Hello,
Just a stab in the dark, but I need help with my motorcycle. I went to take it out for the first time (lots of rain here this year is why it took so long) and it will not run properly.

It has good gas, the fuel is on, and the choke works fine. Problem is when i want to put on the gas, it dies. It will idol, but as soon as I try to put a little gas on, it loses power and wants to die.

Does anyone have any ideas? I am really bummed out because this is my big weekend to ride! :(

It is a little street bike, I bought a small one to make sure I want to invest in a bigger one. Oh yeah, i definitely want a bigger one. :) Anyway, it is a Yamaha 2002 Virago 250cc

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ANY HELP!!!

You might want to try the Harley forum. :lol: :lol:

You said it has good gas but is it new gas? If the bike has been sitting for awhile you might need to drain it and put in fresh gas. Does it have a fuel filter? That would be the second guess. Either that or perhaps you have a fuel line that's partially blocked.

WHOA!!! Not only is she a quilter but a motorcycle mechanic!!! :wink: Hi RR :lol:

Yup, new gas. I was wondering about the fuel filter and maybe the fuel pump assembly. I can't figure out if/where the fuel filtr is.
Not much help on google. UGH! WIsh my hubby could work on bikes!

You might also want to check the spark plug and the air filter too. There are so many things that can cause the problem that you are having. Most likely it is something minor especially sense the bike has been sitting.

Yes! Good sugestions. Also I'd squirt a bit of (spray can) carb cleaner in the carburator. We've done this and it helped after the bike sat a while.

Another easy check is to check your battery. My Hubby's bike eats his battery if it sits for any length of time. My bike doesn't as much, but if a bike sits, it still seems to draw power from the battery and can drain it. It might be that your battery has enough power to start the bike, but as soon as you challenge it to run, it throws in the towel.

Marsye you'd be surprised at all the hidden talents we have on this board :D

We have to buy new batteries for our bikes every year in the desert heat. Sitting is hard on batteries.

Once you get it running, be careful and have a great time.

You might want to get some battery tenders. They're not expensive. When the bikes sit for a long period of time, you put the "tenders" on them and it keeps the charge up on the batteries. We live in the desert and DH ALWAYS has one on his bike during the winter.

I hadn't thought of that, I didn't know about tenders for bikes.. We keep our mini winnie pluged in all the time, thanks.

Nope. Not the battery. Did cab clean. I just finished draining gas out of carb and went ahead and drained all the fuel lines. still no luck. Sooooo, I called the shop and they said it probly needs carb taken off and super cleaned and probly a carb kit. Dang it.

So this is my weekend: front tire on camaro flat beyond repair $150 special order, motorcycle to shopn at least$120, and hubbys needs wheel bearing for his 4wheeler $80. The bike will go to shop, pick up when I can pay in 2 or 3 weeks. Camaro tire: still don't know. 4wheeler gonna have to wait til next month.

Lol figures, I finally get to buy my janome 9500 and everything else falls apart.
BUT my daughter got her student loans approved. Woo hoo! Big worry gone there.

LMAO if only I'd been born rich instead of so cute and funny!!

Oh and thanks to everyone. I knew I could find help here!!

Per my DH: There is probably some old gas in the carburetor, even if you have new gas in the tank. He says, pull the air cleaner tube of the carb. end and spray some kind of carb. cleaner into the carb. Let it sit for 10 min., reattach the tube and see if this helps. If this doesn't work you may need to take it to the dealer to clean the carburetor. (We have a Yamaha too.)

For winter storage, shut the gas off and run until it dies. Pour some 'Stabil' in the gas tank for the winter.

Let us know how it goes!

Theresa: tell ur hubby thanks a bunch!!

I'm late to the tread, but would also have suspected it is the carburetor. They just don't like to sit for a long time. By the way, I started on a Virago as well. I "graduated" to a Suzuki Savage 650, which seemed to be the right size for me. I was amazed how much power it had compared to my little Virago. My Virago is the one in my avatar.

We have a 1982 BMW 1000 and a 1972 Motoguzzi 750, both with funky,cool old sidecars. We're old and don't want to fall over LOL. Also I'm short and my feet don't touch the ground on the bikes. We don't go far or fast.

be safe riding your motorcycle

I use to own a 150cc motorcycle (don't remember if it was yamaho or suzuki)...dh bought it for me for my 30th birthday...the brake handle was hard to squeeze and I forgot about the foot brake...crashed into a tree... it also through a rod... ;( oh that was the ping ping ping we heard when we bought it... nope not normal for motorcycles (as we were told by the seller) or any engine...we went to automotive repair school in 1994...yup can rebuild engines now...don't have a shop and outdoors is NOT the place to open up an engine :>

You can buy mine. Its going to go up for sale pretty soon.
Its a Suzuki Marauder 1600. Mine wasn't running real well this year either. I ran it as long as I could then put the expensive gas in it. Seems to be fine now. My back isn't getting any younger so thats why I'm selling it. :shock: