skipping sometimes

[xswilly]

today I took my 78 XS11 E out for a spin
its been about 3 to 4 weeks
as I live in maine and the riding season is about done
but today was nice about 45 and i had time
so i went out for a blast
well i warmed it up for a full 5 minutes at least
it skipped and popped some out the exhaust
i started out on the road, and for about 3 miles it still skipped
when i slowed down to turn onto another side road,
and has i shifted thru the gears, it cleared up
and ran nice, (as usual ) for the next 7 to 8 miles
when i got home it was still running good

question is,
what should i check to solve this
or just leave it
considerating it was a cold day and I hadn't used it in 3 to 4 weeks
and once it cleared its throat, it ran great

[CMA1]

Hi,
Did you put some fuel stabilizer in the tank and run it for about 5 minutes before putting it away? With the ups and downs in temperatures these past few weeks you probably had some condensation happening in the fuel... then it cleared itself. Make sure the tank is full when you park it too.
That's all I can think of.
Good luck.

[xswilly]

would it be better to leave it full or to empty it totally

i heard to empty it
then put a little oil inside and turn the tank over a few times to coat the inside

[TheDjost]

It's a personnal thing, really. Some say empty some say full.

I'm one of those that say full... But only if the proper prep work is done. This prep work is very easy: pour in a dose of fuel stabilisator (or a double dose, if you can), and run the bike a couple of miles, just to make sure the stabilisator goes into the carbs. Then fill it up all the way to the top, and if you have a small jerry can, fill that up also (rememer to pour a little fuel stabilisator in that as well). When you get home, top off the tank. Remember: the more air in the tank the more possibility that there will be condensation, wich means poor running in the spring and possibly even rust in the tank.

If you store the tank full, all you have to do in the spring is turn the petcock to prime and start the engine.

Others will say empty, to prevent the gas from gumming up and/or going bad. With fuel stabilisator, this is a non-issue, and I would prefer not having all that humid air condensing in the tank.

The key is to keep it really full. That's why you have the jerry can, to top it off if you have a nice warm day and decide to run the engine a couple of minutes circuate the oil during the winter.


-Justin