2003 Yamaha rx1 trouble

[Hilts’y]

Hi, so I have a 2003 Yamaha rx1 completely bone stock it starts fine idles fine and the clutches engage fine, wether it is on a lift or on the ground from a dead stop if I pin the throttle to the bar it picks up speed to about 53 then it cuts out and looses power, it won’t go to full speed. It cuts out and refuses the speed then tries to pick up speed again and then cuts back out again. Some times if I keep it pinned wile it’s cutting out it will sputter and backfire. What can cause this to happen is it a problem in the clutching, fuel delivery problem, problem with tors it has fresh gas and brand new plugs. Thank you in advance

 

[RobX-1]

When was the last time the carbs were cleaned? I still have my RX-1 and just recently completely rebuilt the carbs and replaced the in-tank fuel filters (has over 11,000 miles on it now), these RX's were notorious for clogged jets due to their small sizes. So much so they even go their own emoji



Even after regularly disassembling and cleaning and re-sync'ing the carbs, I ended up still having to rebuild them after all those miles. It runs so much smoother now and the throttle response is much crisper too. Once I couldn't get the carbs to consistently sync is when I decided to rebuild; up until I never had any issues. Not saying you need to rebuild yours but I would definitely start with disassembling and cleaning/soaking all of the jets and cleaning the screens under the needle valves and then re-sync and go from there. If you're not familiar with disassembling the carbs, search the forums as I sure there are posts detailing the process. Wealth of information on this forum at your finger tips.

 

[Hilts’y]

I just got the sled like 2 weeks ago so god only knows the last time the carbs have been serviced. I will inspect and clean the carbs though if it looks like it needs a rebuild I will rebuild them and go from there. Thank you for the information and as I have researched on these rx1’s it occurs to me that at any time you need to do something to the sled you might as well add cleaning the carbs to the list as well lol

 

[mikextx]

This is by far the best place to learn about your new sled. Ask questions, and that thing will be running great in no time!

 

[RobX-1]

Here's some info and links to help get you started:

I used the red high heat silicone for making gaskets and yes on the outside where they normally sit once done they cant move on you making the job of putting on the air box a snap. Get the allen screws as well now would be the best time to change them. Here is how I did mine.
(1) Take the air box off, change the air box clamps screws to allen screws, silicone the clamps in place by loosening them and pushing them on further out of your way put the silicone on and pull them into place let them dry. Now would be a good time to clean out your screen and foam filter as well.

(2) Undo the white electrical connector (front of carbs) and the tors connectors (greenish ones on top of carbs) and take off the two black tie straps holding the tors wires in place just push the tab down on them and they come apart.

(3) You can now put some paper towels under the carb rack or try and catch the fuel from the bowls by draining them with the allen head drain plug located in the front of the carbs and then reinstall the drain plugs. Loosen all four of the allen screws holding the carb rack in place onto the intake boots with a 3mm allen wrench.

(4) By pushing down and up wiggling the carb rack wiggle it out of the intake boots, then flip the whole rack up and towards the back of the sled moving gas lines and anti freeze lines out of your way but don't remove them. Tie in place with a rope to the handle bar. When done the carb rack air box end will be pointing to the brake side handle bar and at an angle with the float bowls very accessible. Once done loosely stuff some clean paper towels in your intake boots so nothing can be dropped in there.

(5) Now your ready to take your float bowls off and I suggest doing one at a time press down firmly with your phillips screw driver and gradually add more torque to loosen the screws off be careful not to drop any and a magnetic screw driver tip is handy for this job. The float bowls will be kind of sticky to take off because of the o ring on the main jet. Now clean your jets all three the main, the pilot and the power jet and of course you float bowls. Now if the o ring is damaged you can replace them with new or leave them off if your not doing any major climbing. Spray some carb cleaner in all the jet holes and under the floats in other words clean everything. Put the clean jets back in place and put the bowl back on with your new allen head screws. Do this to each carb and clean everything meticulously as you don't want to take the carbs off again if you don't have too.

(6) Now take a narrow slotted screw driver and turn your fuel screw in to a light seat then back out for two turns. They are located in the front by the black hose with the carbs upside down. Make sure two turns out exactly. Do this for each carb while your working on each one separately.

(7) Now put things back together in a reverse order make sure your fuel lines or coolant lines are not pinched when putting things back together. Take your time and do a good job!

https://ty4stroke.com/threads/carb-cleaning-tips-and-procedure.97997/#post-869705

 

[RobX-1]

One other suggestion would be to become a VIP member on this forum [https://totallyamaha.com/Totallyamaha/Store/vip.htm] and for as little as $15/year, not only do you help support this site but being a VIP also entitles you to receive/download the service manual for your sled. Between having the manual and this forum at your disposal, you're not going to encounter an issue any of us previous/current RX owners haven't already addressed and/or encountered.

 

[Hilts’y]

Thank you for all the information and help and I will tackle this full speed ahead and will definitely look in to becoming a vip as well. Again thank you for your comments and help this far and I will keep you updated

 

[Brotherdan]

Hi, so I have a 2003 Yamaha rx1 completely bone stock it starts fine idles fine and the clutches engage fine, wether it is on a lift or on the ground from a dead stop if I pin the throttle to the bar it picks up speed to about 53 then it cuts out and looses power, it won’t go to full speed. It cuts out and refuses the speed then tries to pick up speed again and then cuts back out again. Some times if I keep it pinned wile it’s cutting out it will sputter and backfire. What can cause this to happen is it a problem in the clutching, fuel delivery problem, problem with tors it has fresh gas and brand new plugs. Thank you in advance

I would check the spark plug coils first, start the machine in a dark shed/garage & look for any arcing around the coils,usually if carbs are dirty you cannot get it to rev up without choke on, if you apply a little choke does it get better? Also be careful running wide open on a lift with no slide lubrication or spray soapy water on slides before running on lift for very long, usually do not see trouble with tors unless handlebar height etc has been changed but easy enough to bypass to test.has this machine been sitting? What kinda mileage on this rx1? It sounds like either ignition or carburetion/ fuel let us know answers to these questions & should be able to narrow it down

 

[Hilts’y]

The guy I bought the sled from had it in his garage no telling how long for but was just registered last year so shouldn’t have been sitting for to long. As far as the sled idling it idles alright but seems a little low at a consistent 1k rpms if I turn the choke on a little up to half choke it actually does smooth the idle out and just raises the rpm but if I give it full choke wile it’s warmed up and running it will choke it out. The sled has just over 4K miles on it going to be taking the carbs apart and inspecting and cleaning this weekend

 

[Brotherdan]

The guy I bought the sled from had it in his garage no telling how long for but was just registered last year so shouldn’t have been sitting for to long. As far as the sled idling it idles alright but seems a little low at a consistent 1k rpms if I turn the choke on a little up to half choke it actually does smooth the idle out and just raises the rpm but if I give it full choke wile it’s warmed up and running it will choke it out. The sled has just over 4K miles on it going to be taking the carbs apart and inspecting and cleaning this weekend

Yeah that sounds like the majority of your problems, unfortunately with today’s ethanol fuel at least here in the northeast it goes bad in as little as 3 weeks, not sure if you have ever had rx1 carbs apart or not but I would leave them hooked to the machine, disconnect enough to flip over for access to the float bowls, use a very good Phillips screwdriver ( they make special drivers for these screws but most people have never heard of them let alone have them)remove 1 bowl at a time& keep track of the jets as they can be mixed up, usually you only need to clean the bowl/jet area & shouldn’t need to disassemble the top of the carbs at all.also if you do not split the carbs you should not need to resync them,If you use carb cleaner be very careful about surrounding plastic as it usually melts or discolors it,you will need some very fine wire to run through the pilot jets as the ports are tiny, I would still check the coils to confirm they are not arcing, also if it was mine I would drain the fuel system& change the in tank filters,it’s a pain to do them but I can give some advice if you decide to replace them.