Hold tight. Thinking this through, you say the bike idles and revs fine with choke, but no choke and you turn the throttle and it dies? Those are fairly conflicting symptoms. On one hand it would indicate a very lean condition (likes choke) and then it still should be happy when getting gas. And all this started after the rain storm?
Hey cal, yes, it revs fine with the choke out, which is why I'm confused. Also confusing is that I didn't have any of this trouble at all until the bike was hit with rain. The rain may not be a cause of all this, but there is solid correlation. I rode the bike about 20 miles to a music venue last wednesday evening, then got trapped inside during a rainstorm lasting a couple hours. When I finally got out, I was barely able to get the bike home, had very strange hesitation with the throttle. Then the next night, same hesitation. By Saturday, any throttle at all instantly kills the engine.
With the the choke on, will it rev past 3,500? Without choke, where's the idle, and where's the rev counter when it dies? Does it suddenly die like you flipped a switch, or does it Peter out, or stumble to death?
I can check this after work today. I believe it does rev past 3500 with the choke pulled out. Without choke, the bike dies suddenly... so at idle RPMs: around 1250. It doesn't peter out, it's as if I just clicked the kill switch or something. Even the slightest twist of the throttle kills it.
I talked with Ron last night & he suggested a 3 part course of elimination. First check how the bike runs if I play with the idle adjusting screws, turning it to idle at higher RPMs (does the engine die out then?), then check the in line fuel filter, then remove the airbox & see how the bike runs without it. Then I could also check the accel pump nozzles. At that point if the problem still isn't solved, I may go ahead & get new gas for the tank as well.
