Hello- I've had a real tough time getting the bike going this year. Ran Stabil & gas in it last fall, and this spring it did not start easy or idle correctly. I have fiddled with the idle adjustment screw and it seems to idle a little better (still hard to start), but when I rev the engine, there is a distinct delay in returning back to idle. The cables do not appear to be sticking. Any hints on what this might be?
I have Seafoam in the tank now, and ran the engine some to get it in the carbs. We'll see if that helps.
Thanks.

2004 w/ new maint free battery.

Good Question.
Usually the only thing that will slow the return is the cables.
Will it go down if you twist the throttle back?

When I put my engine back in after a stator replacement, I had a problem with the throttle not returning. I checked the cable path and adjusted the tension on the cables. Once the tension was adjusted the throttle returned properly. Loosen the locking nuts at the throttle end and take the slack out of both the cables and see if that takes care of it.

Exact same thing for me, played around with the two locknuts on either side and got it to work correctly.

As long as you get full throttle travel and it returns to idle normally, you are all set.

Jon

I'm betting you have some varnish gumming up your carbs. Let's see how the seafoam works before we start adjusting anything like cables. If your floats are stuck, you will have problems until the seafoam gets time to work. If you had pulled the carbs and reinstalled them, I might be thinking cables, but since you are just getting going after winter, and you used stabil, I'm going with gummed up carbs...

I have the same problem with my 2004 VN750. I rode it twice this year and then I starded having the same problem. Last year I ran Stabil in it and made sure I rode it enough to get it in the carbs. I took it out first part of this week and it was doing the same thing. I put some seafoam in the gas and ran it at idle for about 15 minutes. Wednesday I took it out on the hiway and RAN it some. It definitly seemed to be doing better. I'll do that some more and see if I can get a little more improvement. Right now, it seems to me to be varnish in the carbs. I'll keep an eye on the problem. Good luck with your situation.

Pat

Not to beat a dead horse, but a buddy of mine here local has a shadow 1100 that he hit a deer with about a year ago. Didn't hurt it too bad, but it has sat in his barn since. Last weekend he went and renewed the tags and had it inspected then rode to my house. He said it was running rough as a cob and was talking about pulling the carbs. You know me. I walked over with my can of seafoam and put about 1/3 can in his tank. We started it up and let it run a few minutes and shut it off. He was helping me put my dynas on. About two hours later he headed home. Talked to him yesterday and he said the bike is running better than it ever has since he bought it. He was at Walmart looking for seafoam when he called me. He's wanting to put it in every vehicle and yard tool he owns. Just one more miracle from seafoam.

By the way, I forgot to mention that he said it was running so much better just from my house to his that he was in shock. He said the farther he went, the better it ran.

My bike was hard starting, and some OEM plugs from an auto parts store changed all that. Get the NGK DP7EA-9

Easiest fix I have made in a long time. My car was about the same thing, it wanted new plug wires. Conclusion: don't overlook the simple stuff

Stone