[HanKid]

Hi All,

I'm a new 2005 VTX 1300 R (all stock) owner and have an all-too-common condition: bike only runs with the choke part way out. Lots of good commentary on this over the years and I've taken step one: resetting the A/F mixture (~2.5 turns) and new plugs (old ones black). No dice. I'm thinking step two is cleaning the carb, with a particular focus on the idle jet. What say ye? Thanks for your attention and sorry for flogging this horse again.

 

[07Blackcherry]

Carb Cleaning 101 | Honda VTX Forum (vtxoa.com)

 

[Vinish]

Welcome. We love pictures so do not hesitate to share some of your bike. Where are you located?

Cleaning the carb might help but is not sufficient to cure the cold-blooded nature of this bike. While you are in there cleaning the carb do five other things. Do the pair valve mod with dimpled block off plates, add a high performance K&N air filter, decap the airbox, add Glen's permanent A/F screw, and rejet/tune the carb with ONLY a Factory Pro jet kit. Do not use a Dynojet jet kit. All of the above will cost about $200-$250 plus your time and elbow grease. Instructions to do all of this work can be found here on the Cafe. While doing all this work, check the condition of all the vacuum and fuel hoses as well as the rubber parts in the carb - especially the large rubber diaphragm attached to the main slider. If you dig deep into the carb, be aware that there are two small springs that look alike but have different spring constants (i.e. stiffness). One is in the air shutoff valve and the other is in the accelerator pump. Do NOT accidentally swap the location of these two small springs.

 

[HanKid]

Hey Vinish, I'm a former super magna owner that wanted a more stable and recent model cruiser for loping around Whidbey and Orcas Islands in Washington state. I was hoping to get started right away, but noooo, my little, common carb problem. I forgot to mention that the bike has 18,000 miles; hardly broken in! That's quite an agenda you've laid out for me, thank you for all the suggestions and cautionary notes. Are you suggesting the Pro jet kit assuming the jets I have are beyond cleaning or that there is something inherently better about the Pro jet kit as a replacement? I picked up Glen's tool before making any adjustments to the A/F screw. I've noticed some past controversy about the pair valve mod, is that all resolved now as a standard modification? I'll look back through the Cafe for notes on all the necessary procedures. Thanks again!

 

[Vinish]

I have never heard of any controversy about the pair mod. I recommend doing it. It helps reduce bad sounds like decel popping and gurgling and cleans up the top of the engine making valve adjustment much easier. I am unaware of any downside to it. The carb rejet/tuning is a good idea regardless of the state of your jets. The stock bike is VERY lean so it runs hot and is hard to keep running when bike is first started cold and especially hard to keep running if the weather is cold. A rejet will gain you a tiny bit of power, easier starts, cooler running, and even better fuel mileage. Oh, and it will whiten your teeth You can do all of the things I recommend in about 4-5 hours of work and that assumes several trips into the carb to adjust jets or needle clip positions.

 

[HanKid]

Carb Cleaning 101 | Honda VTX Forum (vtxoa.com)

Many thanks Blackberry and Vinish. I will certainly be challenged to keep adequate track of all those parts if I strip the carburetor following Blackberry's tutorial. V., I look forward to the whiter teeth perk!

 

[camekanix]

I am in exactly the same boat with my 2004 VTX-1300. I was tempted to bump the pilot 2 sizes or so and shim the needle but after reading about all the improvements the 5 mods make I’ll spring for them. Thanks all! Oh, a fair weather rider in AZ and will remove coolant lines from carb as well.

 

[RiderK]

Hi All,

I'm a new 2005 VTX 1300 R (all stock) owner and have an all-too-common condition: bike only runs with the choke part way out. Lots of good commentary on this over the years and I've taken step one: resetting the A/F mixture (~2.5 turns) and new plugs (old ones black). No dice. I'm thinking step two is cleaning the carb, with a particular focus on the idle jet. What say ye? Thanks for your attention and sorry for flogging this horse again.

Also I had a very similar issue with my bike missing out and backfiring badly at low rpms but would clear up when in mid throttle mid rpms. You can easily check accel pump for proper operation by removing the air filter cover then removing the air filter. You can now see down through the venturi of the carb. Pull the throttle back a few times while looking in the venturi. Fuel should squirt from a small brass tube every time you pull the throttle. For me both brass check valves in the accelerator pump passageway were clogged. So I cleaned the carb again and paid close attention to making sure they were clear. One of the check valves is at the bottom center of the accel pump bowl (not the float bowl). Its a recessed brass cube in a round hole. The fuel should run around the sides of it. The other check valve is on the rim/sealing surface of the float bowl where it mounts to the carb body. You follow behind the check valves and spray carb cleaner in the channel that feeds them and then put air pressure behind them until it finally clears up. Do it a few times to make sure you got it all. I then put the accelerator pump back together with the float bowl in my hand and not mounted back to the carb body. Poured some fuel in it and hand primed the pump to make sure it operated and squirted fuel around the sides of the check valve. Then mount to the carb and cycle pump again to make sure it is squirting towards the butterfly in the venturi. The first picture is the accel pump bowl (check valve in the middle). Second picture is the corner of the float bowl rim (check valve is surrounded by rubber bowl gasket. Third picture is looking down the venturing of the carb. The butterfly is the pivoting door in the back that is controlled by the throttle grip. That little brass tube sticking up at an angle from the bottom is the accelerator pump nozzle/jet. Every time you pull the throttle some extra fuel should squirt directly from that nozzle straight back to the butterfly, running or not. Also the round rubber diaphragm for the accel pump can get old, dry and hard and not pump efficiently or at all. They can get cracks as well. I found these pics online. I never remember to document my own work while I'm doing it.

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[RiderK]

Many thanks Blackberry and Vinish. I will certainly be challenged to keep adequate track of all those parts if I strip the carburetor following Blackberry's tutorial. V., I look forward to the whiter teeth perk!

Also, everyone is correct about the airbox, jet kit, Glens A/F screw, and smog delete. I just recently did all of that as well along with some Cobra Speedster Longs.

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[camekanix]

So, circling back to the air box decap. I get that this involves cutting the top off but is there any benefit to opening other areas? Maybe drilling some holes in the front side of the airbox (not the chrome cover) would help in sucking cooler air? I don’t want to Swiss cheese this thing unless there’s a benefit. Not worried about water ingestion.

 

[RiderK]

So, circling back to the air box decap. I get that this involves cutting the top off but is there any benefit to opening other areas? Maybe drilling some holes in the front side of the airbox (not the chrome cover) would help in sucking cooler air? I don’t want to Swiss cheese this thing unless there’s a benefit. Not worried about water ingestion.

Maybe, possibly, but it would be negligible if already decapped I'd assume. Once the top is open amd a K&N you'll have all the air the motor could need in my opinion. Others may disagree and I'm not saying they're wrong, just my opinion. Also once you start getting air from the front and sides of the box you raise the possibility of getting lean conditions depending on wind conditions. You could tune for that but will it then be a bit rich when those heavy winds arent present? Just food for thought is all. Many people do what you're speaking of and like it. Its not for me to say you shouldn't.

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[camekanix]

THANK YOU! It appears you have some good experience with this and I appreciate your help

 

[camekanix]

I just ordered the parts recommended here. One thing just out of curiosity; why dimpled vs non dimpled? I have not removed the stock parts yet but is there a clearance issue or something?

 

[RiderK]

I just ordered the parts recommended here. One thing just out of curiosity; why dimpled vs non dimpled? I have not removed the stock parts yet but is there a clearance issue or something?

You are correct. The dimpled block off plates have said dimple to make clearance for a screw that holds a reed petal in place. The non dimpled plates can be used when someone removes the screw and the reed petal. Sometimes the screw gets seized in place and or breaks off when attempting to remove it. Its easier to just use the dimpled plates. There is zero performance difference between the two. Both achieve the exact same results. The reed petal is non functional when block off plates are used either way.

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[RiderK]

I just ordered the parts recommended here. One thing just out of curiosity; why dimpled vs non dimpled? I have not removed the stock parts yet but is there a clearance issue or something?

Where are you located? If you're near Indianapolis then I can lend a hand if needed.

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[Vinish]

What RiderK says in post #14 is mostly correct. The only small part with which I disagree is where he says, "Sometimes the screw gets seized in place..." This screw is not really a screw. It cannot be removed by turning it in either direction. It must be broken off and while that is not that difficult, it is not necessary when for something like $5 extra you can buy the dimpled blockoff plates.

 

[RiderK]

What RiderK says in post #14 is mostly correct. The only small part with which I disagree is where he says, "Sometimes the screw gets seized in place..." This screw is not really a screw. It cannot be removed by turning it in either direction. It must be broken off and while that is not that difficult, it is not necessary when for something like $5 extra you can buy the dimpled blockoff plates.

Thank you for the correction sir. Obviously I never attempted to remove the reed petal because I used the dimpled plates. I was working off of memory when explaining the process. Once again my many years of two stroke tuning clouded that recent memory. Every reed petal I've ever touched was captive via screws. I appreciate the correction.

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[HanKid]

I just ordered the parts recommended here. One thing just out of curiosity; why dimpled vs non dimpled? I have not removed the stock parts yet but is there a clearance issue or something?

Did you find the Factory Pro jet kit available? It looked to me like they weren't available any longer.

 

[RiderK]

Did you find the Factory Pro jet kit available? It looked to me like they weren't available any longer.

Its right here man. The website looks pretty outdated but I just ordered my kit two or three weeks ago from them.

Honda, VTX 1300, Retro, carb, shift star kit

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[HanKid]

Its right here man. The website looks pretty outdated but I just ordered my kit two or three weeks ago from them.

Honda, VTX 1300, Retro, carb, shift star kit

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Thank you RiderK. As you say, that site looks 30 years old!