General Help with my 2001 Drifter 1500

[Varooom]

I always put my 1999 Drifter away with a couple ounces of injector cleaner run into a new tank of gas.  It was 14 degrees yesterday and I hadn't started it for 4 months.  A buyer came over with his wife.  It started instantly, ran for about 2 minutes and then idled down to a nice idle.  Never had a problem with it; that's part of its amazing engine.
I've never used the 'choke' - never had to.
Varooom
(Yes, he bought it.  Put the plate on my 2005 and I'm off for another 12+ years!)

[1SG CAV]

I would still run injection cleaner through it. I run injection cleaner every three- four tanks.
The power commander will only adjust the engine a little, unless you have it dyno'd. What ever you do don't put a hyper-charger on it. If you do make sure the wires are connected good and then get it dyno'd. then you'll like the performance. Unless you're tall, a hyper- charger will cause your right leg problems. Enjoy your ride.

[ctwoody]

Thanks for the input men.  Last night I checked the plugs etc.  everything looked great.  For some reason, the idle twist knob was locked and would not turn.  I shot a smidge of WD40 on the cable itself near the knob, let it soak in a few and had a buddy of mine fire up the Drifter.  Sure enough, just as the bike started to choke out, the idle knob broke free and I was able to take the idle up to keep the bike running.  It runs great now.  Apparently the previous owner dropped it down to get more of a "lope" sound which I read is bad for it.  It is running great now...not sure why the idle cable/knob was stuck.  Whew...much better than $ to fix it!!  60 degrees on Saturday here in Cincy...let's ride ! Thanks again!

[chief]

There really isn't a choke on this bike... as Troll noted. I have NEVER used mine - in 9 years.

A couple of things... adjust fast idle to an acceptable level.

and use some injector cleaner for a tank or two and see if that helps.

[Troll]

Does it have a fast idle without using the "choke"? Mine will run up to about 1500 rpm when it's cold. I never use the "choke" since it's just a fast idle enhancer. Cold weather and high amounts of alcohol in your fuel may exacerbate the problem. I just had mine running about a half hour ago after a winter's sleep, and it fired up  and ran almost instantly...it's 35 deg. F here, and I have no heat in my garage.  Mine has 53,000 miles on it, still like new. Some of the "premium" fuels have alcohol in them, some do not. I have been using 89 octane  because I get the best overall fuel mileage with it. We have a "no alcohol" premium here, but it seems to decrease the mileage by about 15%.

[ctwoody]

Hello,

I just traded a Kaw Mean Streak for a 2001 Kaw Drifter 1500 and love it!  It has OEM air cleaner (clean) with V&H Longshots (unfortunately no power commander).  The bike will start with full choke and run for 3 to 4 minutes then choke out.  I tried to adjust the idle to no avail.  I traded with the original owner who took excellent care of it and claims it never did this...bike was just was "cold blooded". Strange since its fule injected!!??  My Meany never had this problem...does anyone have any suggestions or have encountered this???  It has 17K on it.  Thanks so much!