Seafoaming

S

sesamestreet

Well-known member
Hey just need some info on seafoam on my bike.

It's a 2005 suzuki S40/savage, it ran perfectly fine up until a few days ago, when I dropped it while checking the oil level (stupid sight glass all hidden and ****) anyways, after dropping it it ran like garbage and kept giving me jerky acceleration and shutting off mid ride. anyways, some folks at the suzuki svaage forum said it's almost definitely the carbs being blocked by gunk that moved around during the drop, but didn't elaborate further on what i should do to fix the issue. so I was thinking of just using seafoam, heard good things about it.

Now if you guys don't think i should go that route, do you have any suggestions on a carb guy in the mississauga area? the only shops i've dealt with are the honda/suzuki powersports at dundas and hensall circle last summer when i owned a GZ250, and this year i certified the new bike at KMM motorsports at tomken and britannia i believe. seemed like a good place. anyways, appreciate any help i can get.
 
Seafoam wont hurt the situation. If it fixes it up beauty, if not maybe check the rest of the fuel delivery system. Did a fuel line or vacuum hose get pinched?
 
I'm not sure but it was a very controlled fall, not a huge smash or anything. broke a tail signal :( and it did run for a bout a mile, then it started sputtering and backfiring like crazy. wouldnt start after that but with some cranking it did. made it home eventually.
 
I'm not totally familiar with the bike but I'll guess the sight glass is on the right side and the bike fell away from you. If you have a cable operated choke lever on the left handlebar maybe that somehow got involved in your misery. Make sure all is kosher with choke mechanism.
 
You're rights out the sight glass. But the choke is actually a little pull out thing under the tank. The clutch lever got bent though, could that affect the performance of the clutch, hence that stuttering/jerky feel?
 
some seafoam can't hurt. Be prepared for it to run a little more ****** at first though. I put about half a can in 3/4ths of tank, which is a lot but I had 60k km worth of cleaning to get done. It was backfiring, weezing and making popping noises at first when given throttle but then it was fine as I got through the tank. However I don't think that's your problem.

How is the bike running now, after it had some time to settle down? Usually on a carbed bike it just gets flooded after a fall which causes it to be grumpy and not want to start.
 
All bikes regardless if its carbed or fuel injected should have the throttle system inspected after a hard impact like a drop. There are several carb settings calibrated with screws and locking springs that can easily get out of wack with a simple impact.

While it is certainly possible that gunk can block the pilot jet, it's rare in my experience, to be the culprit causing issues after the bike has been dropped. After all, the pilot jet has been sucking up fuel long before the bike was dropped and would have sucked up any sediments in your float bowls as well.

Since the BS40 is a single carb bike, you can rule out butterfly valve balance. I'd say look at your idle screw, fuel mixture screw and loose vacuum lines.

As for sea foam, don't use it in your fuel system. If your carbs are indeed dirty then pouring sea foam into the float bowl vent could dislodge that sludge which may get stuck in your jets, making a carb rebuild neccessary. It's almost twice as bad if used in your fuel tank. Then grit from your filter can get blown into your pump and your carbs.

If you want an induction service, don't be lazy and do it properly. It's not hard and can be done with basic tools. Carbs out, jets out, sprayed with carb cleaner, blown dry with compressed air and gaskets inspected/replaced as neccessary. Airbox/air filter cleaned. Fuel filters should be replaced regularly as well.
 
sesamestreet said:
You're rights out the sight glass. But the choke is actually a little pull out thing under the tank. The clutch lever got bent though, could that affect the performance of the clutch, hence that stuttering/jerky feel?
Click to expand...

OK, so it's got the choke right on the carb. Simpler and better imho. If the clutch lever has the usual smooth pull and the little free play gap then bent lever shouldn't be the problem.
A sudden jolt like that could do a number of things: pinched carb vent, vacuum leak at intake manifold, something loose in airbox blocking air flow, floatbowl spooge in carb circuit or jet, air leak at CV diaphram, or electrical like cracked coil, resister in ignition switch, plug wire, loose connection, loose main fuse.....just to name a few......
 
Sometimes, you will also notice alot of strange noises and feelings from the bike just because your paying more attention after the drop... but if its shutting down or jerking really bad then that's a different story.
 
LoneRonin said:
some seafoam can't hurt. Be prepared for it to run a little more ****** at first though. I put about half a can in 3/4ths of tank, which is a lot but I had 60k km worth of cleaning to get done. It was backfiring, weezing and making popping noises at first when given throttle but then it was fine as I got through the tank. However I don't think that's your problem.

How is the bike running now, after it had some time to settle down? Usually on a carbed bike it just gets flooded after a fall which causes it to be grumpy and not want to start.
Click to expand...
right after the fall, i rode it for like 10 minutes then put it away for the night. seemed fine, but then the next day i went on a 10km ride, but 1.5km away from my house i started experiencing the problems, bike dying if i let off the throttle, trouble starting back up, tiny dead spots in acceleration. the next day i rode it around my block and it was less, but still not 100%.
 
sixstring said:
All bikes regardless if its carbed or fuel injected should have the throttle system inspected after a hard impact like a drop. There are several carb settings calibrated with screws and locking springs that can easily get out of wack with a simple impact.

While it is certainly possible that gunk can block the pilot jet, it's rare in my experience, to be the culprit causing issues after the bike has been dropped. After all, the pilot jet has been sucking up fuel long before the bike was dropped and would have sucked up any sediments in your float bowls as well.

Since the BS40 is a single carb bike, you can rule out butterfly valve balance. I'd say look at your idle screw, fuel mixture screw and loose vacuum lines.

As for sea foam, don't use it in your fuel system. If your carbs are indeed dirty then pouring sea foam into the float bowl vent could dislodge that sludge which may get stuck in your jets, making a carb rebuild neccessary. It's almost twice as bad if used in your fuel tank. Then grit from your filter can get blown into your pump and your carbs.

If you want an induction service, don't be lazy and do it properly. It's not hard and can be done with basic tools. Carbs out, jets out, sprayed with carb cleaner, blown dry with compressed air and gaskets inspected/replaced as neccessary. Airbox/air filter cleaned. Fuel filters should be replaced regularly as well.
Click to expand...
I was hoping i wouldn't have to do all that because i have no idea where to start and i was just hoping the seafoam would fix it so i can ride asap. anyone you guys would recommend do a carb job in mississauga?

the suzuki savage forum has lots of resources for carb tuning and cleaning but i just feel overwhelmed by all the info especially not knowing what everything means or what i need to buy.
 
Last edited:
Update: FWIW just thought i'd share my (positive) experience.

got home from a weekend trip to MTL today. decided what the hell, i'll give this seafoam a shot and see what happens. the tank was close to empty, so i poured 1/3 of the bottle in, and rode it a bit hard all the way till the shell to fill up on some V power. it ran a bit but eventually evened out. Once i filled up it ran beautifully to my gf's house. now i'm wondering whether i just had low fuel, even though when i had looked into the tank i saw a good bit sloshing around. anyways, happy about my experience and hopefully i can delay the intrusive carb cleaning till a later date. i also feel good enough about the product to stick into the mustang. it's due for a fuel injector flush.

anyways, thanks for all the advice!
 
sesamestreet said:
i also feel good enough about the product to stick into the mustang.
Click to expand...
Seafoam works best when your vehicle is run on as close to a 50/50 mix as possible (or richer, if it'll run). Obviously this is hard to do in the car, but when I do it on bike I siphon out as much fuel as possible and dump a whole can of seafoam in the gas tank then take it for a rip and spank it hard until it runs out. I then put the $10 worth of Shell 91 in the gas can in my backpack in, ride it home, clean done.

On a car it's more difficult to accomplish a mixture that concentrated. Also check youtube about sucking it up your vacuum lines in your car. Don't put it in your oil.

-Jamie M.
 
+1 for what toys said

everytime i have run seafoam its a minimum 50/50 mix or more until it runs no more

also you can pull off your gas line off the petcock and spray seafoam in direct and run the carbs untill the bike will not run. depending on the bike it will run a couple minutes on seafoam but may idle real high and back fire too and exhaust might smoke too so be ready. then when the bike no longer runs and the carbs are filled with seafoam leave the carb for an hour io two. then empty the bowls with your drain, and run sone fresh gas through
 
sesamestreet said:
Update: FWIW just thought i'd share my (positive) experience.

got home from a weekend trip to MTL today. decided what the hell, i'll give this seafoam a shot and see what happens. the tank was close to empty, so i poured 1/3 of the bottle in, and rode it a bit hard all the way till the shell to fill up on some V power. it ran a bit but eventually evened out. Once i filled up it ran beautifully to my gf's house. now i'm wondering whether i just had low fuel, even though when i had looked into the tank i saw a good bit sloshing around. anyways, happy about my experience and hopefully i can delay the intrusive carb cleaning till a later date. i also feel good enough about the product to stick into the mustang. it's due for a fuel injector flush.

anyways, thanks for all the advice!
Click to expand...

Glad it worked out for you! Sea foam is a tad safer to use on fuel injected systems so the mixture issue aside, you should be good there.

Low fuel shouldn't affect the way the bike runs if the tank is vented properly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom