Choke is stuck?

[KJR1]

Hi there,

I have a choke on my right carb that seems to be stuck in the down position. The left choke works fine and I've been able to use it to start my bike. I usually, however, use both chokes at the same time. Any reason why it would be stuck? I've given it some pretty solid force as well.

thanks

 

[gggGary]

Have you unthreaded the nut that holds it? FYI I haven't seen one "stuck" .... yet.

What year carbs?

 

[DogBunny]

Did this just happen, or has it always been like this, or is this a new bike to you?
I have seen plenty of stuck chokes on carbs that have been sitting for a long time due to gas varnish. Some times you can just unthread the plunger nut and put penetrating fluid in it. Sometimes you have to remove the choke body from the carb body and add penetrating fluid to the inside. I have even had cases where I had to do both of the above, and then I still had to apply heat from a heat gun to soften the varnish. But whenever you run into a situation that requires any of the above it usually also follows that the whole carb is varnished up, the slides won't move, the throttle plates won't open, etc. That's why I asked the first 3 questions.

If it just started happening, and if the carb otherwise runs fine, it's possible that the plunger got struck and is binding in its bore.

 

[fredintoon]

Hi KJR1,
whaddya mean, "down"? Mine go across. What bike/model/year is this anyway?
It's real helpful if you build your bike data into your signature line.

 

[KJR1]

The carbs are only 2 years old from Mikes XS. I'm hearing more and more that these carbs aren't great. This is the first time the choke has been stuck. I did leave my bike in the rain for an hour by accident and this is when it got stuck. I added the year etc to my signature as suggested - thanks.

 

[DogBunny]

MikesXS sells a couple of different carbs, but if you heard they weren't great then they must be the PWK ones. Which I know nothing about. And if the choke got stuck from leaving the bike in the rain, well, that's pathetic.
Anyways, do what you have to do to pull the plunger out, polish it with a Scotch-brite, cut a strip and use a chopstick to polish the bore as best you can, and you should be good to go. If it's still a really bad fit, then put some polishing or lapping or rubbing compound on the plunger and work it in and out of the bore.

 

[5twins]

One of the more knowledgeable guys around here put lots of time and money into trying to sort those "Pukes" and finally gave up. If he can't do it I highly doubt anyone else can.

 

[fredintoon]

The carbs are only 2 years old from Mikes XS. - - -

Hi KJR1,
Some questions:-
Did you own the bike before you put the MikesXS carbs on it?
How did it run on the old carbs compared to how it runs now?
Apart from a stuck choke, how does it run anyway?
And are the new carbs PWKs or another of Mikes offerings?

 

[weekendrider]

KJR1, the pwk's or XS performance carbs came from manufacturer (wherever that was) with debris left in them. Follow DogBunnys suggestion, remove and clean. A little piece of aluminum is probably the culprit.