SV running rough as arse in the cold - ideas?

[FreshAL]

Hi,

My SV is really not happy in this cold weather. It starts OK on full choke, but I've really got to rev it to pull away. When I'm riding it'll stall as soon as I come off the throttle approaching a junction. Once it's stalled it's difficult to get it going again - needs quite a bit of throttle, and stalls if left to idle.

Carb icing, or something worse?

It's quite dry down here, and I've got a fender extender so I don't think it's the SV front plug problem. Anything else I should be checking for?

thanks for any ideas

[jamieclayton9]

i can pretty much garantee that it is the front carb iceing cor youve got damp getting on your front spark plug. i get a fender extender for mine and just kept spraying a bit of wd40 on the front pot. cheers. jamie
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all my previous rides, c50 steppie, h100s, cb250n superdream, gpz500s, gsf600s bandit, gsf1200s bandit, zx6r, thunderace, dr350, sv650s, cb600f hornet ooohhhhh and the mrs

[Watsits]

It sounds like carb icing there is a fuel additive on the market by silkolene called pro FST it costs about a tenner just shove a bit in the tank each time you fill up. it cured it on my ZZR 600 had problems the last two winters using this stuff this year not a single problem

hope it helps

Andy
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ZZR 600, FZR 1000 Gen, 250 Wet Dream streetfighter (interesting Project) honest just doin it for a laff.

[sickpup]

It's not carb icing.

Due to the design it takes a fair time to warm up. I can pretty much guarantee that If you ride the bike for 30 minutes the problem will stop as the engine will be warm.

[Kickstart]

Hi

I would go with Sickpup on this. I would not expect carb icing to be a problem immediatly (and I am not sure where you are, but currently in the West Midlands it is nobbin cold but very dry, and the moisture in the air is an essential part of it), but would instead occur after some time running.

In cold weather the engine takes longer to warm up, and when cold fuel will condensce on the intake walls (and so when it gets to the cylinder it is not attomised so will burn poorly). This is why you need a richer mixture (ie, choke) when starting an engine from cold. Possible that with a modern bike jetted quite lean for emissions reasons it is just struggling. Might be worth seeing if you can richen the mixture slightly (hopefully Sickpup knows which way to turn the idle mixture adjustment screws on the SV to richen the mixture).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Superlight]

Well, I think it is carb-icing.
[wind it up and watch it go]

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You only need two tools: WD-40 and Duct Tape.
If it doesn't move but should, use the WD-40.
If it shouldn't move but does, use the Duct Tape.

[sickpup]