Need help troubleshooting my 2001 SXR 700

Hager85

Hager85

New member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
42
Location
Oshkosh, WI
First off thank you for any and all help in advance.

I have a 2001 SXR 700, just trying to get it running for the first time this winter. The sled was running great when it was put away at the end of last season, I started it twice over summer, the second time was in early september and it didn't want to idle at that point which I just assumed was due to it not liking the warm weather. It was put away in March 2015 with almost a full tank of 91 octane fuel that I added Stabil to.

When I started it Thursday it would start normally with a couple of pulls and sound like it was running good for about a minute or two then the tone of the sled would change and not really sound like a healthy triple. All of this while feathering the throttle to keep it running. I tried adjusting the Idle speed screw accordingly which did not help. After calling the local dealer I set the idle screw back to what they told me was the factory setting of 1-1 1/2 turns out from bottom. (In the meantime I had my pull cord break during all of this so I had to replace the rope which added to my already colorful vocabulary in the garage at that point:o|:o|:o|:whine:. Silver lining being that the rope broke in the garage rather than out on the trail. This finished out my night in the garage.)

Friday morning I changed all 3 of the spark plugs and wondered if it didn't like last years gas that was in it. I syphoned out as much of the gas as i could with my $10 shake syphon and put in a little over 2 gallons of fresh 91 octane. Again on a cold start it would start and sound good but after a minute or two it would change in sound and wouldn't want to idle. Later in the day I started it again and drove it up onto the trailer right away knowing that I would have limited time of it running decent if I do end up having to take it into the dealer to get looked at.

At this point I would have to believe that pulling and cleaning the carbs would be my next step which I won't have time to do until next weekend. Is there anything that I'm overlooking or should check before pulling the carbs? Also if cleaning the carbs is my next step how much of a project is cleaning a rack of triple carbs and is there any tips or tricks out there that would be helpful to me before I start the job.

We just got our first rideable snowfall locally and I had to resort to riding my buddy's '95 Polaris Indy 500 which just made me miss my Yamaha even more!!:yam:

Thanks again for any troubleshooting ideas and any help at all!!!
 
Pull and clean the carbs needs to be your first step. Also fog motor in the spring and dont bother starting till after carbs are cleaned in the fall.
 
At this point I would have to believe that pulling and cleaning the carbs would be my next step which I won't have time to do until next weekend. Is there anything that I'm overlooking or should check before pulling the carbs? Also if cleaning the carbs is my next step how much of a project is cleaning a rack of triple carbs and is there any tips or tricks out there that would be helpful to me before I start the job.
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Cleaning your carbs is the next step. FWIW, I had enough practice on my Venture that I can remove the carbs, change jetting, and reassemble in less than an hour. I plug the fuel line and carb heater coolant line with golf Tee's, and only loose a few drops.
 
remove the air box ( unplug the two coil wires and the cdi box...I just remove the cdi box 0 ) two screws there.) remove the gas lines , unhook the choke and the throttle cables loosen clamps on carbs and remove. take to bench and remove the bowl covers then everything that you can take apart ...take apart... jets and needle seats etc....blow everything out with air making sure that the air jets are clear and clean . I sometimes run a needle or similar object thru them to open and clear the orifice. put it back together ..should run like a champ!
 
Agreed on the carb cleaning. I experienced the very same symptoms at the beginning of each year; The poor ethanol gasoline of today gums up the jets. Use carb cleaner and clean out the bowl, spray the upper section of the carb, where the floats are, carefully blow out with compressed air. Then using a small screw driver, remove the low speed jet, spray with carb cleaner and blow out with compressed air. Do the same for the high speed jet, reinstall both jets. I had to do this before the beginning of the riding season every year. Then I smarten up and put an inline fuel shutoff between the tank and fuel pump. At the end of the season, I shut of the fuel and run the carbs dry. I also stopped leaving fuel in the tank with fuel stabilizer. Instead, I use a handy siphon tube and remove as much fuel from the tank as possible and use it in a lawn mower! I didn't remove the carbs from the sled, just flipped them upside down and worked on them on top of the sled. When putting the carb assembly back in, be careful not to crimp the boots on the airbox side.

-Hath91
 
Did the carb cleaning today, all in all the job went ok for being my first attempt at doing a clean. 2 out of the 3 pilot jets were definitely plugged up. All of the carbs are reassembled and back on the brackets but I wasn't able to reinstall them yet. Most of the float bowl screws were already stripped before I even started which made the disassemble a PITA (ALMOST said screw it and brought them to local dealer for them to deal with it, but after I called both local places and found out they wanted $250-$300 for the job I calmed down a bit and made my way back out to the garage and a trip to the store for a $13 "T-handle phillips driver" saved the day!!!) so they need replacing before I will tighten them back up.

I have decided that I want to replace the phillips head float bowl screws with socket head "allen" screws before putting the carbs back on to save the headaches next time.

Does anyone know what size these screws are? I will bring one of the old ones with to the hardware store tomorrow but knowing the size before hand is obviously the preferred route.

Also are there any steps to take for initial start up procedure after doing a carb clean?

Thanks for any info
 
Also is there any certain way to adjust the tension of the throttle and choke cables correctly before trying to start it?
 
I eyeball the plunger for the "choke" to make sure it extends all the way out and in. The throttle is a little trickier but just keep in mind it does not need to be taught, the key is that the switch on the the throttle block is actuated before the switch on the carb is disengaged. once you have it hooked up take a look at the throttle as you push it and notice how it pivots you want that to pivot fully before the cable is tight. I use antisieze on my allen cap screws for my bowls.
 
when sled would change sound and start to run bad (not idle nice etc.), would it then run ok if you were to get harder on the throttle? Asking because once you're harder on the throttle you are into the needle fuel circuits and less into the pilots fuel circuits within the carbs and the problem will appear to go away (until you let go of the throttle once again)... This is typical of plugged pilots... Also, pulling plug wires one at a time (while sled is idling and running bad) will tell you which carbs/pilots are not supplying fuel and which carbs/pilots are supplying fuel...

I see you've now gone thru your carbs and this could all be untimely info, but perhaps in the future it can help...

Also... carbs needn't be removed from the physical rack... just take the whole rack out all as one unit (all 3 carbs attached) and work on each carb one at a time while all are still fastened to the rack, all as one unit... saves a little time... tj..
 
Thanks guys for the responses guys. As far as removing the carbs from the rack goes I totally understand that now that I have a better idea of what I'm doing with them. I was mainly working off of my Clymer Yamaha shop service manual which has you do a total tear down of the rack and each carb, hindsight is 20/20 but I am glad I have the experience now as I would feel very comfortable doing this job again.

I'm tossing around the idea of a fuel shut off valve also as the SXR doesn't have one. Pros or cons to installing such an item? Also if I install one where in the system is the ideal location for it?

The members of Totally Yamaha have been SUPER helpful with all of my questions over the years, I REALLY appreciate all of the wisdom that people are willing to share with me!!! I find this site to be a must for anyone that rides a Yamaha or even anything that has 2 skis and a motor for that matter!!! :rocks:
 
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P.S. to anyone in the future that wants to change out their float bowl screws to allen sockets ;)!, I have found that they are 4mm-0.70 x 12mm long.
 
Just pinch the hose with a pair of vise grips, remove when done. If you use a metal valve, I've seen them ice up and block the fuel line if there is any kind of moisture in the fuel.
 
PROJECT UPDATE:

Reinstalled carbs and ran the sled on the trailer today and all went well and the sled seems to be running GREAT!!! I wasn't able to get it out and run it on the snow so I may have some minor idle adjustments to make but I just wanted to let everyone know the carb cleaning did the trick. I definitely recommend replacing the float bowl screws to allen heads to any readers if do this job, it will make it soooo much easier next time.

Thanks for all the responses guys, can't wait to get her back out on the lake and trails!!!! :letitsnow
 
The throttle cable should have a little play in it ,otherwise if its too tight you will activate the TORS switch and the machine will only idle. You can adjust it by backing off the jam nut and then turning the cable (above the jam nut) in or out. You'll notice it getting tight or loose at the thumb lever. Same method applies for the choke. Lots of guys have changed those float bowl screws. I would just bring one with me and try to match it up..
 
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