The choke on my 1000fe is pretty much redundant for some reason.. I hardly ever need to use it, in winter even and if I do decide to use it it does increase the revs by a tiny amount but makes very little difference, to the point that I can forget it’s on! I do eventually notice after a long ride and it’ll stall at the lights. (yes I hate that- fuel wise!) *This bike runs at the cooler end of the scale most of the time, just above the cold section on the meter.
so question is - is that normal or do I need to do something? I do think it uses too much fuel- could it be partially on the whole time ??
I use the choke at my VF1000R at ~20°C and it has an influence. When the engine gets warmer the revs are increasing and I reduce it bit by bit to keep them constant. When it is warm enough I set it back to “zero”.
My favourite would be: Never change a running system. If it works for you ok, don’t touch it.
If the choke has little to no effect and you don’t need it to start the engine, especially in cold conditions…she may be running a tad on the rich side…
Float level may be a bit high or the pilot adjustment is not quite right…or both.
thanks guys.. it’s never -20 here and the revs don’t increase with temp increase, I’ve cleaned the carbs out and set the floats recently- but I’ll check the sparkplugs to see how they’re looking.. -shame they’re a pig to get too (like everything else!), but an easy check.
Hi Trev,
Honda describes the “choke” on the VF1000F/FE as a fuel-enrichment circuit controlled by four bystarter valves, rather than a conventional choke butterfly.
Before changing any carburettor settings, Honda’s first check is the cable and linkage:
With the handlebar lever fully on, the carburettor linkage must reach its fully open position with no movement remaining.
With the lever fully off, the bystarter valves must close completely and there should be some cable free play, ensuring the cable is not holding the enrichment circuit open.
The linkage and all four valves should operate and return smoothly.
Starting readily without enrichment in cold weather, together with high fuel consumption, suggests the engine may already be running rich—but that is a diagnosis to verify, not proof that the choke itself is at fault.
Honda lists the principal rich-mixture causes as:
Enrichment/choke valve stuck
Float level too high or a faulty float valve
Dirty air cleaner
Clogged air jets
Vacuum piston sticking closed
As the carburettors have recently been cleaned, I would check the choke linkage first, then inspect all four plugs and the air cleaner. It is also worth confirming that the floats were measured by Honda’s method: 7.5 mm, with each carburettor inclined 15–45° and the float tang only just contacting the valve.
I would not alter the pilot screws simply as an experiment. Honda describes them as factory preset; if they have been disturbed, the manual specifies an initial position of 2½ turns out, followed by the proper warm-engine idle-drop procedure.
So the next sensible order is:
Confirm all four bystarter valves fully close with the lever off.
Check cable free play and smooth return.
Inspect the air cleaner and compare all four plug colours.
Recheck float height and float-valve sealing if the plugs confirm rich running.
The fact that leaving the choke on eventually makes it stall suggests the enrichment circuit is doing something. The question is whether it is fully closing when switched off, or whether the underlying mixture is already too rich. Honda source:VF1000F Workshop Manual, Section 3, page 3-6; Section 4, pages 4-2, 4-6 and 4-15.
VF Bob