potential newbie still looking

I've found an 04 out of town that has low miles but apparently sat unridden for a long period. Seller says it starts and runs great w/choke on but dies the minute choke is turned off. I'm willing to drive and make an offer but wouldn't want to get home and find lots of other probs. He's an adult, orig owner w/no mods - he just didn't ride it much. He says a mechanic told him it needs a tune up / carb cleaning and that's it. If I were to drive and see that it runs fine w/choke on would that mean that everything is ok w/mechanicals etc? I would think so but I'm no mechanic. Owner has been unable to bring in to dlr to fix and will adjust price for new owner to fix. Any thoughts??
 
Have not dealt with the carbed FZ, but most times I have heard that once they get gummed up it is hard to keep them clean for some reason.

If it will run you can bring it home, clean the carbs, put in new jet kit and see how she does.

Or just step UP to a GenII. :starwars::stirpot:
 
I've found an 04 out of town that has low miles but apparently sat unridden for a long period. Seller says it starts and runs great w/choke on but dies the minute choke is turned off. I'm willing to drive and make an offer but wouldn't want to get home and find lots of other probs. He's an adult, orig owner w/no mods - he just didn't ride it much. He says a mechanic told him it needs a tune up / carb cleaning and that's it. If I were to drive and see that it runs fine w/choke on would that mean that everything is ok w/mechanicals etc? I would think so but I'm no mechanic. Owner has been unable to bring in to dlr to fix and will adjust price for new owner to fix. Any thoughts??

I've never heard of the carbs never being the same once gummed up once. Once they are cleaned properly you should have no problem with them. Don't be afraid of gummed up carbs. Use that as a point to get the price to where it needs to be. Then use the money you've saved on the purchase price to have them done up right by a reputable shop. What kind of mileage are you talking about on this 04'?
 
FZ1 - I think he said around 4200. I would think a reputable shop should be able to do a tune up for prob $100-200, right?

To all the carb experts out there, what does it mean if it runs great on full choke but dies once turned off? I'm thinking it's not indicative of any kind of major problem.
 
I'm not a carb expert but when my old bike was gummed up (also from lack of use) it was more than $200. to clean them out. After that it ran like new. I forget what that particular work cost because it was in there with some other repairs. If I had to guess I'd say about $400.

Others can address this better than I but also consider the tires may be dry rotted.

But on the other hand, 4,200 miles is nothing. Once you get it going it will be like brand new practically. Or did you mean 42,000 miles?

Good luck !
 
yeah... about 5 hours....

cleaning the carbs isn't bad.... remove carbs... pull them apart... pull main jets, pilot jets, etc.... blow though jets with can of carb cleaner.... if needed, push a needle through the jets... then re-install jets and re-install carbs.... don't pay someone to clean the carbs.
 
could be a number of things... if it truly runs correctly with the choke on... I'd try raising the idle with the choke off.... see what happens... I'm willing to bet that it still won't run right... it might be a plugged pilot jet... might be a mouse nest in the air-box... of a cracked carb boot that's dry-rotted... I'd bet on the plugged pilot jet though....

I'd start by draining the gas from the tank and carbs... trash all of that... then clean carbs, clean tank, and put in nice, fresh gas.
 
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