peashooter instructions

fellas my bike as said in previous post is idling good, but still getting this hesitation when cranking the throttle and it is still bogging down on take off then catches itself, runs good afterwards till next stop.....
gonna try the peashooter thing sat. on my own and i ain't the reddest apple in the tree.....what do they mean by backing the jet off two turns, then spraying the seafoam in the vent....by backing off two turns are you allowing the seafoam to pass thru the needle you backed off....also going to clean and lubricate all the linkage connections and see by the slides how far the sync is off.....if there is instructions out there for dumbasses, someone send me a copy....i got the picture of the four carbs looking from the top that is on this site..with the green and purple arrows showing the jets.....

mgosset1 said:

fellas my bike as said in previous post is idling good, but still getting this hesitation when cranking the throttle and it is still bogging down on take off then catches itself, runs good afterwards till next stop.....
gonna try the peashooter thing sat. on my own and i ain't the reddest apple in the tree.....what do they mean by backing the jet off two turns, then spraying the seafoam in the vent....by backing off two turns are you allowing the seafoam to pass thru the needle you backed off....also going to clean and lubricate all the linkage connections and see by the slides how far the sync is off.....if there is instructions out there for dumbasses, someone send me a copy....i got the picture of the four carbs looking from the top that is on this site..with the green and purple arrows showing the jets.....

Click to expand...

My bike developed some idling problems a few months ago - it would start to idle rough, and sometimes stall, while waiting at long red lights. Other than that, the bike ran well.
I opted to first try the Peashooter cleaning method, instead of the Shotgun, since it was the easier of the two.
My interpretation of the instructions was that you are to back out the idle mixture screws two full turns from where they are set, and then inject the carb jets with the cleaner. I used Seafoam, from a syringe.
After performing the Peashooter, the bike ran better, in that it did not stall, but the idle was still on the rough side, as if all cylinders were not firing at idle and low rpm operation. So my next step was the Shotgun (the idle mixture screws are removed completely during this procedure). One of the screws did not come out as an assembly (o-ring, washer, spring, screw), and the parts were covered in a whitish deposit, leading me to believe that the circuit had been blocked. After cleaning all the parts and orifices as outlined in the Shotgun instructions, and reassembling, the bike ran very well at all rpms, with a smooth idle. I subsequently did a carb sync, which improved the mileage and smoothed the idle further.
CAUTION - working with the idle mixture screws can sometimes cause complications. Have you adjusted them before? If not, have the brass plugs already been removed?
If you have no prior experience with the mixture screws, let us know before you dig into your bike. There will be all types of tips and suggestions chimed your way, from the forum members familiar with carburator maintenance.
Cheers!

I have rebuilt a few carbs on farm tractors and some smaller engines....but looking at this carb wasp nest on this bike is a totally different animal for me...gonna try it all before i spend the money the dealerships want for rebuilds...will do the peashooter Sat. and after that gonna remove the main jets on the side and just clean them up and see what happens...don't know if the plugs have been removed but am about to find out....thanks for the advice....They say you have to get your feet wet in order to learn how to swim...so I am going to dive right in them carbs...hell i can always tow it to the shop if i mess them up that bad....lol....

mgosset1 said:

I have rebuilt a few carbs on farm tractors and some smaller engines....but looking at this carb wasp nest on this bike is a totally different animal for me...gonna try it all before i spend the money the dealerships want for rebuilds...will do the peashooter Sat. and after that gonna remove the main jets on the side and just clean them up and see what happens...don't know if the plugs have been removed but am about to find out....thanks for the advice....They say you have to get your feet wet in order to learn how to swim...so I am going to dive right in them carbs...hell i can always tow it to the shop if i mess them up that bad....lol....

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About those idle mixture screws - they didn't give me any grief on my bike, but I gathered from reading about them on this forum (and others) .....
- they sometimes are seized in place. It's best to spray them with WD40 or PB Blaster, and let them soak for a while before attempting to adjust them. Several folks have said they have stripped the threads on the screws or the carb bodies while trying to remove them. Many people talk about the importance of a well-fitting screwdriver, even if it involves grinding one to fit.
- Once they are free to move, most people will screw them in until lightly seated, to determine the original set points. 21/2 turns out is considered the "stock" setting. Yours may be different, if set originally at the factory with an oxygen sensor, or if fiddled with by a previous owner.
- If you decide to remove the screws completely-as per the Shotgun method- sometimes the air pressure is not enough to dislodge them . Member Rhoy Carter suggests using a drinking straw to get them out.
- Also, if doing the Shotgun, some folks don't advocate the use of compressed air, because of the chance of messing up other components of the carbs. I used good old lung power, blowing thru a piece of rubber tubing that fit well in the PAJ1 orifices(after removing the jets themselves) As I mentioned previously, this worked fine to remove 3 of the screws, the other had to be dug out in pieces, because of deposits on the screw, spring,
washer and o-ring. Also don't forget to cover the mixture hole with a finger, because the screw assemblies will shoot out , using compressed air or lung power.
On a different note, lots of folks on this forum say that "Start Your Engines" treatment works extremely well to cure carb problems, even better than Seafoam, and many try it before manually cleaning . I haven't used it myself, however, but I will pick up a can for future use, if required.
Best of luck!

Thanks Miles; excellent info man....I like the lung power too....

I use an eyedropper to apply the Seafoam when I do the peashooter. I do it while the bike is running as well as again with it off. Then repeat with running. I do this a couple times each before putting the air box back together.

If you do the Shotgun, with pressurized cleaner of any brand...........SHOOT IT ONLY IN THE TWO ORIFICES indicated on the instructions here on the forum.

I thought I'd spray carb cleaner in all the little holes visible inside the carbs while I had it partially apart - BAD MISTAKE - carb cleaner is hard on diaphram rubber. I sprayed down a port which leads to the coasting enrichener diaphrams and ruined at least two of them. My bike was so plugged with loose pieces of those diaphrams, it wouldn't even run without full choke, and barely then. Those coasting enrichener diaphrams ran me about $45.00 per carb - 3+yrs ago. Expensive lesson learned on my part.

mgosset1 said:

fellas my bike as said in previous post is idling good, but still getting this hesitation when cranking the throttle and it is still bogging down on take off then catches itself, runs good afterwards till next stop.....
gonna try the peashooter thing sat. on my own and i ain't the reddest apple .....

Click to expand...

I see in your other post, you like your idle set way down around 700 rpms. Might be worth trying to raise your idle up to within Mother Yamaha's specs to around 1k rpm's to see if it makes a difference on your hesitation when cranking. Could make a big diff if you are doing a roll on crank from your idle speed. :ummm:

i set the idle back up to 1k rpms...and did the peashooter.....it did help....after years and years of storage i should not complain...its getting a little better every day....

Keep running seafoam in the gas, and just go run the piss out of it. Odds are it'll clear up in time. Might try the "start your engines" stuff, heard a few people here rave about that also.

Compared to most I4s and V's, the Vmax carbs are very easy to get at since they're downdraft instead of side-draft. Most V's have the carbs wedged in between the cylinders *coughMAGNAcough* and are a real bitch to get in and out. My Nighthawk required you to remove the rear wheel and inner fender to be able to slide the captive airbox back, to get the carbs off.

The Vmax carbs come off the bike in a tidy rack within 10 minutes or so. Even better since there's no choke cable to disconnect.

Don't be afraid to dive in. There's step by step picture tutorials in the carb section.

If you go to take them apart, have a big Philips screwdriver and/or an impact driver. On mine, the bolts holding the bowls and rack pieces were extremely tight, almost stripped them out.

i just got off it not long ago and yes I did run the hell out of it, complete with back tire smoke and all....runs a little better every day...lol....i still got the seafoam in the superunleaded fill up i did the other day....6oz. to a tank.....gonna stick to my plan and run at least two tanks of the seafoam; it's helping a lot!!.....may try that other stuff your talking about also....

RaWarrior said:

If you go to take them apart, have a big Philips screwdriver and/or an impact driver. On mine, the bolts holding the bowls and rack pieces were extremely tight, almost stripped them out.

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+20

I stripped at least 2 on my first disassembly. :bang head:

Go get extras before you even start to have on hand, that way, when you have to take the vicegrips to them to loosen, you won't feel as bad doing it.

You know I am complaining a lot about the carbs on this bike, but as long as it has set up in storage I really got no bitch.....Ever since 85 I have wanted one of these muscle bikes and am dang happy to find this 01 in this condition....I started riding in 1967 when you could get a license then at 14 years of age of up to a 100cc..Back then it was the only way to get off the bicycle going to school; my parents could care less that we rode motorcycles back then. We rode in the rain, sleet and snow; it was the only way to get to school unless you walked...lol..My first bike was a Yamaha Twin Jet 100.....Have owned probably 20 plus since then and mostly all sport bikes..and I have had plenty nice ones like the GPZ's, XS1100's, and you name it....To be honest this is the best bike by far....Stop light to Stop light very few bikes can touch this one and its power is second to none for that year model...If I could afford it I would be riding the Gen 2 max's...At my tender age of 57 this is a lot of bike for this old man and I am content with what I got....At this age I will probably never own the newer one..but that's ok....This Vmax at its present age is getting many compliments from the Harley riders and everyone else....I think they all respect the power these bikes possess...and I am not afraid to line up against any of them on a short street run....So far I am very pleased with this Forum and everyone has been very nice to this old man trying to figure out this bike...I appreciate everyone's help so far....I had a Harley before this bike and it was the most boring ride to date....it was just no fun to ride....Some say this is just a mid-life crisis, but in truth it's not...It's just pure fun....All the years I have been riding I have never laid a street bike down....It's a record I am proud of; some people just have no business riding motorcycles and they are usually the ones we read about in the papers and internet....My secret has always been to evaluate every possible thing that could go wrong while your riding your bike and anticipate potential hazards.....It's just that simple; nothing more, nothing less.....

mgosset1 said:

fellas my bike as said in previous post is idling good, but still getting this hesitation when cranking the throttle and it is still bogging down on take off then catches itself, runs good afterwards till next stop.....
gonna try the peashooter thing sat. on my own and i ain't the reddest apple in the tree.....what do they mean by backing the jet off two turns, then spraying the seafoam in the vent....by backing off two turns are you allowing the seafoam to pass thru the needle you backed off....also going to clean and lubricate all the linkage connections and see by the slides how far the sync is off.....if there is instructions out there for dumbasses, someone send me a copy....i got the picture of the four carbs looking from the top that is on this site..with the green and purple arrows showing the jets.....

Click to expand...

http://vmax.lvlhead.com/tips/shotgun.htm will get you the procedure for the shotgun and is easy to understand. A must to learn owning a Vmax.
Or send the rack to Dannymax for a good as new clean and set up. You can't go wrong with Dann-0
Steve

Back from the dead...

My bike is still not right, after running 4 tanks of gas with Seafoam. I guess I will try this first, and then the Shotgun if necessary.

My question is, should I do this without a carb synch tool available; is counting the turns enough? I am really worried about making things worse...

mgosset1 said:

I have rebuilt a few carbs on farm tractors and some smaller engines....but looking at this carb wasp nest on this bike is a totally different animal for me...gonna try it all before i spend the money the dealerships want for rebuilds...will do the peashooter Sat. and after that gonna remove the main jets on the side and just clean them up and see what happens...don't know if the plugs have been removed but am about to find out....thanks for the advice....They say you have to get your feet wet in order to learn how to swim...so I am going to dive right in them carbs...hell i can always tow it to the shop if i mess them up that bad....lol....

Click to expand...

I just replied to a post that is older than dirt, But beware of the dealerships. Ever think of boxing the carbs up and sending them to the expert rebuilders on this forum? You'll save time aggravation and money. Dannymax is a vendor here as is Sean Morly. Both highly recommended. When you use the vendors you help support the forum,also.

HyperPete said:

Back from the dead...

My bike is still not right, after running 4 tanks of gas with Seafoam. I guess I will try this first, and then the Shotgun if necessary.

My question is, should I do this without a carb synch tool available; is counting the turns enough? I am really worried about making things worse...

Click to expand...

You don't absolutely have to have a sync but it helps afterwards just to know they are where they need to be. Just be accurate with the turns of the a/f screws and put them where they ran best.

HyperPete said:

Back from the dead...

My bike is still not right, after running 4 tanks of gas with Seafoam. I guess I will try this first, and then the Shotgun if necessary.

My question is, should I do this without a carb synch tool available; is counting the turns enough? I am really worried about making things worse...

Click to expand...

pm sent

blaxmax said:

You don't absolutely have to have a sync but it helps afterwards just to know they are where they need to be. Just be accurate with the turns of the a/f screws and put them where they ran best.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I will.

sdt354 said:

pm sent

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Thank you!

I returned to Hungary from a vacation in the U.S. recently and "smuggled" a can of Seafoam here. I don't have a way to measure it precisely, but just guessing about 1 can for 3 fill-ups. I've gone through about 1 tank and seems to make a difference. Crisp throttle response now, and HUGE power on acceleration (but that's relatively normal).