YFZ450 Heat/Lean/HELP PLEASE

[hunterdasch]

I just bought a 04 yzf450 LE. It has been sitting for two years, the woman who sold it to me broke up with her boyfriend and kept this in the garage, didn't run for 2 years..... She had it advertised for $3200 so I was confused and went to see it... turns out it was underpriced and she had no clue what it was.... I picked it up for $3000 with a ramp, trailer, boots, chest protector, etc.... I am still amazed...

It is bone stock.... original tires... it must have less than 30 hours on it... she said 26 hours.... it still has the knobbie things on the original tires....

Anyway so it wouldn't run when we went to look at it but it had been sitting for 2 years.....

I cleaned the air filter, changed oil and filter, replaced the gas, and put a new battery in it.....

It started up no problem, but after idling for less than 2min I can tell it is too hot (header HOT and RED) and the fan turns on..... WTF? I rode it in the backyard but it acted like it was too hot and would die when you let off the throttle...

I have a 450r and the fan never comes on... I assume I need to rejet? Anyone know anything I can try before that!?

Thanks!

[hunterdasch]

The guy down the street said the timing is off.... Is this possible, can I adjust this?

I know its normal for the header to get red, but not like this... My 450r never gets as hot as this yamaha gets (the fan turns on) the first 2 min of idle.... is something clogged from sitting for so long?

HELP...? Should I just take it in to the Dealer/UnArmed Thief....

The woman who sold it to me said that her father started it in Feb to make sure it worked so she could sell it. When I started looking at it, the oil was severly low (didn't show up on dipstick but it looked like the parts had a coating on them).

Do you think this guy damaged something when he started it in Feb and there wasn't oil in it? It there something that could be damaged causing it to overheat? Am I being paranoid... ?

[hunterdasch]

Also, it doesn't seem to react to the choke very well.... sometimes I can push the choke in and out and it doesn't affect idle... ?

[hunterdasch]

I just rode it and it doesn't really pop or anything... I am going to remove the baffle in teh exhaust today...

The fan only comes on if it is sitting at idle and I can only get it to idle with the choke half way out.... prolly why its getting too hot? Which way do I turn the idle to make it go up... it is not responding/dies when the choke is off...

It runs great though... more torque than the 450r in the low/mid...

[exvetrider]

If it has been sitting for two years,you should clean the carb,that should take care of the idle,and the choke problem

[hunterdasch]

Loudoun Motorsports wants $185 to clean the carb... doesn't that sound high?

I am going to let someone else make it run perfectly, watch them, and hopefully I can do it if I need to if it ever happens again...

Thanks!

[exvetrider]

Yes,to me thats sounds expensive,is not to hard to do,but if you havnt done it before you need to watch how it is done

[chillinseeley]

haha hey my friend this is weird you got the same deal i did!!! i bought in late feb a 04 yfz brand new left over been sittin at a dealershiops house for his kid never rode cause kid was not interested!!! i picked it up for 3400. i get it home and fired it up and the pipe started gettin hot(cherry red) and it hard a hard time idleing, plus antifreeze would leak. i had no clue why and still dont till this day but i fired it up and rode it a cpl times and it has not done it since was real weird! i had a 450r that i had never had the problem with ever hmmm well man you figure it out let me know lol peace

[Toadz400]

I would thoroughly clean the carb and change the pilot jet to a 45. The YFZ's come from the factory extremely lean so richening it up should help it run better. Any YFZ's fan will start up if you let it sit and idle for awhile, it's because you're not moving.

[hunterdasch]

only the pilot jet? what about the others?

what if I take out the exhaust baffle and airbox lid?

I am planning on doing this for myself, which may be a challenge for me since I haven't done it before.

[Toadz400]

If you take out the baffle and take the lid off I would up the main jet and richen the needle too.

From the factory the pilot jet is the main problem for the YFZ being lean. Start up is made a lot easier when you put in the 45 as you don't even need to touch the choke anymore.

It's also best to get an aftermarket fuel screw so you can fine tune it a lot easier than the stock one.

[hunterdasch]

Sorry for being stupid but what number jet would you try in the main and how do you richen the needle?

[Ride1Rob]

There's a small circlip that fits into grooves on your needle. This determines how much gas is being dumped into the carb. That may not be your problem though. If you were running the bike say full throttle and she started cutting out and hesitating you'd move the clip down a notch or two. It's not cutting out on top end from what I've read. You may want to turn your fuel/air screw all the way in and back it out 2 to 3 turns or somewhere in between.

[hunterdasch]

on the fuel air screw, which way is lean and which is rich, and what tool do i use to turn it... a 90* screwdriver?

the bike idles when warm but not for a long time... I think it is cleaning itself out...

[Ride1Rob]

Turning the screw counter clockwise richens it. Turn it counter clockwise until it's screwed all the way in. Then back it out (clockwise) 2-3 turns. You'll need a very thin flat head to get in there. Best thing to do is to take the float bowl off so that you can get to it better. If you have $20 to spare. Get a Zip tie fuel screw. They may have dealers here that sale them but I know you can get one off of Ebay for alil over $20 and you can then adjust it with your hand.

[hunterdasch]

ok I put a 45 in the pilot and ran the quad...

I adjusted the idle, but now the idle adjustment seems frozen and the bike doesn't want to return to idle quickly. It hesitates... now what?

[Ride1Rob]

CHECK THE FUEL AIR SCREW!!!

[hunterdasch]

I checked the needle... I turned it counter clockwise and it just kept spinning so i turned it clockwise until it stopped and then backed it out 2.5 turns....

the bike wont turn over now

help

[oldskoolex400]

if you think its lean, ITS NOT SMART TO GO OUT AND RIDE IT FOR ALONG TIME. all the time u need to run it is under a minute with each adjustment you make, basically ride1rob is telling you what to do and it seems like you are ignoring him and not doing it. with 2.5 turns out you are going to far, you make small adjustments, not large ones like you are telling us. :scary:

[Ride1Rob]

Originally posted by hunterdasch
I checked the needle... I turned it counter clockwise and it just kept spinning so i turned it clockwise until it stopped and then backed it out 2.5 turns....

the bike wont turn over now

help

Something is definitely not right! If you turn the screw counter clockwise that closes the fuel/ air screw. If you turn it clockwise your opening it up. 2 to 3 turns out is normally the range for YFZ's. So I was telling him to go 2 to 3 turns out and then you adjust at half increments from there. And I see where you stated that you "TURNED THE NEEDLE". Do you know what your doing? I'm thinking you may need to leave that bike alone b/c your going to mess something up. Your problem is something minor, but if you don't know what your doing and how to use "Process of illimination" your going to cause major problems in the long run. Take it someone that knows what the hell they're doing!

[dabrowat]

I used to live in Leesburg, Va. is that close to u?? Kind of off topic but VA is awesome