Bad gas and being lazy

[Beeflips]

These days I'm trying to minimize work for myself as I'm trying to get my house ready to sell on top of working my usual 50-60 hours/week. new tires on Saturday, I get the wheels put back on the bike, gas is lowish, but knowing that when it actually hits "E" on the gauge I'm down to about 2 gal. of fuel. So I get the wheels back on, and the bike feels great with the new tires, so I decide that I'll take a longer ride the next day, and I go and get fuel at the local speedway.

At this point, the bike has rec gas in it, and I can't just get that gas everywhere, but I put about 3-4 gallons of mid grade in the bike and go for about a 10 mile ride. I get back home, and then realize that I wanted to pick up a couple things from the store, but the bike doesn't just start like it had been, I had to give it some throttle. So I run to the store, same thing starting to come back, plus it's starting to chug during acceleration. I'm concerned that it just happened after getting gas. So I drain the fuel as far as I could ( could see the float sitting on the bottom of main fuel section) then I went and bought more rec gas to put in it.

Rode it about 30 miles the next day, and it was "okay" at 55-65 on the country roads, but really bad in town with the chug during acceleration.
So! could this be fuel related? or just a coincidence that something else happened right when I got fuel.
Fuel flow looks great after the fuel filter, could I have fouled plugs? And with everything else going on, I'm not too keen on pulling carbs AGAIN, (I'm getting good at it) but I just want to ride, hence my reference to being lazy. I'll give a quick recap on this bikes history...

Bought in the fall at an auction "turns over, does not run, needs serviced" 23,500 miles for $770
Find the pilot jets plugged, get bike running but know the carbs need rebuilt.
End up having to care for parents for several months straight while bike sits. So I decide to send carbs out on eBay to Romax cycles, guy rebuilds the carbs for $300 round trip, then I finally get the time I bolt them on.
Put 2500 miles on since and bike has been perfect, not even a hiccup.
Now, suddenly runs poorly after adding fuel.

Sorry about the lengthy novelette, but what are the thoughts of the more experienced here?

Thanks, Greg

 

[larryg]

Put 1/2 can of SeaFoam in the tank, with fresh gas.
Go out and ride it hard (accelerate up near red line when you can and as often as you can).
I think you'll see an improvement, it's certainly worth a try...
Once it's running well again, start putting Startron in your tank with every fillup - and you won't have any more fuel issues, even with long-term neglect.
This is based on 10 years of experience with my ( Four-carb ) CB900C.
Good luck..

 

[kiltman]

Do you still have the Vacuum fuel valve shutoff? Bypass it if it's still connected.
As mentioned above Seafoam added to the fuel. I've had very good success with Lucas Fuel injector cleaner added to a few tankfuls of fuel ( yes I've used it on my carbs)
Sometimes it could be electrical and that's where I would check the red connector at the main relay. (It doesn't hurt to check it anyway)

 

[Beeflips]

Do you still have the Vacuum fuel valve shutoff? Bypass it if it's still connected.
As mentioned above Seafoam added to the fuel. I've had very good success with Lucas Fuel injector cleaner added to a few tankfuls of fuel ( yes I've used it on my carbs)
Sometimes it could be electrical and that's where I would check the red connector at the main relay. (It doesn't hurt to check it anyway)

No actually, when I bought a battery first thing and wanted to try to start it. It dumped fuel all over from the shut off, that's how I found this site. So it has since been bypassed, with that said, I went to the trouble to rebuild the shut off. but it sounds like now, that I just want to leave it off? And I will try the Seafoam.

 

[Beeflips]

Put 1/2 can of SeaFoam in the tank, with fresh gas.
Go out and ride it hard (accelerate up near red line when you can and as often as you can).
I think you'll see an improvement, it's certainly worth a try...
Once it's running well again, start putting Startron in your tank with every fillup - and you won't have any more fuel issues, even with long-term neglect.
This is based on 10 years of experience with my ( Four-carb ) CB900C.
Good luck..

Will certainly try this!! Thanks!

 

[Andrew Shadow]

I went to the trouble to rebuild the shut off. but it sounds like now, that I just want to leave it off?

Yes, bypass it completely and remove it. See this article for an explanation- ST1100 - How to do an emergency bypass of the fuel valve

And I will try the Seafoam.

I find cleaners such as SeaFoam more effective if they are allowed to soak for a while. Not everything can be dissolved in short order. Breaking down of the contaminants happens over time. It is irrelevant if the engine is in use or not, what matters is how long the contaminants are exposed to the chemicals in the cleaner.

Below is what I do whenever I have felt that a fuel system cleaner was a good idea.
Burn out as much of the old gas as possible- good excuse for a ride. Put in fresh gas and add a fuel system cleaner such as SeaFoam, Techron, etc.. Go for a 30 minute ride to make sure that the gas containing the cleaner has penetrated all areas of the fuel system and replaced the old fuel. This will also allow the cleaner laden fuel to leave a coating of cleaner on the internals of the engine as well. Might as well clean off the valves and pistons while you are at it. Park it and let it sit for a few days to let the cleaner dissolve any contaminants. Then, while going for good long ride to burn that fuel out, run it hard to de-carbonize the engine at the same time. At the next fill up, put another dose of cleaner in to get any remaining contaminants that were loosened up but not completely dissolved, and then use the bike as usual.

 

[Beeflips]

Thanks guys! really appreciate the input! perfect kind of solution I was looking for.

 

[Beeflips]

Just wanted everyone who participated in this thread to know that I pretty much used all the suggestions, and within a couple days things were back to normal. Much appreciated!

 

[ST1100Y]

Probably just clogged jets then...
(I'd refurbed a CX500 EuroSport some time ago that has been grounded for like a decade...)

 

[Beeflips]

Probably just clogged jets then...
(I'd refurbed a CX500 EuroSport some time ago that has been grounded for like a decade...)

CX500's are great bikes, another reliable Honda tank! Mine is a custom, but i prefer the tank on the deluxe, a little sportier. I took the cruiser handle bars off and put street fighter bars (like a motocross bar without the crossbar) a blast to ride in town.