Sputtering as I try to accelerate

I have had the same problem when my bike was cold. Try warming up the bike for a little longer before riding. I have also noticed that it tends to be more prevelent when I haven't ridden for a few days.

Those are good suggestions, but I'm very diligent with letting the bike warm up and I've been riding almost every day since April. I've had the bike for 3+ years and this is a new issue for me.

Sputtering

This just started happening to me last week! I always warm the bike up for a minute or two then leave the choke on for a bit. Then I leave and a few minutes later it starts sputtering for a good 5 to 10 minutes. But it only happened three times out of about 12 rides. I went to my dealer today and spoke with the mechanic and he said that it is probably clogged carburetor jets. There is no additives for bikes. The best thing to do is remove the carbs and clean them. Well today the bike ran like a clock and hopefully a good long run may clean it out. Cheers.

mine got really bad after sitting for the winter. if shellacking has occurred in carbs it will take some disassembly and cleanup.

however, i have found, sea foam, plus a full tank of good high test gas without ethanol(if it can be found) and run it in idle and high circuits of the carbs and it does wonders

i still have to full choke for a min and half for 5 min before riding but after it runs out on the rode, idle and accel are good. i think the vstar 1100 is a bit cold natured, it has been a good bike so far though other than its cold nature. it pops abit when decel, but not too bad
enjoy