bought a used venture

[gmarshall]

Hi. I traded up from a V-Star 1100 to a used 2006 Venture with 3,200 miles on it. Wow, what a highway cruiser! One small issue is starting the bike. It seems to take a long time to warm up. Starts fine, but has now power for the first few minutes. It also has a chrome cap on the choke button. The linkage seems loose, and the choke will not stay out; pulls itself in when you give it a little throttle. Can this be tightened?

Is it usual for a water cooled bike to take a while longer to warm up? I used to be able to start the V-Star and drive away immediately.

 

Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks,

G

[RandyR]

It does take a moment to warm up. The carbs out of sync could make it worse. A low mileage 6 year old bike may need a good dose of seafoam and some hard running to clean the carbs out. Not sure what to say about the chrome choke knob not staying out. I have the factory knob and it stays outuntil I push it back in. Maybe someone else has seen this before?

 

Good catch on the low mileage 06.

[SilvrT]

Hi. I traded up from a V-Star 1100 to a used 2006 Venture with 3,200 miles on it. Wow, what a highway cruiser! One small issue is starting the bike. It seems to take a long time to warm up. Starts fine, but has now power for the first few minutes. It also has a chrome cap on the choke button. The linkage seems loose, and the choke will not stay out; pulls itself in when you give it a little throttle. Can this be tightened?

Is it usual for a water cooled bike to take a while longer to warm up? I used to be able to start the V-Star and drive away immediately.

 

Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks,

G

 

Was the V-star fuel injected?

 

If you're choking the RSV to start it, why are you cracking the throttle? When I start mine, I pull the choke out all the way, crank it over until it starts and once the rpm's have built up, I push the choke back in to a point where it keeps the engine running at just above idle... when it's warmed up a bit, then I push the choke all the way in... but, I NEVER crack the throttle ... I see no real reason for doing that.

[V7Goose]

What you describe is not normal for this bike. It sounds like you have partially plugged pilot jets. If it is not too bad, you can probably clear it all up by using Seafoam in the next six tanks of gas (I suggest 1/3 can in each full tank). If everything is in good shape and proper adjustment, you should never need the choke unless the temps are below 70, and there should be zero noticeable warmup period.

Goose

[BuddyRich]

Choke should not be pulling itself back in. I keep mine on for about a minute or maybe two then then bike is fine. Don't get on it for the first five or ten minutes till the engine is warmed up but it seems to have the same amount of power during that warming up period as it does hot.

[gmarshall]

Not sure if the V-Star was fuel injected or now. That bike had a choke slider on the left grip. I would engage the choke all the way, hit the start button, and after about 10 seconds, ease the choke back half way. Once I got out of my apartment complex, I would slide the choke all the way off.

 

The venture wants to stall until it warms up good.

 

Still learning the unique character of this bike. Weather permitting, I'll ake it to work tomorrow.

G

[gmarshall]

Gotta ask a dumb new guy question. What is Seafoam?

[SilvrT]

DITTO on what Goose and BuddyRich say ... since it is an '06 with that few miles, it probably needs a good "cleanout".

 

Seafoam ... http://www.seafoamsales.com/

 

http://www.seafoamsales.com/motor-treatment.html

[Yammer Dan]

If you purchase on line and use the promo code A123 you can buy a gallon right now for 42 bucks & change.

[V7Goose]

Seafoam is a fuel system cleaner and fuel stabilizer. There are a number of cleaners that have a good reputation, such as Techron, but many of us here feel that Seafoam is one of the best. From our experience, it is quite effective and seems 100% safe on the bike parts. Unfortunately, it is fairly expensive at around $8 a can.

 

Some folks like Berryman's B-12 Chemtool, which is MUCH cheaper, but from the label information, it seems much harsher and potentially less safe for the bike with long-term usage.

 

Another highly respected cleaner is BG 44K, and some anecdotal evidence indicates it may provide significantly better cleaning than the others, but is is much more expensive than Seafoam and quite hard to find.

Goose

[SilvrT]

Around here, Seafoam can be found in many automotive parts supply shops as well as marine shops.

[FuzzyRSTD]

Yep for sure Seafoam and maybe carb sync. My bike does not need the choke in normal 55 degree weather and above. It is parked in a well insulated garage though. The garage makes a big difference. I start the bike and it takes me about 30 seconds to back it out and away I go, no problems.

 

I use the choke later in winter. I pull the choke and start and then push half way in, it stays at half way until I get to the main road US 60 and then I must push it all the way in. No problems.

 

Fuzzy

[Mike G in SC]

On the chrome choke knob,,,

I put one on my Road Star years back. Due to it's size and mount method, it was actually keeping my choke partially on, even when all the way in.

 

I think it is easy to remove (just a thumb nut).

I might take that thing off for now as you are troubleshooting.

 

Mike G in SC

[gmarshall]

Going hunting for some Seafoam after work tomorrow. Thanks for the advice!

G

[FuzzyRSTD]

Going hunting for some Seafoam after work tomorrow. Thanks for the advice!

G

 

Wally World carries it.....

[MikeWa]

The choke should stay where you put it and may be your biggest problem. I agree with the sea foam and carb sync. Also your carb heaters may have been disconnected or may be not functioning. When starting I will pull the choke partway out. Open and close the throttle once then hit the starter. When the RPM stabilizes I will reduce the choke to obtain the 'no stumble' engine speed I want and ride. Usually within a couple of blocks I push the choke the rest of the way in. This is probably very similar to what you did with your V-Star. Congrats on your new bike and best of luck sorting out this little glitch.

Mike

[marczing]

came from a vstar to a venture and experienced the same thing or so I thought. The choke on the venture isn't as pronounced in it's steps as the vstar. I know on the vstar it took a hell of a lot more force to pull it out than the venture and I kinda got used to the new feel. Seafoam is always good but it may be a learning curve thing too

 

Zinger

 

[myminpins]

Our choke has the chrome knob on it but it stays put until we push it in.

 

Compared to our Honda VT1100T, this bike doesn't seem to start quite as nicely but it does always start and stays going once it starts.

 

Our Honda VT1100T was also water cooled and started every time with minimal choke (depending on the temperature).

 

Now that it's cooled off quite a bit, we often crack the throttle once it starts to ensure it stays running (it has stalled a couple times but it's under 50 degrees here now in the mornings) though on the Honda we never touched the throttle once it started. Our bike seems to run beautifully so we just chocked it up to a different bike and brand (Yamaha vs. Honda).

 

Planning next year to get it really well gone over by our local mechanic at our local bike shop - check all the cables, make sure they're as they should be, lube if necessary, sync the carbs if they're not perfect, etc., etc., etc.

 

I don't believe we have seafoam around here (not 100% sure of this) but we use some gas stabilizer from our local Canadian Tire here. We don't have ethanol in our gas yet, either, but it's coming.

[BradT]

I don't believe we have seafoam around here (not 100% sure of this)

 

You may not, but look at Walmart, Canadian Tire, Parts Source, Napa and Carquest. I have seen it in all of these stores lately.

 

Brad

[myminpins]

It says it's available Canada-wide at these stores:

 

Napa, Auto Parts Plus, Auto Plus, Auto Sense, Auto Value, Bumper to Bumper, Carquest, Parts Source, Best Buy, and Lordco.

 

Hah, it's available at our local Canadian Tire so there you go. I've never looked for it before so... Thanks!

[Condor]

Choke should not be pulling itself back in. I keep mine on for about a minute or maybe two then then bike is fine. Don't get on it for the first five or ten minutes till the engine is warmed up but it seems to have the same amount of power during that warming up period as it does hot.

 

Yeah.... Mine is the self canceling type too. It'll stay out until the r's pick up and then starts to work it's way back in.... I've looked but can't find a place to increase drag, so just live with it...

[RandyR]

Yeah.... Mine is the self canceling type too. It'll stay out until the r's pick up and then starts to work it's way back in.... I've looked but can't find a place to increase drag, so just live with it...

 

Does someone sell self cancelling chokes for the RSV ? Thats new to me. I don't want one, but just curious.

[johnbroughman]

I get my Sea Foam from NAPA Auto Store, it is cheaper than Wal-Mart right now at 6.95 a can, I also use 1oz at each fill up if it takes 3 gal or more. Works great, there is also another product out there called Star Thron which also works pretty good, and you can get it at Walley World or any auto parts store, but I like the Sea Foam.

[johnbroughman]

Also you should be running 86 Octain or your local regular gasoline in the RSV and not premium as the engine is designed to run on regular and you will get better miliage and performance by using regular, again thanks Sky Doc for enlightening me on this, you were right on.

[Condor]

Does someone sell self cancelling chokes for the RSV ? Thats new to me. I don't want one, but just curious.

 

Not that I'm aware of... I'm just lucky I guess.....