My Bike Studders in 1st Gear | GTAMotorcycle.com

My Bike Studders in 1st Gear

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nikos1965

Well-known member
I own a 2004 v-star 1100 for 2 years now and its been running like a top up until now. I use premium gas, regular oil changes, have changed sparked plugs as well. Now when its cold or even warm between rides it will studder on 1st gear at a stop.

Anyone have any experience on this issue?

Is it bad gas, clogged carbs, fuel filter issue?

Do I need service or are there some things I can try before servicing?
 
Is it dropping 1 cylinder at idle? That would generate a stutter for sure.

It's either fuel starvation on that cylinder (clogged jet or clogged fuel filter), or lack of ignition - bad plug wire, or ignition coil.

The fact that it presumably picks up the second cylinder again once you bring the RPM's up (?) would lead me towards it being an carb problem - the pilot circuit could be clogged up, but once you open up the slider a little and get into the primaries fuel starts to flow properly again and things run normally.

Did the problem come on just after any work you did on it? Specifically, the spark plugs? Have you done anything SINCE the issue appeared in an attempt to fix it?
 
PrivatePilot said:
Is it dropping 1 cylinder at idle? That would generate a stutter for sure.

It's either fuel starvation on that cylinder (clogged jet or clogged fuel filter), or lack of ignition - bad plug wire, or ignition coil.

The fact that it presumably picks up the second cylinder again once you bring the RPM's up (?) would lead me towards it being an carb problem - the pilot circuit could be clogged up, but once you open up the slider a little and get into the primaries fuel starts to flow properly again and things run normally.

Did the problem come on just after any work you did on it? Specifically, the spark plugs? Have you done anything SINCE the issue appeared in an attempt to fix it?
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This issue just started at of no where. I had plugs put in last season and had brakes put in this season. I have been riding it for months and no issues at out of the blue the studdering started. YES it does go away as rpm goes up with higher speed, When the bike is hot it goes away, when cold it acts up. So you are pretty confident its a carb issue? Should I try anyway draining the fuel and adding new fuel with some additives or even a fuel filter or both? Thank you.
 
nikos1965 said:
This issue just started at of no where. I had plugs put in last season and had brakes put in this season. I have been riding it for months and no issues at out of the blue the studdering started. YES it does go away as rpm goes up with higher speed, When the bike is hot it goes away, when cold it acts up. So you are pretty confident its a carb issue? Should I try anyway draining the fuel and adding new fuel with some additives or even a fuel filter or both? Thank you.
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my guess too would be a carb plugged pilot jet...

Was the bike winter stored w fuel stabilizer? Replace fuel filter and clean air filter -yes.
Check for seated spark plug caps? (on tight)
You could pull the plugs and check to see if one of the plugs is blacker than the other? this may give you a clue which carb likely needs attention.

Your bike is an 04. You might consider a rebuild of both your carbs if you are going to have them off anyway. kits shouldn't be too expensive and include replacement of the float needle/seat. On an 04 this is maintenance more than a repair.

You could contact Frekeyguy here on gta. he has a very good reviews and has helped many riders get their bikes running properly.
 
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Agrees with above, get your carbs cleaned.

Not Seafoam (my own opinion, fought that fight here before), but properly taken apart and cleaned.
 
Before you pull the carbs I'd give Seafoam a try. Run the tank down low and add the Seafoam and run it a bit to get it into the carbs, then let it sit for a day or more if you can. Well your waiting, check those plugs to see which cylinder is causing the hesitation. You can get Seafoam at Can Tire.
 
On another topic you say you use Premium Gas does that bike call for premium? I think Yamaha says use 89 in the v-star 1100. Using premium in an engine designed for 89 is just wasting money and you get less power, Higher octane is for engines needing it to reduce detonation, usually because of a higher compression performance engine.
 
taximan62 said:
On another topic you say you use Premium Gas does that bike call for premium? I think Yamaha says use 89 in the v-star 1100. Using premium in an engine designed for 89 is just wasting money and you get less power, Higher octane is for engines needing it to reduce detonation, usually because of a higher compression performance engine.
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The previous owner told me to always put PREMIUM gas in it so thats what iv been doing for the last 2 years
 
nikos1965 said:
The previous owner told me to always put PREMIUM gas in it so thats what iv been doing for the last 2 years
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Just because the previous owner did it, doesnt make it right. I have an 04 vstar 1100 as well. Use regular gas only.



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nikos1965 said:
The previous owner told me to always put PREMIUM gas in it so thats what iv been doing for the last 2 years
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What does the owner's manual say on the subject?
 
You may have picked up a load of bad fuel - try running the tank down or draining and refilling.
 
Have you gotten gas since it started? If you did, it's not the gas. If no, drain it of finished it up, run a 1/4 tank of fresh gas, then refill another 1/4. If it's still doing it, run some Seafoam mix thru with a fill up.


Ppl are always fooled into thinking Premium gas is something better cause of the "name". It's higher octane for a particular use. Don't forget 91 RON is 87 pump octane/"regular".
 
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Its a great bike when running properly. If pipes have been added, or a hypercharger, chances are the carbs have been rejetted, and if they have, the factory plug for the primary mixture screws have been drilled out. So there is a special screwdriver with a 90 degree angle you would need to set the mixture, in this case to increase a piston that is running too lean. This was my situation after the carb was cleaned. Carb mate makes an excellent electrinic synchronizer that will tune it to a range of .5 inches hg. Well worth the investment. If you dont know how to do this stuff. Research and read about it, or, take your bike ti a certified mechanic

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The Gas companies try to trick you into thinking buying Premium 90 octane and Super 93 octane is better for mileage and or engine performance. All this is to just get you to buy more expensive fuel.

If your engine manufacturer says use regular 87 octane then use it. Using higher grades will not give you more power of better fuel mileage. That is all a myth.

The octane level is not a power rating of fuel like most people think. The octane level is a rating telling how resistive the fuel is to self igniting when compressed. So 87 octane is 87% resistive to self ignition when compressed and so on.

In higher compression performance engines using higher compression pistons (example 10:1 compression or higher) using regular 87 octane may have the undesired effect of self igniting before the compression stroke reaches TDC and the spark plug ignites the fuel. This is bad as it causes what is called knocking which in time will damage your engine. So these higher compression engines will call for a higher octane fuel to eliminate the pre ignition and prevent knocking.

So the bottom line is save your money and use the fuel the manufacturer recommends. Putting more expensive fuel in is just wasting your money, gives you no benefit and just lines the fuel companies pockets.
 
In 2004 ethanol was not the problem it is today. Some engines do not run on certain regular blend. You can not categorically state that if the owners manual says to use it that you can continue using it. Times and blends change.

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The only advantage for using premium fuel in an engine that does not call for it is the fact that some premiums are ethanol free still. A lot of premium fuel is also advertised as having all sorts of extra cleaning agents and such which are not necessarily a bad thing, however are mostly gimmick in an effort to make the fuel more marketable as being something special.

However even that is becoming hit or miss as not all are – Costco, Canadian tire, and Sunoco are the only three at this point in time who still have No ethanol premium.

Personally I use regular 87 in all of our bikes for the entire summer as that's what they call for and run best on - mine gets worse mileage on premium than regular for that matter. Only at the end of the season when it's time to winterize well I filled him with no ethanol premium, and add stabilizer . The ethanol & the related water problems that comes along with it is really only an issue if you are burning less than one tank every three or four weeks.
 
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When it started a few days back I was thinking maybe a fuel issue so I headed to the pumps but it only took half a tank, so that said if it is a fuel issue the new gas is mixed in with the bad. So should I run it completely dry and see from there?
 
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