and have not been able to find a tread about this problem. I just bought a 2001 with 4,550 miles on it. When I arrived the previous owner was warming up the Venture. He said it was cold natured and took awhile to warm up. He said he usually would just ride with the choke on until it warmed up. My 2000 Venture if you do have to pull out the choke you just pull it out for a few seconds and then push the choke in and it is fine. This 2001 you have to leave the choke out for 5 minutes or more before you can push it in or the Venture will die. I test drove the Venture before I bought it and it flies on the highway. It runs very strong and smooth. Does anyone have any ideas on what might be the problem? The Venture still has the original tires on it so I'm going to assume it has the original plugs. I'm going to put new plugs in it but I would think that if the plugs had anything to do with it that it would not run so strong or smooth on the highway.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Harry:bang head:

[PastorPaul]

I've checked the post and have not been able to find a tread about this problem. I just bought a 2001 with 4,550 miles on it. When I arrived the previous owner was warming up the Venture. He said it was cold natured and took awhile to warm up. He said he usually would just ride with the choke on until it warmed up. My 2000 Venture if you do have to pull out the choke you just pull it out for a few seconds and then push the choke in and it is fine. This 2001 you have to leave the choke out for 5 minutes or more before you can push it in or the Venture will die. I test drove the Venture before I bought it and it flies on the highway. It runs very strong and smooth. Does anyone have any ideas on what might be the problem? The Venture still has the original tires on it so I'm going to assume it has the original plugs. I'm going to put new plugs in it but I would think that if the plugs had anything to do with it that it would not run so strong or smooth on the highway.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Harry:bang head:

Check and make sure the carb heaters haven't been disconnected.

[YamaDuck]

Thanks PastorPaul I didn't even think of that. I'll check tomorrow.

[ken]

I think the carb heater only come on when the temps get down in the 30's

[YamaDuck]

Well it was definitely in the 30's here this morning but I think it was warmer than that when I picked it up. Probably in the 40's that day.

[bald josh]

learned along time ago, if the seller has "warmed it up" be leary. i ask that the seller, car, motorcycle, rototiller, etc be COLD when i show so there is no surprises later. learned this the hard way ..... sorry!

[YamaDuck]

He was trying to warm it up when I got there and he told me it had been warming up for 10 minutes and it has always been that way. So I new it was temper mental before I bought it. I figure that if it has only 4,550 miles on it in 8 years the carbs may be gummed up but I don't know enough about gummed up carbs to know if it can run fine at highway speeds and have trouble warming up. It seems to me that gummed up carbs would effect all levels of performance not just starting but what do I know?

[bald josh]

i meant no offense!!! gummed up fuel can cause probs all over the place, if you trusted the seller that this was the way it has always been then it might just be the way she is... for now,... doesnt mean something wasnt screwed up from the assembly aka birth of the machine. i think you are smart to look into it, its along time for anything (but my 74 ford f150 ) to warm up. does sound carb related!

[Gamecock]

My 04 is cold natured. My 00 V-Star was also. I have to choke it for about 2 or 3 minutes before heading off. I generally let it warm up 5 minutes before taking off when it's cold outside (below 50).

 

Now you got me thinking......do I have a problem also?!?

 

 

Ben

[wes0778]

My '99 RSV was like that when I first bought it. It had 16,700 miles on it. After 3 cans of Seafoam it is MUCH better. I still have to choke it for about a minimum of 30-45 seconds, first thing in the morning, unlike the '98 RSVD which I almost never have to choke, at all.

[Gamecock]

Probably a stupid question but.....Do you follow the "how to" video and put 1/3 of can in carbs, 1/3 in oil, and 1/3 in the gas tank?

 

 

Ben

[wes0778]

Probably a stupid question but.....Do you follow the "how to" video and put 1/3 of can in carbs, 1/3 in oil, and 1/3 in the gas tank?

 

 

Ben

 

Nah, first one I just poured the whole can in the fuel tank and filled it up. Will probably not have the power it did (with the whole can in there), but will run. after that I used a 1/2 a can per tank, for the other two cans. Did a carb sync somewhere in there too.

[Gamecock]

I just put Stabil in mine for the winter. I'll grab a can and put 1/2 in during the spring when I get the carb's synced. Thanks

 

 

Ben

[RandyR]

I have to run mine with the choke on for several minutes. Always been that way since 0 miles.

[cecdoo]

Mine needs the choke to start I slowly tap it about halfway in to keep it idling and then run the first few minutes with it on. I dont see it as a problem just the nature of the beast, I would much rather have it idling a little faster then have it cough and sputter and die in a slow turn:yikes: Craig

[saddlebum]

It could just be that the idling / fuel mixture is set a little lean. You could try pulling a plug and comparing it to a spark plug colour chart, to get some idea. Personally as long as it is not so lean as to burn valves, I would prefer it this way. If you richen out the mixture just for easier cold starting you may also increase the amount of fuel you use. My bike needs no choke at all to start and that has always bothered me because I feel it is running too rich, but I have procrastinated doing anything about it, prefering to ride it then play with it.

[YamaDuck]

I put a whole can of SeaFoam in yesterday. It's early so I don't know if that helped or not. After I run this tank dry I'll add 1/2 can a few more times and see what happens.

[massey130]

I would be interested in how your bike plays out. please keep this thread updated with your comments.

[cecdoo]

It could just be that the idling / fuel mixture is set a little lean. You could try pulling a plug and comparing it to a spark plug colour chart, to get some idea. Personally as long as it is not so lean as to burn valves, I would prefer it this way. If you richen out the mixture just for easier cold starting you may also increase the amount of fuel you use. My bike needs no choke at all to start and that has always bothered me because I feel it is running too rich, but I have procrastinated doing anything about it, prefering to ride it then play with it.

 

Interesting, if what you say is true it would explain my bike, as I seem to get great gas mileage better then most I believe, and when I did change the plugs they were perfect. Makes sense I am running on the lean side and need more choke. Thanks Craig

[Wanderer]

Very interesting. I have an 09 with a little over 10k on it. At first after Sleeperhawk and I synced the carbs it would start right up with out choke, that was prior to break in, now I have to use the choke more and more for a longer period. Maybe it's time to look at the sync again.

[V7Goose]

The carb heaters cannot be the problem since they only come on when the bike is in gear. I can't say for sure what the problem is on such minimal information, but I CAN say without a doubt that your carbs are a mess. Any 9 year old bike with less than 5,000 miles on it has been sitting WAY more than running. I can only imagine how many gallons of fuel have gone nasty and sludgy in that thing. It actually amazes me that it runs at all.

 

Certainly many doses of good fuel system cleaner are in order, but that might actually make things worse before they get better (depending on how much varnish and sludge is actually in the fuel system). Personally, I'd start with 44K, then after a couple of tanks with high dose of that stuff, I'd pull the carbs, set the floats and blow all the passages and jets with compressed air. With the carbs still off, I'd turn the key on and pump several gallons of gas into large glass jars to see if any gunk or sediment is being blown through the fuel lines. Finally, make sure you change that fuel filter before you put it all back together!

Goose

[bamico]

2007 RSV - need to be choked ~ 5 min +, especially if riding 2 up.

The end of my driveway is a hill, and I generally leave it choked a bit until I get out of the driveway, up the hill and run ~ a mile or two.

No choke on a cold day, and it dies on the hill.

 

 

2005 RSTD - same issue, although not quite as bad/long.

[YamaDuck]

I'm not familiar with 44k but I put a can of Seafoam in and it seams to have helped a little. I cranked it up today and let it idle about 20 minutes. I was going to ride the bike today but I checked the air in the tires and the front had 12 lbs and the rear had 10 lbs of air in it. As I was putting air in the tires I noticed that the rear sidewall was sliced so I didn't go for the ride but Idid notice an improvement in the idling. I believe this bike is so gummed up that the idle screw just barely works. The saddlebags will not hardly open because the latches have not been used. Greased the latches and the latches work fine now. I think the idle adjustment is the same way. You turn the adjustment and nothing happens and then after a delay the engine rpm's change. Ralph and I are going to take the carbs off this Sunday and clean them good.

[Mikey]

Goose is right on,the carb passages are gunky. The problem is the ethanol. I have a good friend who has been a Yamaha dealer for 35 years and sells bikes and watercraft. He says the ethanol in the gas is driving them nuts. If you run it at least once a week there's no problem,but if you do like I do and go for a month or more without riding thats trouble. I've had to rebuild the carbs on my 99 twice in the last 2 years because I let it set too long and did'nt put a fuel stabilizer in like I should have. He rcommends Stabil Marine. I use it now, and haven't had any problems. he also told me that when they rebuild the carbs they make sure they run cleaner wires thru all the jets because sometimes soaking in cleaner and compressed air isn't enough to get the gunk out.

[N3FOL]

For an '01 with less than 5K miles is in no doubt that it sat very long in a garage before being started again. I have very little knowledge on the Venture Carb system, but I am almost certain that it is a carb and fuel issue. +1 on the 44K additive...I've heard good reports about that in this forum but rather expensive. To put the bike on choke for more than 5 minutes is way too long. When I ride on 20° temps, I only choke my bike for almost about a minute and simply let it idle to warm up for up to 4 to 5 minutes.

 

I hope you can get that bike behave normally. It is a good find. Good Luck.