V-star 1100 fuel starvation???

Question

i just installed a new set of pipes on my 2007 v-star 1100 classic. i took it down the road to hear the new sound, and am having a fuel starvation problem all of a sudden. when i cruise around 50mph in 5th gear with the petcock in the on position, the bike starts to stutter, and then the motor dies completely. i switched the petcock to the reserve position, and tried the same speed and gear, and it no longer does it. the fuel level in the tank is about 3/4 full. i have not jetted the carbs, and there are no other modifications to the engine besides the pipes, also the bike only has 290 miles on it. any suggestions? i plan to contact the dealer on monday, but am a little worried that they will tell me the warranty is void because of the pipes being installed. any help will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

keith

Answer 1

If it didn't do it with the old pipes, you may have relieved to much back pressure on the motor, which you should be able to buy a kit to install where the pipes connect to the head, or you may have to rejet the carbs. don't know about what the new pipes will do for warranty.  Not sure this will help, don't know what pipes you got am am not real knowledgable on the v star

Answer 2

First thing would be check the fuel level.  The 1100 doesn't have a fuel gauge, could be it.  If not, take the petcock off and see if the "on" tube is clogged, could be in the petcock itself.  Seems like it has to be somewhere here since it runs ok on reserve.

Answer 3

I'm no mechanic, just 40+ years experience wrenching on my own bikes...ok, 1) you can bet your butt on the dealer telling you the warranty is void, LOL...and 2) I'm guessing the new pipes give more flow, causing the carb to need more air, exp at high rev's...remove the air filter --lid and the filter itself-- and run the bike down the road -- if it runs without choking, that's a clue.  Don't keep tooling around with no filter, of course, that's just an experiment...