Took her out today for the first time this year.
Started first try,I run it for four minutes to warm it up,as soon as I hit the road it has no guts ,seems to go flat on me,best I could do was 45 mph in 5th with the throttle full open.
In neautral it seems to run right up to peak revs but wont do it through the gears, any ideas guys??

Sta-bil, choke working fine

diamond jim wrote on 03/22/09 at 18:53:04:

It's been in the house so no moisture,I cleaned out the air filter (K & N) and recharged it a few weeks before putting inside.
I guess I could drain the fuel and put in some fresh,but the sta-bil did not efect it last year, I'm at a loss.??

Sta-bil.....thinking......way back.....click.....
Last year....bing...sta-bil

Last year someone had the same sort of problem.
Take all that fuel and pour it into your neighbors car.
Every last drop, tank, lines and bowl.
If I remember correctly, the sta-bil settled in the bowl and caused issues that went away with fresh gas.

Verslagen, any idea who had that problem? I find it interesting to think a gas additive, said to prevent problems with gas in storage, might actually cause problems.

I will quote part of an article in the April 2009 Motorcycle Consumer News dealing with gasoline deterioration.

"As I understand it, the problem is fuel separation. The oxygenating compounds being used in the gasoline are the primary culprits and not the alcohol (ethanol or methanol). The oxygenates and octane enhancers either separate or evaporate quickly, leaving the gummy, jet blocking and float sticking residue behind in just a few weeks' time. Traditional fuel stabilizers do not work well (if at all) with the currentr oxygenated fuels. Until a new fuel stabilizer is produced that deals with this new fuel formulation, I do not have a good solution for prevention beyond riding as often as you can and topping off the fuel at every opportunity."

Max had the same probems with both savages this spring. Only explanation is the seafoam caused some heavy ends to settle in the bottom of the float bowl as they both acted like the side was stuck, only had idle and low speed power. I was able to drive the bagger after it rode 1500 miles in theb back of the PU from WA to AZ with a dose of fresh seafom in the tank. I had the top off the tug carb twice to insure the slide was free and after I removed the float bowl and let it sit overnight it ran properly the next day. Next time I would try draining the float bowl first rather than take it off. Hope it works for you as well.  Max

I've had this identical problem in car engines over the years and it was always caused by fuel starvation.   The causes for fuel starvation that I have seen are:  Internally collapsed fuel lines due to alcohol blended fuels which are in every gasoline in CA., Octane booster additives collapsing the inside of the fuel lines, and just plain old internally deteriorating hoses.  I always upgrade my fuel hose to the best fuel injection hose, right away.  Its stronger than regular fuel hose, which doesn't hurt on a motorcycle that can be dropped.
Another cause I've seen is a dirty fuel filter, or in the case of the Savage, a dirty gas tank screen.

Also gas tanks with un-vented gas caps and whose vent line is clogged.  This creates a mild vacuum effect, especially on engines with no fuel pump to overcome it.  

Dirty carburetor passages restricting fuel flow.

I've had engines rev to high RPMs in neutral, but not do so in gear.  Thats because under load they needed more fuel and couldn't get it due to starvation.

Also, Stabil has a shelf life, and I've bought the product off the shelf only to find out the shelf life was expired, when I got home and read the bottle.  Perhaps once past its shelf life, it solidifies, or reacts to other chemistry in fuel to solidify or increase its viscosity.

I agree with Verslagen...I would drain all the gas out of the bike, including loosening the bolt at the bottom of the carb bowl and drain the bowl as well.  Also while you have it empty, I would replace the fuel line with fresh fuel injection hose. If that doesn't work, I would next remove the tank strainer and look at that.  This would also be a good time to look in the tank with a flashlight for signs of rust.

Tomorrow I will look in my factory shop manual and my Clymer book to see if this problem is addressed.  If it is, I will post what they say.

 I can still get the 100% pure gas that what I use 90% of the time.