Running problems with new 96 gsf600

[silverbandit96]

Hi, I just purchased a 1996 bandit gsf600 this weekend.  I'm pretty excited about it, but before I put it on the road it has some serious issues that need to be worked out.  It seems there's some sorta fuel mixture/carb problems.  It starts with the choke on, and with the choke on it idles like 3,000 rpm.  The problem is once you start riding it and it warms up and you turn the choke off, it doesn't want to idle at all.  I'll put in the clutch to shift, and it'll just die before I even let teh clutch back out.  THen it becomes extremely difficult to start unless I let it sit for a while.  Also, when riding it, it sorta cuts out and misses a whole bunch above 5,000 rpm.
I just put new plugs on it and put some fresh gas in it, it had been sitting for a while before I bought it.  The guy I bought it off of says it has new coils/wires on it.  I'm thinking enough fuel isn't getting to the carbs or mabye floats are sticking, I'm not sure.  He said he had the carbs rebuilt last year because he had it sticking on the kickstand all winter and the floats froze that way, but this winter he stood it upright when he stored it.
Anyways, any suggestions would be good.  I was kinda curious where the fuel filter is on the bike, is it located in the tank, attatched to the petcock?  I was thinking mabye it could be plugged up.  Also, I was kinda curious what the idle should be on this bike when warm w/ choke off.
Also, the bike has an aftermarket exhaust and has been fitted with bigger jets.  Thanks.

[PeteSC]

There's no factory fuel filter, with the exception of a small bit of screening on the pickup tubes on the petcock, inside of the tank.
  The idle speed should be around 1100-1200 rpm when warmed up.
  Bandits are pretty cold blooded.   I've fouled some plugs trying to get my 12 to run with old gas and the choke on, and once somebody cranked my bike up and revved it for a while with the choke on,....and fouled the plugs.
  I'd check the  plugs for the heck of it.

  Other than some more intense problems that are beyond me, I'd try some Techron in the gas if the bike has been sitting for a while with old gas.  Even topping off the tank with fresh gas doesn't quite get the old stuff out of the system, or clean out any gum or crud that accumulated while sitting.
  You can check for gas flow, and also drain the old gas out of the carbs by opening the drain valves on the bottom of the carbs.
  Oh yeah, if there was some old gas in there to start with, topping off with fresh stuff may not be enough.  If you suspect the gas is older than a month, drain it all, and put in fresh stuff.
 
  Somebody else will probably check in with more precise stuff to check, but the stuff above usually gets my bike running when it's been sitting, which happens too often.

[silverbandit96]

Well, I did drained the old gas, put in fresh 93, and new plugs, and then it did this.  It did sit for a long time, and there might be some gunk in the carbs.  So tonight I went and picked up some STP comlete fuel system cleaner, and i dumped some of that in.  TOmmorow I'll start it and beat the piss out of it, and mabye it'll clean some of that stuff out.  Thanks.

[PeteSC]

93 Octane?  Are you in the US?   93 octane isn't needed unless the engine is pinging on lower octanes.  The bike is spec'd for 87, unless the previous owner put high compression pistons in........
  The extra money and octane is wasted, unless the bike needs it.

http://forums.banditalley.net/viewtopic.php?t=2615&highlight=octane


Oh yeah...  

[silverbandit96]

well, I figured it'd been sitting a while, i'd run some 93 in there just to clean it out some, but I didn't realize that the engien could run 87, hell it has over 11:1 compression doesn't it?

[97RedBird]

I also have a 96, and it sounds like you need to double check the carbs.  verify the A/F mixture screws, how many shims they have on the needles and if you have the stock jets.  

Mis-adjusted floats were making my bike act real funny and -10 MPG.  

I would take the carbs off and verify everything before wasting gas and time on everything else.

PS - did it run correctly when you bought it?

[silverbandit96]

No it did not.
I'm not quite sure what to look for when I take the carbs off.  I knwo they have been rejetted/ possibly shimmed.  If I take the bowls off the carbs and check the floats, will they bowl covers be able to seal when I put them back on, or do I need to get a gasket kit?

[tacoman]

The bowls will reseal fine.  Just be careful when removing the bowls, the screws are very soft and strip easy.  Make sure you have a good, sharp phillips screwdriver.  Make sure your jets are the same and check the a/f screws.  look in the bottom of the bowls for any crud.  Good Luck.

[Red01]

Sounds like the PO didn't know how to store a carb's gas engine. If you let an engine sit with fuel in it for more than about a month, the gas will start to deteriorate bady. The process involves the liquid fuel starting to gel into a solid and this crap will clog the tiny passages in a carb... then it doesn't run worth a crap, if it runs at all.

FWIW, after 45 days 89 octane (the US RON+MON/2 method) drops to 40.

[Maniac]

Sounds like a good carb cleaning and balancing may be in order, and I don't mean with that crap you pour into a gas tank. I'm not sure how effective that actually is, and after seeing what old gas can do, I doubt it can do a very good job.

FYI, old gas eventually breaks down into varnish and dries into little crystalized dust bits. These crystals are not like Dilithium Crystals, and will not make your bike go any faster. They are also not like Folgers crystals, and do not taste good as a substitute for morning coffee.

Congrats on your purchase, and welcome aboard!  

[97RedBird]

Sorry - welcome to the board.

I'm sure you are excited about riding your bike ASAP, and wish you the best of luck cleaning it up.  I agree old gas is hard to clean up.  taking the carbs apart has been the only way I have fixed/cleaned my bikes in the past.