Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge NewB w/ some questions...

Hello,

I'm new to the forum, and the world of motorcycles. Until a few days ago, it had been six years since I was even on a bike.

A couple of days ago, I purchased a 2003 BAmerica with less than 6000 miles. The bike is in amazing shape. It has aftermarket exhaust and an aftermarket intake. It also has a tachometer, oil temp. gauge, and a few other misc. items.

I do have a few questions/issues...

First,
you can see the air filter on the right side, but not the left. The left has a plastic, black cover. I am thinking about having holes drilled in the plastic that line up with the holes in the cover. I figure it will allow the left intake to breath as freely as the right one.

Any thoughts on this?

Second,
I have noticed there are times when the motor seems to be choking up; whether it be from fuel or air, I'm not sure. Most of the time, the throttle response is immediate and linear. At times, it bogs down. I took it for a 15 mile highway run at around 60-70 miles per hours. On the way down, I had it in fifth gear and had to downshift into fourth to maintain my speed. The bike slowed to around 50-55 several times even at full throttle in fifth gear. On the way back, there were no issues until I got to my house. I pulled into the driveway and it died. Then, it died again after I pulled it into the garage.

Any thoughts?

I love the bike and hope there aren't any serious issues. I'm taking it back to the shop I bought it from on Monday to see what they say, but they aren't open on the weekends. I wanted to take the bike on a 300 mile round trip tomorrow, but now I am having some doubts.

Regards,
nikerret

Sounds to me like a jetting and or fuel filter issue. There is a hidden inline filter between the carbs in the "T" fitting that the line from the tank connects to. You have to remove the fuel line and use hemostats or small needle nose pliers to get it out. Most replace it with an inline of std. design.

I run K&N pods and I don't think drilling holes in that plastic cover will effect anything since the demand for air isn't that great from our engines. Won't hurt anything either if you want to do it.

First, welcome!!If you can take a few pics of your bike it will/would be helpful. Without knowing the history of the bike,it will be a little harder to diagnose,you'll have to tell us what you have as far as jets etc...Everybody is helpful here and don't be afraid to ask questions or put up with some of us.

Welcome to the forum. That old of a bike with that little mileage, I'd ditch the hidden filter as well. Its a tiny thing, way too small in my opinion. Cut in an in-line filter after the first bend from the petcock.
These bikes come lean from the factory. You will have to drop the bowls and see what kind of jetting the previous owner did, if any. Check the Tech vault 2nd post down. Find Pat's jetting calculator and enter your current setup.

Thanks for the replies thus far. I'm sorry about my lack of knowledge. I truly appreciate your thoughts and efforts. Thanks, again.

Cory,

Welcome to the forums. There is a wealth of knowledge here through the collective group and in the tech vault. Read all the posts you can find about filters, both hidden and inline as well as jetting.

Gregger's right,

There is a wealth of information & answers stashed in the forum "tech vault". Did the previous owner provide the basic owner's manual? If not, I had a 2002 America. I'll look around tomorrow if my old manual is hiding in the garage somewhere. The 02's and 03's were basically the same bike.

I had k/n air filter pods on the carburator and also drilled holes in the left side plastic cover to match up with the faux "cheese grater". Did it run better? Who knows, but it made it easy to visually check that the hose clamp filter hadn't slipped from the carb intake

Sounds like a hawkeye deal

jh

Hey there Cory... welcome to the forum. Just stick around, ask questions (like you are), get answers (like you are) and you and your bike will be happily rolling down the road care free!!

Ummm, what else...? Oh yeah. Your question...

Quote:

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What do you mean ditch the hidden filter? Do you mean change the fuel filter; to a larger one, I'm assuming....such as I believe the other poster suggested.

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What Ian and others mean is take that little filter outta there and replace it further up towards the tank with an inline filter. The little 'hidden' filter is down behind and between the carbs. Just follow the fuel line to that place and it you'll find it. It's a bugger of a spot to get to (I've peeked in there but have yet to pull mine) but based on advice given here, and logic alone I know it has to come out of there.

Crazy place for a filter but what can you do. Have fun!

If your skills are limited, find a shop to analyze the bike's carb setup, that will save you lots of headaches and make the bike a lot more enjoyable (welcome!, btw).
Let us know where in the US you are located. We have members everywhere and someone with some know-how may be close enough to help you sort out the bike.

The petcock is the fuel valve on the bottom of the tank. Trace the hose on that down between the carbs. Where that connects to a "T" fitting. Inside that "T" is a very small filter that is easily clogged. Remove that and replace the line. Farther up the hose closer to the tank find a good spot and cut that and install an inline filter. If you read posts concerning the hidden filter you will find pictures and suggestions for an inline replacement.

Given what I gather about your lack of experience I suggest a shop look at your carbs for you. It isn't reall to hard to do and if you have a manual or do a really good read on Dinqua's (Pat) website and maybe even print out the pages you need you can do it yourself and you always have us for guidance. Maybe you have a mechanically inclined friend who could help too or as stated above if you live close to one of us we could pop over for a few hrs and help.

Welcome Cory

You'll find this site helpful, informative and almost as much fun as riding your bike

Hello,

Thanks for the replies. I haven't been doing much except riding.....

I took it back to the shop I purchased it at and he suggested I throw some HEET and some Lucas FI cleaner in the tank as well as use the 93 octane fuel from AMOCO before we go to tearing things apart.

He said the bike was brought in with a full tank of fuel and it had been sitting through the winter with that fuel in the tank.

I'm still on my first tank of treated fuel, but the problem seems to be fixing itself.

I believe the fuel filter idea is also part of the issue and am going to change that out soon.

I live in Emporia, KS. Not sure if there is anyone around here, or not.

Thanks again, I'm back out to ride....

Welcome to the site,and yes that hidden filter is like a bad tooth,it should go.

The 93 octane is BS you don't need any more than the mid grade. Octane is not a quality rating but rather its resistance to knocking (pre-ignition). The cleaner won't hurt as long as you don't put too much in your tank at a time since it is made to treat way more than your tank will hold. I always leave gas in my bike over the winter and never had a problem in the spring. Some winters it sits all winter that way others I take advantage of a warm day and go for a ride.

I would still want to know what jets are in there to be sure it's jetted right if I were you. I would also want to make sure there are no vacuum leaks and that that filter is clear before it becomes a problem along the road.