Best way to decarbon an engine?

[11Rider]

Hola mi amigos. I know my bike has some carbon build-up because of a visual check and slightly high compression. I've been doing a lot of reasearch on the best way to decarbon an engine and from what I've seen, it could be narrowed down to three basic ways. 1. Run a high concentration of Sea Foam throught the engine (3/4 gall. of gas and 16 oz. of Sea Foam), 2. Spray some kind of solvent (Sea Foam, WD40, etc.) into the intake while the bike is running. 3. Spray water in the intake while the bike is running. Is there any consensus here on the "best" way?

[Tarheeltriple]

I think that the best way to remove carbon is a 100 mile drive with a properly tuned engine.

From time to time I do use 2 to 3 ounces of sea foam to a tank of gas.

I am not a fan of large quantity of sea foam.

A friend of mine “wingnut” used super strong sea foam mix once and it softened the “cream” in the tank and washed it in to the carbs coating the inside of the carbs making a real mess.

Everything in moderation is the key.

[natemoen]

Never would have thought sea foam would do that. Something to remember I guess.

[petejw]

you could try all those u have suggested,
also Tarheeltriple makes a good point,

but at the end of the day the best way to do it is to
strip the top end apart and clean it, carbon
gets built up in the exhaust ports, combustion chamber,
tops of pistons, behind the piston rings.
im doing this at the moment.

also u want to determine why u have so much carbon
built up, could be rings or valve stem oil seals.

[tinman905]

You won't get rid of much carbon with seafoam in the tank .You have to spray or pour it into the carbs while it is running ,shut it down right away and let it sit for 10 minutes or so and then run it good on the centre stand . Make sure you are outside and stand up wind of the exhuast it will get thick .

[cywelchjr]

I've often used running water into the intake on other vehicles with really good success. It's what I was taught to do by my HS shop teacher. Engines we pulled down afterwards were really clean. Now one thing he told me was to make sure to not just shut it down as soon as your done, but to run it a bit to get oil back up to the upper cylinder areas.

[petejw]

ive done it they way to cy,
u just need to be careful of the amount
of water u pour in, to much, it will bypass the rings
and end up in the oil.

[Fireplug]

Rider, Ive using Techron Concentrate Plus for the last couple of years in my Honda VTX which is also ,with pretty good results. The bottle only gives directions for an average vehicle so I figured it out to how many ounces for my tank and went from there. You should be able to find it at your favorite Auto parts store. Also if im not mistaken, there is a product similar but somewhat more expensive, sold at bike dealers. Whichever way you decide to use of all of these different ideas keep us posted .

[tinman905]

ive done it they way to cy,
u just need to be careful of the amount
of water u pour in, to much, it will bypass the rings
and end up in the oil.

I have aslo heard from a few mechanics that you have to be careful using water because you can damage the valves using too much water.

[DiverRay]

The water or seafoam into a HOT engine will work. Difference:
Water, Squirt a SMALL amount into each carb as you have the engine revving about 2,500RPM. Keep a fan blowing on the engine, and put a total of about 3 Oz. into each carb, about 30 seconds to put it all in.
When done, keep bike running for at least three more minutes to dry any water that may have gotten into the wrong place.
DO NOT do this more than once every 10K miles, as the water can burn the aluminum off the top of the pistons, and the head.
Seafoam, Again with the engine hot, squirt almost a full can of the spray into the four carbs, starting with the bike at about 1500RPM, and letting it kill the engine AFTER all four carbs have been hit. Shut the ignition and let the bike sit for ten minutes. Restart the bike and rev or ride it for a few minutes to "blow out" the now loose carbon.
To keep the carbon from building up, DO NOT USE PREMIUM GAS in a stock XS1100 engine. These engine are made to run on REGULAR GRADE gas, and mid grade or premium burns slower, and WILL cause a carbon build up in the engine.

[11Rider]

Thank you for all the advise.

[Woof]

Try some RXP, it works great on my bike and all my cars.

[petejw]

im doing a top end rebuild in a cpl of weeks
and thought id try this prior to the pull down,
and see what difference if any it does make.

ive got a 4 - 1 aquarium valve which ill attach to the
intake barbs with a restrictor connected to the
main line going into the water, as ray pointed out
ill fully warm up the engine prior and run it at a high idle
probably for around 10 min at a time, ill let u guys know
how it turns out, any other suggestions feel free to add.

[ManagerMike]

Top engine cleaner. Its name is what it is made to do. Follow instructions on the can and make damn sure of the last instruction: change the oil.
However, if you intend to do a teardown for a recondition, why go through the trouble

[crazy steve]

Water, Squirt a SMALL amount into each carb as you have the engine revving about 2,500RPM. Keep a fan blowing on the engine, and put a total of about 3 Oz. into each carb, about 30 seconds to put it all in.
When done, keep bike running for at least three more minutes to dry any water that may have gotten into the wrong place.
DO NOT do this more than once every 10K miles, as the water can burn the aluminum off the top of the pistons, and the head.

Now, that's one I've never heard. I was always told that water was about the safest method there was as long as you didn't squirt in too much and 'hydraulic' the motor.

I know that 'back in the day' when super premium gas disappeared and the guys with the big compression ratio motors were trying to figure out what to do (besides buying Avgas), full-time water injection setups became popular for a time. They weren't a cure-all (most ended up either running a octane booster, or lowered their compression ratio), but I don't recall any problems with a properly set up system...