Running rough when cold?

Here's a tip for all the winter riders.

I'd been experiencing problems with the SV losing power briefly while riding. The engine would sound rough, like it's run out of petrol. It would only do it under load and when cold, however. So I did the usual, new plugs, balanced the carbs as they hadn't been done, cleaned the front plug drain hole and I thought all would be well. Still no joy though, so off I went to seek professional advice.

The wonderful chap at Sutton Motorcycles got straight to the problem. He drained my carbs a little and told me to see how it went. He explained that as the tank heats up and cools down, water forms at the bottom of the tank and sits in the carbs. It happens more often in winter for obvious reasons. When the bike is under load, it tries to draw more fuel up through the jets, and ends up sucking up the water instead. The water is too large to fit, and so starves the engine of petrol. It all made sense then, and has since been much better.

So all that's left is to give the carbs an overhaul this afternoon, and the problem should hopefully disappear altogether.