'02 VZ800 engine dies when slowing down with clutch pulled

Hey all, brand new to riding and new to this bike. It's an 02 vz800 that I picked up. Just had a shop here in Vancouver have a look at it for 'general safety and such' and they gave it the clear (minus a couple things that need attention in the future, oil old and low, brakes getting low, that sort of thing).

I was out riding it today and noticed that when i slow down considerably with the clutch IN (all the way), and downshift to 1st, the engine will die on me sometimes. It happens when downshifting from 4th or 3rd, don't think it happened with 2nd yet, all the way to 1st. It is not consistent, but seems to be after long bouts of throttle. It's like the engine is doing great and then i pull clutch and drop throttle and step down to 1st and it just gives up entirely.

I don't think it's a clutch cable issue, since it's only intermittent, and after I fire it back up and sit at a light it's fine. I am not sure if it's my idle level, because it starts up from cold without issue, and idles fine while warm and at lights and stuff.

Thinking of taking it back to the shop but thought i'd ask here if anyone has any suggestions.

Thank you!

Sounds like a fuel issue to me mate ......... Has the bike been stood for a while prior to you getting it ?

Could be the idle jet is bunged up or the carb is generally bunged up with old petrol film if it has been stood for a period of time. Try running a bit of Redex through the system first to clean out any crud.

Is the idle speed set correctly ? I had some cutting out issues ( different to yours though ) with my 03 Volusia until I raised the idle speed to the recommended level. It sounded great ticking over at 750 rpm but I raised it to 1000 rpm and the issue went away.

These bikes run lean to begin with, so correct carb setup is important

Have a look between the right hand side panel and the rear of the engine. You should see a knurled screw in there, give it a couple turns clockwise to raise the tick over speed. Probably all it is, just running a wee bit slow.

Try both speeding up the tick over and the redex as have been mentioned, redex usually works wonders.

Redex may not be available in Canada so try Seafoam I think it's called instead.

Yeah, we have Seafoam in North America. Also, the 02 models only need to have the seat removed to access the idle screw.
My 97 has newer carbs on it. Took me forever to find out where to mount the remote adjuster.

Perfect, thank you everyone!

Since there's no tach, how can i tell what my idle speed is currently at? It sounds pretty 'put put put put'ish when it idles, but i have no way of quantifying that in any sort of RPM numbering..

The bike had been sitting for a while before I purchased it, although it did get a once over by the shop, i'm not sure how deep they dove. Is this the seafoam stuff I should be using? www.amazon.ca/Gumout-510011-Multi-System-Tune-Up-fl/dp/B00PP4J23W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493052029&sr=8-1&keywords=seafoam It's the closest thing that came up under Seafoam.

This is all I found for redex... www.amazon.ca/REDEX-INDUSTRIES-10-oz-Udder-Cream/dp/B000659LS6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493052005&sr=8-2&keywords=redex

Its good stuff https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sea-Foam-SF-16-Motor-Treatment-16-oz.-Multi-Colored/16664932

I normally use this stuff http://www.silkolene.com/motorcycle/fuel-additives/pro-fst/

Not sure if this help at all

Ok I picked up some Seafoam- how much of it am I supposed to put in the tank? There aren't really any guidelines on the bottle

I have ridden a couple more times and it is no longer dieing on me when i pull the clutch, however it does seem to have a bit of trouble idling at first start up... Possibly i'm not letting the engine warm up enough, possibly idle is too low, possibly seafoam will help...?

Also, thank you to everyone who has responded thus far!


edit: on the Walmart page I see it says 1 ounce per gallon. My bike appears to be about a 10 liter tank so google says that comes in at just over 2.5 gallons. Will try it out in a full tank and report back!

Give it a good dosing so it can do it's job. Also sounds like you may have to strip the float chambers to clean the gunge out of them.

>strip the float chambers to clean the gunge out of them.

That sounds related to cleaning the carbs, am I right? Since this is my first bike and while quite technical i'm not yet as mechanical, I'm thinking to redo my carbs in the fall when I can spend some time and get good and intimate with the inner workings of the bike. Possibly replace the front sprocket at the same time

I have been learning about my newly acquired '97 VZ800. Pulling the carbs isn't too bad, but it does require time and patience. Leave the cables attached, unless you want to re-synchronize them.

Good to know, thank you.

I think this is a project for the fall when the season ends- bike seems to be running well now (although i've noticed that the carb overflow line leaks fuel while the engine is OFF unless i close the petcock. i believe this is due to a high float level...)

PeatedFumes wrote:

Good to know, thank you.

I think this is a project for the fall when the season ends- bike seems to be running well now (although i've noticed that the carb overflow line leaks fuel while the engine is OFF unless i close the petcock. i believe this is due to a high float level...)

Or sticking float needle.

Ah might that be it too?

I haven't seafoam yet, thinking it might fix it if i run a bit through the next full tank?

FWIW everyone, i think the engine dying was just user error- i was downshifting a bit too rapidly and going from 2->1 at over 20mph which caused the grinding sound and killed the engine. I've not had the problem since.