Carb Freezing

[Dodgy1]

Hi there ppl....I have a problem with carb freezing on my 06 1200 Bandit. I am having no luck with the dealer I bought the bike from with this issue and its drivin me nuts. Now my bike is my main mode of transport and having it not perform in the winter is not an option. I have heard through the grape vine that there are carb heating kits available. Does anyone here know where I can get one? likwise if anyone knows anything that can help me with this problem I would be gratefull. Cheers...Dodgy

[Rhino]

It seems that in the UK (and as an option elsewhere) a carb heater kit is available for the Bandit. This fits into the bowls and is normally switched on a few minutes before starting in cold weather.

Maybe check with Suzuki NZ as to availability here.

[roadracingoldfart]

Hi there ppl....I have a problem with carb freezing on my 06 1200 Bandit. I am having no luck with the dealer I bought the bike from with this issue and its drivin me nuts. Now my bike is my main mode of transport and having it not perform in the winter is not an option. I have heard through the grape vine that there are carb heating kits available. Does anyone here know where I can get one? likwise if anyone knows anything that can help me with this problem I would be gratefull. Cheers...Dodgy



Are you shitting me ????
te Awamutu isnt an alpine climate and the last few times i have been up there i didnt see any snow or shit.
How the hell is the carb freezing up???
Im not being negative but it just sounds to me like something else is the culprit here.

[Grub]

Nup,, they're not shitting you. It's a thing I'm familiar with as a pilot but have never heard of it in vehicles ... although of course if all the conditions are right, then it can happen to any engine.

Here's a pretty good explanations and some fix ideas http://www.misterfixit.com/carbice.htm

Just to confuzzle ya - carb ice is NOT a problem if the air is cold enough. It is usually only a problem from a few degrees below freezing up to about
a moderate temp. Say from -5 to 15 Celsius.

The only time I've had it in the air was at 7,500ft in a Cessna 172 exacty midway across Cook Strait between Welly and Cape Campbell from where it is only marginally likely that you can reach either end in a glide. That wakes you up! (Applying Carb Heat is the answer in an aircraft)

[Ocean1]

I know someone with a bandit with the same symptoms, believe it's not uncommon. You can get a heater kit for them but I can only suggest you talk to the local agent.

[scumdog]

I've had it on everything from V8s t my Harley.

Get the right conditions (moist air, fairly cold temps and a constant throttle opening ) and it happens real easy.

Some way of directing warm air from the exhaust area into the intake will fix it - trouble is: HOW?

[tri boy]

Triumph Scrambler comes standard with a some kind of carb heater.
Wire is attached at the bottom of the fuel bowl. Thats about all I can tell you about it, but if you call an Triumph agent, and talk to the w/shop, they may be able to give you more info.:niceone:

[Wheeliemonsta]

Hi there ppl....I have a problem with carb freezing on my 06 1200 Bandit. I am having no luck with the dealer I bought the bike from with this issue and its drivin me nuts. Now my bike is my main mode of transport and having it not perform in the winter is not an option. I have heard through the grape vine that there are carb heating kits available. Does anyone here know where I can get one? likwise if anyone knows anything that can help me with this problem I would be gratefull. Cheers...Dodgy

Gidday
Get your local dealer to check with Suzuki N.Z - they may have a kit available...

A mate of mine had similar problems on his ZZR 1200 in the South Island, between his local dealer & Kawasaki N.Z the problem was solved with a minimum of fuss - if memory serves correctly it was covered under warranty on his particular bike...

The kit itself was ex Japan, so you maybe looking at a wait of up to three weeks for the bits to arrive...

Cheers

:rockon:

[Blue Velvet]

Hi there ppl....I have a problem with carb freezing on my 06 1200 Bandit. I am having no luck with the dealer I bought the bike from with this issue and its drivin me nuts. Now my bike is my main mode of transport and having it not perform in the winter is not an option. I have heard through the grape vine that there are carb heating kits available. Does anyone here know where I can get one? likwise if anyone knows anything that can help me with this problem I would be gratefull. Cheers...Dodgy

I had a heater kit put on my SV and it has helped, though in cold southerlies it still ices. The shop I got the bike from fitted the kit as part of used bike warranty which was cool.

[imdying]

Your dealer will be in a hurry to fix it when you return the bike as being 'unsuitable for the purpose', as is your right under consumer law. Have your lawyer contact them :yes:

[Grub]

Some way of directing warm air from the exhaust area into the intake will fix it -

And that would end up being a Very Bad Thing if it was all the time. The warm air just stuffs the density of the air into the carb and destroys about 20% of your horsepower!

The perfect thing is if you can have a temp redirection ... i.e a carb heat control just to get rid of the ice, then back to normal

[Tim 39]

I've often wondered why I've never had carb icing in anything but an aeroplane before. clearly it can happen to anything.

The answer for it in aviation is "carb heat" which ducts hot air around the exhaust manifold and then into the carb. It has a control so it is turned on when either icing is suspected or at low power settings (when throttle icing is likely)

so maybe you could design something like that for it

[marty]

isn't the bandit injected?

[crazybigal]

no just the new 07


isn't the bandit injected?

[scumdog]

And that would end up being a Very Bad Thing if it was all the time. The warm air just stuffs the density of the air into the carb and destroys about 20% of your horsepower!

The perfect thing is if you can have a temp redirection ... i.e a carb heat control just to get rid of the ice, then back to normal

ORRRR you could have a thermostaticly controlled flap that directs warm or cool air into the engine according to air/engine-temp - sort of like cars have been doing for the since 1970 or so.

[marty]

oh yeah.

heat is the easiest way to do it. the trick is knowing when to apply it. heat all the time will richen up the mixture too much. once ice has formed it can take a bit to clear it, and it will usually run worse before it runs better. buy a cheap temperature gauge and install it in the airbox. you'll get a picture of conditions and you'll know when to expect it. you must be able to pick up a carb heat kit from somewhere if it's a known problem

[MacD]

It seems that in the UK (and as an option elsewhere) a carb heater kit is available for the Bandit. This fits into the bowls and is normally switched on a few minutes before starting in cold weather.

Maybe check with Suzuki NZ as to availability here.

My Bandit 1200K1 is a UK import and has the carb heaters as standard. They are tube-shaped threaded units (look very similar to a temperature sender unit really) that screw into a recess in the base of each carb next to the pilot screw. I've attached a picture from the Haynes manual showing the location and associated wiring. I suspect the biggest issue would be the lack of wiring on a local market bike.

[rogson]

This is a Suzuki factory or importer/agent fault. Clearly, the factory contemplates carb freezing in some climates that's why the UK market bikes come with heaters standard. Suzuki should fix this at their cost.

I had a 98 ZX9R that had carb freezing problems that I didn't discover until I had owned the bike for about 6 years. I bitched to the local dealer who bitched to the importer, who bitched to Kawasaki Japan. The outcome was Kawasaki Japan shipped a new set of carbs and attachments designed for cold climates - free of charge! (Retail value in excess of $2500)

This was for a bike that was obviously well out of warranty.

Contact Suzuki......and bitch.

[Dodgy1]

My Bandit 1200K1 is a UK import and has the carb heaters as standard. They are tube-shaped threaded units (look very similar to a temperature sender unit really) that screw into a recess in the base of each carb next to the pilot screw. I've attached a picture from the Haynes manual showing the location and associated wiring. I suspect the biggest issue would be the lack of wiring on a local market bike.

Cheers mac......and everyone else for that matter. My local dealer has assured me he is not going to let Suzuki NZ sweep this one under the carpet. As others have stated I only suffer this problem when the conditions are right. Normally when there is a frost on the ground I can just about count on having problems. I a kit does become available I'm thinking of having a switch istalled to cut the power to the heaters so that I dont have to re jet etc for summer riding. Mac I wonder if you would mind emailing me a larger pic of that heater setup you posted?? I would be very gratefull.....Cheers everyone :apint:

[Pancakes]

You should have this taken care of by Mr Suzuki by the sounds of things but on any bike with an airbox wouldn't a temp switch and hot wire coil in the 'box fix this? With the air volume going past I doubt you'd lose much power by the air over-heating, esp if your close to but a bit above freezing? Jaycar do a curcuit for a few bucks that has adjustable on and off temps from -10 to +250 or something crazy.

[MacD]

I've attached a couple of views of the carb heater set up on my UK model Bandit. The wiring includes one earth lead (spade connector) and four heater connectors. The heater screws into a threaded blank recess next to the pilot screw.

[Dodgy1]

You should have this taken care of by Mr Suzuki by the sounds of things but on any bike with an airbox wouldn't a temp switch and hot wire coil in the 'box fix this? With the air volume going past I doubt you'd lose much power by the air over-heating, esp if your close to but a bit above freezing? Jaycar do a curcuit for a few bucks that has adjustable on and off temps from -10 to +250 or something crazy.

More great info......The more amunition I have for Suzuki NZ the better guys. I thank you all. Im particulaly interested in the airbox coil as quoted above. Can somone please point me in the right direction of Jaycar?? Cheers...Dodgy (Mal)

[Pancakes]

..................Can somone please point me in the right direction of Jaycar?? Cheers...Dodgy (Mal)

This kit (link) (http://jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=KC5381&CATID=&keywords=kc%2D5381&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=) switching a relay and some high resistance wire shaped into your airbox would be perfect. Like any prototype the first one would be fiddly maybe but after that you could bang them out.