Bike won't idle

[82Maxim1100]

I haven't been on here in a while and I'm not sure if I put this in the right spot.

Anyway, the bike ('82 XJ1100) has been sitting up for about a year or so with the same gas and some Seafoam in it. Needless to say, without a battery tender, the battery is shot. I'm going to try to bring it back to life. But my main question is what do I need to do to get this bad boy working again. I can start it and keep it running by giving it gas, but as soon as I let go of the throttle, it immediately dies. Since I figured that out, I've drained the old gas and drained the carbs. Any ideas on how to get it up and running again? I had the carbs re-built about 2 yrs ago, so I'm hoping I don't have to do that again. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks

-Alan

[John]

Quick, Standard Response

Check the tech tips on the Main Forum page, and look for carb cleaning. It sounds like your pilot jets/circuits are plugged up. Will it idle with the choke applied?

[DiverRay]

The other thing you can try first is to empty the fuel tank, put JUST SEAFOAM in, and then turn to prime to fill the carbs. Let sit overnight, and try to start in the morning. It WILL run badly, and smell, but may clean out the carbs WITHOUT disassembly. If it does seem to work, just add about two gallons of gas to the tank and run it through with a ride.

[82Maxim1100]

Thanks, I'll try that first, and hope that I don't have to do a re-build. Should I put the whole bottle of Seafoam in, or like 3/4 or so?

[DiverRay]

You want JUST SEAFOAM in the carbs, NO GAS! the idea is to use the seafoam to "clean" the varnish off the inside of the carbs.

[82Maxim1100]

Right, I was just wondering if I should use a whole bottle and then run the bike on only seafoam until it's empty? I guess I should get some new spark plugs too, just in case they foul?