New Bike Hesitating / Sputtering

[Randy B]

Also...don't pour the entire can in your tank as it's designed to treat a cars tank and that much would cause a lean condition in the bike.

[treytexag_imp]

I'll echo what ferret said. Since I've used Seafoam in all my bikes and yard equipment when storing them, I've never had a motor so much as hiccup.

If you still have gas in the tank that came with the bike, I'd go so far as to siphon the gas out into a gas can. You can then dump that into your car or truck's gas tank. Then refill with a name brand premium gas with some Seafoam added. It's too easy for the mechanic to lie to you over the phone saying that he drained and refilled the tank and lines.

Today's gasoline with the ethanol in it starts to turn to varnish in as little as 3 or 4 weeks.

Wow, varnish - that doesn't sound good at all!!

[xNE0x_imp]

Um, I would be taking that bike right back to the dealership.

[ClassicVW_imp]

Um, I would be taking that bike right back to the dealership.

The more I think about it, you are right. It's not a bike that was traded in. The bike is brand new sitting on the floor with gas in the tank for maybe 8 months? (Whether or not the gas was replaced, it still sat with gas in the tank) Why would a dealer put gas in a bike that's going to be on the showroom floor? Did they prep the bike for a potential buyer or maybe someone took it on a test ride and then no one used it for months? Either way, it gives me serious doubts about using that dealership.

[Johnboy_imp]

CB11 Team, I picked up a '14 DLX today, brand new, been sitting on the showroom floor with gas in tank since June 2014. 16 - test miles - on the odometer.

The bike runs pretty good at higher rpms, but at low speed when I accelerate from around 2,000-3,000 rpm up from 2nd and 3rd gear, bike seems to sputter and hesitate.

I spoke to the mechanic at the dealer, over 1 1/2 hours away, he said that before I picked up the bike today, he drained the gas from the tank and lines and put new in. He said the bike "needs to have a few tankfulls of gas run through it". He said he did not clean the injectors - whatever that would mean . . .

Does this seem right guys - the new DLX CB11 simply needs gas run through it to "clean it up" from sitting so long or is this "baloney"?

Please let me know what y'all think.

Trey in Houston

if that mechanic actually did drain the gas, they may have already new this bike was having a problem and hoped this would cure it .. I would definitely be taking the bike back if the sea foam doesn't work...good luck brother

[treytexag_imp]

I may trailer it back out to the dealer for a look. Its cold and wet here now, so it'll be a few days until I can put some miles on the bike.

Not sure why the bike was sitting for so long, but I guess it's not unlike the other 50 bikes sitting there on the showroom floor there, or any other Honda dealer. They put them together and put them on the floor so people can look, touch, sit, and feel the bikes I guess, idk, I've never been a salesguy. Nevertheless, and for whatever reasons (test rides I'm guessing), the bike was gased up, and presumably, we know the rest of the story.

This particular '14 DLX was the last new '14 DLX in Texas. I chased a number of leads trying to find a '14 DLX over a few week period, and I located a demo unit in Kyle, TX, the new unit I bought here in Texas, and another new unit in Lafayette, La, 4 hours away. So for me, wanting a '14 DLX, my selections were slim, and this was the best option for me.

A week ago, I took time off work, and drove 1 1/2 hours to look and ride the '14 DLX. Loved it for all the reasons you already know about. BUT . . . . it was sputtering a little bit when I rode it - sales guy at Honda dealer said " . . its been sitting up, I'll have my mechanic look at it . . ". Fast forward a week, I took another day off work - second vacation day - and drove down 1 1/2 hours to pick up the bike - did that yesterday.

When I get there the mechanic has the bike in the back working on it, and the mechanic pulls the bike out front and rides the bike up the ramp onto my trailer. I walk out to chat with him and he told me it runs good now, no sputtering, I drained the gas, should be good-to-go etc. At that moment, it started drizzling, so we quickly put installed the tie-downs on the bike before I left.

When I got the bike home, I took a short ride 'round the neighborhood, and that's when I discovered it still sputtering and then I phoned him.

After that long story, I guess I will run some tankfuls of gas through it and see what happens. The bike is under factory warranty of course, and I may just take the bike back down and drop it off for the dealer to repair. . . I guess we'll see . . .

Thanks for all the input gentlemen, I really appreciate it.

Trey in Houston

[nhawk7504_imp]

Yeah I'd splash some Seafoam in it with some good fresh gas and see what's up after several tankfuls. It also won't hurt to zip it to full throttle and back down quick after you get a couple hundred miles on it.

[xNE0x_imp]

That's why I encourage everyone to do a full walk around of your new bike with the sales rep. If you spot anything wrong with it, or after you take it down the road an issue arises, you need to drop it back off to them. The longer you wait, the more likely they are to not do something about it. A buddy had a bad experience in this fashion, he bought a new bike and had issues from day 1. He took it back to the dealer multiple times, but they never did fix the actual problem. Instead, they kept giving him the run around, and when he decided he wanted his money back... Well, the dealer argued he'd owned the bike too long. Hate to see something like this happen to anyone else.

[mininsx_imp]

You might try this, too:

http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4028

[metallyguitarded_imp]

You might try this, too:

http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4028

Wow. Fortunately, I don't need this but a what a great thread/contribution.