01 Voyager XII Carbs

[Cuda67]

Good afternoon everyone. I am new to this forum and to Kawasaki motorcycles as well. Purchased an 01 Voyager XII last summer. Hurt my back shortly after so sat in my garage until about March 2019. It ran fine when I bought it and put about 1500 miles on it.

It seems to have a miss/rough idle and runs rough at low rpm. When it gets up to about 2500 rpm it seems to start pulling pretty good. Haven't done any investigating yet other than draining the tank, ran out all of the older fuel then replacing with new 91 octane (No Ethanol). Added some Lucas fuel injector cleaner. Put about 25-30 miles on the new fuel/treatment combo.

Been afraid that running it might lean out a cylinder and burn a piston?? Worked on lots of cars and pickups in my younger days but no motorcycles. Restoring 67 Barracuda (340 4spd) right now! Woohoo.

Anyway, shop wants $700.00+ to go through the carbs. Thought that I might give it a shot myself. Would appreciate any information and/or troubleshooting information.


Thanks

[Nails]

Welcome to the asylum.
Thus question has been answered a bunch of times, last about a month ago. There seems to be a consensus to swap your carbs for a set Carl Leo has gone through. I don't know what that costs, or if it's too late (I hear he's hanging it up).
If you want to go for it, Search is your friend. The hardest part might be getting them off the bike.
I'd have to recommend being pretty sure it's the carbs first -- even thought I'd guess that way too.

[cushman eagle]

I am not experienced with Lucas injector cleaner,but have been impressed with Seafoam.Many on the AVA have had good results using it to clean carbs.
I have been using it as a gas stabilizer,and have seen it keep regular gas fresh for up to 2 years in the antique tractors we do not run enough

[ekap1200]

Not knowing where you store it , but did you look into the air box ? Mice love the home the air box makes.... Use only regular gas, not high test. and drain the carb bowls into a baby food jar. Use a marker or tape and get an idea of how the four are filling . they should be about the same. Do one at a time, we do have a way of priming the fuel pump ( key on -engine off ) If it has sat in a damp shed for some time some of the wiring contacts could have corrosion , If your a car guy, you should know a dead miss from just a rough idle issue. Seafoam is the product most used by us here on the forum. Did you inspect the plugs. Don't make the mistake most make when removing them.... clean those plug wells with compressed air until CLEAN....... and back to a damp shed storage , perhaps nip the ends of plug cap wires... 7mm stranded copper core wires , could be an issue. # 2 plug wire needs the cable splitters 2 phillips screws removed to smake the wire out from under the cable and out of the way.... Read up on oil change issues and be sure the right amount of oil is in the engine. Sight glass is useless other than knowing the separate oil fed pinion is getting oil to it. When in doubt , do an oil change. 3qt- 22oz with new filter.
Fuel filter ? ask us, the manual will tell you to remove the fuel tank ,,,, there is a much better way..
Once you sure you don't have a dead miss. check the sync on the 4 carbs. Again if you a car guy ,, you should be able to know if your lean on mixture , Don't fix things that are not broke...
Gene Kap

[Sparky-29]

Get some enzyme I believe it's made by star right. You can literally hear it work. It puts mister back in your rubber components too

[Thadbaker86voyager]

The tech center on home page has information on carb rebuilding for the 1200 voyager. Give you an idea what it would involve. The biggest challenge is getting the carburetors off and back on the engine. Carburetor rebuild is pretty straight forward, much the same as any carburetor. Once you have gone through one the other three are the same!! I would recommend keep the parts with there respective carburetor body’s, not mixing them up. Most likely just a matter of cleaning the jets out. I would also recommend sea foam and the enzyme fuel treatments, as others have mentioned.

[cranky]

Is this the stuff? If so, I think I'll order some!!! TIA

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001V ... 0DER&psc=1

Get some enzyme I believe it's made by star right. You can literally hear it work. It puts mister back in your rubber components too

[Thadbaker86voyager]

Yes! Also available at Wal-Mart!

[SgtSlag]

The enzyme is good, but it is a hassle to remember to treat every tankful... If I remember correctly, it only takes a single capful, per tank of 6.5 gallons.

Gene, the Voyager does not need higher octane to prevent pre-detonation. It does, however, need alcohol-free gasoline, to avoid damaging the fuel system. My '93's owner's manual specifically states to avoid using alcohol-blended gasoline.

My 2000 Silverado has lost its fuel gauge because of E-10 usage by previous owners. My mechanic informed me he had just replaced his, for the very same reason: destroyed by the E-10, over a period of years. The new fuel float part cost him $700! He then had to drop the 26-gallon fuel tank, to install it. The cost for me, would be north of $1,000... I just figured out how far I can go before I run out of gas, and use the trip meter as my fuel gauge.

For my Voyager, I use alcohol-free gasoline, as much as I can. When I tour, I have little choice but to use what I find available. There are phone app's which will tell you the nearest source of alcohol-free gasoline, but that is generally too much of a hassle, as they are often far afield.

I will pay more for alcohol-free gasoline, to keep my vintage motorcycle running. I also treat my bike around 1/month with SeaFoam, as a preventative measure. I store it with a full tank of SeaFoam-treated, alcohol-free gasoline. Come Spring, it fires up like it was parked last week. I have not had a carb issue since I bought the bike, in 2010, and I had the carbs cleaned, balanced, and configured by a professional mechanic I've used, and trusted, since 2006. I rarely visit him anymore, as the bike runs superbly, most years.

Cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc., built in the later 2000's, have alcohol-resistant fuel components. Earlier vehicles do not. Check your owner's manuals to see if they address the use of alcohol-blended fuels. Some do, some do not. Use E-10 fuels, at your peril, if the manual does not discuss it, and the machine was built prior to 2010 (flex-fuel began showing up around this time, which allows E-15 fuels). Cheers!