I really want to ride this bike, not part it out!

[Ramblerman]

Hi! I posted recently in the "Introduce Yourself" section about my '99 that I bought a few weeks ago. The engine had a valve break off in the cylinder at higher RPM and needed rebuilding. I bought it cheap because I wanted a project and hated to see it parted out since the bike was well cared for and looked great (15,000 miles).

I have now rebuilt the top half of the engine and I can not get it started for anything in the world! Here is what I know so far:

Timing: I have checked, re-checked, and checked again - all of the timing marks (and the camshaft) appear to be in the correct locations!
Spark: I do have a nice spark coming from the NEW plug. I have the plug gap at .025"
Valves: I have adjusted them a couple of times and have them very close to their proper specs at this point (adjusted with the piston at TDC on the compression stroke)
Carburetor: Took apart and cleaned, passages and jets were all clear, adjusted float.
Fuel: Fresh fuel put into a CLEAN tank and I am running an inline clear fuel filter and I can see the fuel flow into the carb when I put petcock on prime!
Battery: Charged up with a 2amp trickle to 100% - tested good!
Starter Fluid: I get no sputter or anything whatsoever with a 1-2 second spray when I spray into airbox (or carburetor directly).

I have been reading all of the information I can find in all of the posts related to my issue here on this forum! So far nothing has helped me! :cry: Can anyone please shed some light on this funkyness? I am going crazy here trying to figure out what the issue is. This is the first bike I have owned and it makes a great yard ornament. I would love it to be a great bike too! :tongue:

Thanks in advance,
Daniel

[Water Warrior 2]

I have had only one experience when Lynda's GZ would not fire up. After an oil change I left the oil filler plug out and it would not even sputter. Put the plug in and away it went. Must be something to do with engine vacuum or related pressures. Did you leave the plug out and attempt to start it ?? That's all I got but some one with more savvy will be along soon. Hang in there.

[JWR]

Kill switch on handle bar???

Mine would not start sometimes and I would turn it off and on a few times.

[Ramblerman]

Water Warrior: That's interesting. I had no idea that would cause a no-start problem! Unfortunately, my oil fill plug (and everything else I can see) appears to be properly tightened! Huh, maybe I should try taking off the oil fill plug. I think I have tried everything else. :lol:

JWR: Thanks, I actually tried "resetting" all the controls several times, and still no starting. The starter will CRANK the engine all day long, but nothing happens after that!

Also, for more information about the problem, I am able to put a finger over the spark plug opening while cranking it and I can feel compression. Also, I am able to feel puffs of air coming out of the muffler while cranking, which would imply that there are no restrictions!

Thanks guys,
Daniel

[alantf]

Have you tried putting the choke on, before cranking? (let's try clutching at straws) That could be - just could be - the problem. :??:

If you're getting fuel, pressure, a spark, I can't think of anything else (that's obvious) to try. :cry:

[bonehead]

Have you confirmed that you DO have spark?

[Water Warrior 2]

Have you confirmed that you DO have spark?
Yes.

[Ramblerman]

I have tried using the choke in the fully closed position, fully open position, and part way in between! I have even taken the brass choke cable connection off of the carb and made sure that everything was working in there, and it appears to be. I cleaned it out anyway.

I checked for spark through the spark plug wire. Then I attached the spark plug to the end of the wire and grounded it too the engine. The spark looked good (to my eye) and it jumped the .025" gap very nicely.

Of course, I have no way to know (or do I?) if the spark is REALLY firing at the correct time when it is supposed to be firing.

Daniel

[Water Warrior 2]

Can you verify there is fuel getting into the cylinder from the carb ??

[Ramblerman]

When I pull the carb off of the engine I do get a little bit of fuel on my hands from near the throttle plate. I presume that the vacuum from the intake stroke would draw this into the cylinder. Right?

To make sure, as somewhat of a last resort, I sprayed starter fluid into the opening on the cylinder head where the carb mounts to, right behind the intake valves. I then cranked the starter with a fully charged battery... There was no sputter, no firing noises of any kind! :??:

Daniel

[alantf]

Just a thought............... When you rebuilt the head, you didn't by any chance get the valve timing 180º out of phase , did you? :??:

[Ramblerman]

I had that exact thought over the weekend. I removed the top cover of the engine again so I could see the camshaft & camshaft gear. Everything looked good. The timing mark on the generator case cover lined up with the "T" mark through the plug hole. The camshaft notch was facing the intake side of the engine AND the locating pin in the camshaft gear was at he 1:00 position as the manual says! I took the spark plug out (again) and confirmed that it was really at TDC also.

Daniel

[geezer]

you did stager the rings corectly? most engines are 180 degrees apart

[Ramblerman]

Yes! I installed the rings on the piston per the diagram in the manual.

BTW, it is great having that service manual available for all here to download. Whoever made that happen needs to be commended! It was an incredible resource when rebuilding the engine and working on the bike in general! :2tup:

-Daniel

[geezer]

do a compression check, good thing its gonna be super easy with only one cylinder to work with. sorry im not gonna read through all the others posts. did you check the carb? might not be getting fuel to the engine, tried starter fluid? :??: double check your steps you did something wrong, so your sure timing isnt off 180? sorry dude i know you are getting pounded with the obvious. you verified fuel coming out of the tank?as in pulled the line and put it on prime and watched? a steady flow of fuel? haha ok got the vacuum line installed for the vacuum percock? are abolutely sure your header is on tight and you replaced the exhaust gaskets right? intake maniold is good? all electical connections plugged back in? thats really all there is to it. so back to the carb, you sure its done right? even if you think you did something right go back over it and check again

[geezer]

sorry i read your post and feel like a broken record now, but still double check. do that compression check if you spray into the carb and nothing happens, its gotta be spark or compression

[Dupo]

Yes! I installed the rings on the piston per the diagram in the manual.

BTW, it is great having that service manual available for all here to download. Whoever made that happen needs to be commended! It was an incredible resource when rebuilding the engine and working on the bike in general! :2tup:

-Daniel

You're welcome!

[Ramblerman]

I agree with "geezer"... it sounds like the problem has to be spark or compression. I have a compression tester, but it only has adapters for the two older American car sizes. I am going to get the correct 12mm fitting (or a whole new tester) and we will see what's up!

Thanks,
Daniel

[geezer]

did you install the head gasket with the "up" lettering facing up? just a thought i had while taking a shit

[Ramblerman]

It turns out that I have around 10 PSI when I do a compression test! :shocked: Obviously, this is waaaaaay too low. I would have been somewhat happy with ANYTHING over 100 PSI.

I took the cylinder head off of the engine again to check things out. At first everything looked correct. But then, I aimed a flashlight behind the valves and saw that there was a partial sliver of light coming from between the valve and valve seat on every one of the four valves!! I am going to try my hand at valve lapping and see if I can get a good sealing surface to hold in the compression.

Hopefully, by posting this resolution to this problem someone in the future will be able to solve a similar issue they may be having!

Daniel

[blaine]

I took the cylinder head off of the engine again to check things out. At first everything looked correct. But then, I aimed a flashlight behind the valves and saw that there was a partial sliver of light coming from between the valve and valve seat on every one of the four valves!! I am going to try my hand at valve lapping and see if I can get a good sealing surface to hold in the compression.



Daniel
This is a little "old school" but it works.When you are are done lapping the valves,fill the combustion chamber with some liquid and wait a few minutes to see if any leaks through.If you have no leaks,your valves are seated.
:) :cool: