Speedbump

Greetings all!

Brand new to the forums, and of course I have a question! Everybody seems so helpful here, so I'm looking forward to the responses.

I have found my basic problem in another thread: My bike wont run unless the choke is at least half way

Same story for me, but I'll add my own background to see if anybody thinks there might be something else I should be considering.

I have an '09 Rebel 250 that I bought new last May and I love it (it now has 2900 miles on it). However, after riding it almost daily for about 8 or 9 months, my wife and I moved and my commute got substantially longer, so much so that I end up riding the train instead of my Rebel .

So of course I ended up covering it and it sat around for about 2 months while life happened. Even worse, I left it sitting with the stopcock on. I finally decided to make some time for a ride, and that is when I realized I couldn't turn off the choke without the engine dying on me.

So after reading here I went out and got myself a can of Seafoam today with the intention of adding it to the gas tank and it looks like I should get myself an in-line fuel filter. What I am worried about is that I may have to take apart the carb, and I'm definitely new to wrenching but really want to learn.

So my main questions are:
1) with the Seafoam, I need to run the bike for it to work, how long do I need to run it for and how bad is it to run the engine with the choke half on for that amount of time?

2) On a bike that has only sat for about 2 months, how likely is it that I've developed a clog in the carb that would require me dismantling it to clean it out? The tank doesn't have any rust that I can see so far, but I still need to get a mirror to be able to check out the back.


Sorry for the length and rehashing an old topic, I hope it's ok. Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

Cheers.

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shadetree

If you close the choke,AKA the enrichment valve, it floods the engine. On the other hand if you open it, push forward, it leans out. Check the air filter for gumming up, drain the bowl a couple times, clean the petcock. Cheapest things first! I f that doesn't work pull the carb, soak overnight and blow it out with a compressor. Many people on here are firm believers in sea foam for this but my personal fav. is quicksilver.

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flitecontrol

Welcome to the forum. Next time you park it for an extended period, put 2-3 ounces of Sea Foam in a tankful of gas, ride it long enough to mix the two and get the mixture in the carb. Then top off the tank to minimize condensation. Sea Foam stabilizes gas longer than Stabil.

For no longer than it sat, I would think Sea Foam should be able to clean the carb. You can try just adding it to the gas for a couple of tanks, or drain the gas out of the carb (there's a screw for this), fill the carb with straight Sea Foam, and let it sit overnight or longer. Then drain the Sea Foam and try it. When you ride the bike, give it full throttle (doesn't matter what speed, you want high rpms) and then close the throttle. Repeat half a dozen times or so. May help clear any loose crud.

If that doesn't work, yes, you are probably looking at a carb disassembly and cleaning.

The only quicksilver I know of is mercury? Is that what you are referring to, shadetree?

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I'm keepin' all the left over parts. I'm gonna use 'em to build another bike!

2001 Rebel 250, 1989 Vulcan 750
Putting your bike info in your signature helps others help you!

shadetree

Yep. Thats it, works great on small or 2 stroke carbs. but does not ruin O- Rings.

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Fridgitator

How do you go about cleaning carbs with mercury?

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'09 Rebel 250

Loud ties save lives.

shadetree

It,s a spray cleaner that doesn't evaporate very fast so you can let it soak. Most people use it for fogging before winter storage.

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flitecontrol

Okay, so we are all on the same page, shadetree is not talking about elemental mercury, the toxic liquid metal. He's referring to this: QUICKSILVER POWER TUNE CARBURETOR & ENGINE CLEANER on eBay (end time 05-Sep-10 15:46:21 BST)

I too was wondering how the element mercury could be used to clean carbs!

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I'm keepin' all the left over parts. I'm gonna use 'em to build another bike!

2001 Rebel 250, 1989 Vulcan 750
Putting your bike info in your signature helps others help you!

shadetree

Yeah thats it. sorry about the confusion. That stuff works great.

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Fridgitator

That is a relief!

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'09 Rebel 250

Loud ties save lives.

shadetree

Actually its made by mercury marine so thats probably why its called quicksilver. I got hooked on that stuff when I worked at a place rebuilding outboards.

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