I got a 2004 Yamaha v star 600cc and the carburetor is not pumping right. it will start but wants to die when you give it gas?

Answer 1

Yamaha's are jetted very lean to begin with. If you are in a cold climate it is even worse. Are you twisting the throttle while trying to start? If you are, don't, and if it starts, wait until it warms up for a minute before applying any throttle. Check the fuel filter on the bottom of the petcock for water or debris. If it has been sitting for a while without being run, then the gas is stale. Try draining the gas from the carbs only. There should be a screw on the bottom of the float bowl. Loosen it a turn or two, you don't have to remove it completely, until about a cup or so of gas is drained from it. For some reason, possibly the heat of the engine, the gas in the carbs will go stale and start to varnish in no time at all. If that doesn't work, then possibly the enrichener (choke) is not operating . It is a little slide mechanism with a plunger connected to the choke cable. This will require disassembling the carbs, but before I would do that, I would disconnect the fuel line, drain the carbs of gas, then fill the carbs with Sea-Foam, a gas additive available from Advance Auto or NAPA, let it sit overnight, then drain the carbs and flush a little fresh gas through them. This will clean the jets without having to remove and disassemble the carbs. You can avoid carb problems by shutting off the petcock and let the motor run till it dies, or drain the carbs before storing it. Try the Sea-Foam trick, it is a very good stabilizer. I have 5 bikes and always keep stabilizer in the gas, and keep your tank filled to prevent condensation from forming in it. If none of these tricks work, then the problem may be more serious, such as a damaged diaphragm in the accelerator,which will require a carb overhaul. Don't use starting fluid, (ether) as this can easily damage the engine if used in excess, and don't use gas that contains ethanol on a regular basis, as this will cause problems with the rubber components. My XT won't start after it has sit for only a week without draining the carb.