Left fuel valve in "prime" position overnight!

[JerseyMitch]

Okay, so I didn't know any better and left my bike's fuel valve in prime position overnight for, like, 12 hours. It has a new battery and new plugs (just put them on today.) As soon as I realized what I'd done I changed it to the proper position (as per the manual.) But the bike won't start.

How bad have I screwed up? How do I fix this so I can actually ride this bike?

A little background info: It's a 2004; I bought it for $1,100 from a guy I know. He told me it would need a new battery. It worked great yesterday, the first day I rode it. Since I'm a new rider I rode with some more experienced friends. One of them fiddled with the engine for me, making the fuel mixture a little richer. We filled it with mid-grade fuel, not premium. And left the fuel valve in PRI position overnight.

Today it started, but then quickly stalled out. I replaced the battery & plugs. All this time the fuel valve was in PRI. This evening I looked at the owner's manual (better late than never) and saw the warning about the fuel valve positions. I changed the position to ON, but now the bike won't kick over.

[JWR]

If the float works ok, then no problem.
First check the oil level.
Take out the air filter and check inside the air box.

[alantf]

We filled it with mid-grade fuel, not premium.

Yes....Just go for the lowest grade (and cheapest) you can find. This bike's made for third world countries, so it'll run on cats' piss if need be. :)

[jonathan180iq]

It won't start because it's flooded.

-Drain the airbox via the tube that hangs down under the bike.
-Take out the air filter and let the thing air out for a bit.
-Remove the spark plug and turn the engine over a few times to expel what might be in the chamber
-Check your oil level.
-Pull the oil fill cap and see if it smells like gas. (If it does, drain and refill oil)

Put it all back together and enjoy :)

[jonathan180iq]

Mitch, I just read your introductory post too. Was the bike running before you bought it? Is leaving the petcock in PRI the only variable between having a running bike and now a non-running bike?

[JerseyMitch]

Hey, thanks so much for the replies!

So, I read all your suggestions and went to look at the bike in the daylight. Guess what? There's not a drop of oil in that sucker---mystery solved. The previous owner said he'd just changed the oil a few days before I picked it up. Which leads to two bigger mysteries:

1. Okay, there was oil in it when I got the bike; so where did it go and why? Do I have a blown engine?
2. If the engine is blown, or seriously damaged, did the guy who sold it to me (someone I considered a friend) know it was like that? (And if he did, do I break his left or his right leg? Just kidding. Mostly.)

Man, please tell me this engine isn't ruined. How much would a new engine cost?

[Water Warrior 2]

The bike must be upright to check the sight glass. Never ever check the oil with the bike leaning on the sidestand. You will get a low or empty result.

[JerseyMitch]

Hey Water Warrior,

Very good point! But no worries---I checked it standing straight up. Not that it matters, after filling up the oil (again, with the bike sitting straight up) it still won't turn over.

[Water Warrior 2]

Is your battery fully charged? A slightly discharged battery will not have enough power to run the starter and ignition system. Does the starter turn over the engine slowly/barely?

[jonathan180iq]

Mitch, you can boost these bikes off from a car as long as the car is NOT_RUNNING. Just straight hook up the battery via jumper cables. This will at least let you thumb the starter and see what happens.

Most people selling vehicles will tell you they just changed the oil and that "everything works good". Are you certain there was oil in it when you bought it? Did you check? How many miles have you put on the bike since then? Like, if it was full, how quickly did all of the oil vanish?

None of this was caused by leaving the petcock in PRI. You may need to go back and break this guys left leg.

[brizbot]

Hi Guys,

I came to this forum because I too did not read the manual to the bike that I just got last night and set to 'PRI'. Luckily I decided to look over the manual this morning, but realized I done f@%ed up :(

So here's the situation:
Set the fuel valve to PRI from 6pm to 8am. Set it to On at 8am.
I have not turned it on as of yet.

Here's what I have done so far:
-Drain the airbox via the tube that hangs down under the bike.
There was about 1/8 cup of dark oil that came out.

-Take out the air filter and let the thing air out for a bit.
It smelled only a little like gas, but regardless I let it air out for about 6 hours.

-Remove the spark plug and turn the engine over a few times to expel what might be in the chamber
I have not done that yet

-Check your oil level.
-Pull the oil fill cap and see if it smells like gas. (If it does, drain and refill oil)
The oil level is completely black. I smelled the oil did not smell much like gas.

Here is what I plan to do:
Drain oil
Change oil filter
Take out spark plug and turn the engine over a few times like suggested.

Any other things I should/not be doing?

Thanks for your assistance guys. I feel like I real bonehead :(
Briz

[wacio]

If your carb is in good shape - especially float valve working OK, than you don't need to worry about a thing. Pri position should be avoided if you are to leave bike sit for days or weeks. Bike with fuel valve open (what prime position really is) may cause fresh fuel flowing to carb as it evaporates causing varnish buildup.
If you have problem with needle valve not closing correctly you may cause overflowing carburetor - fuel getting into filter housing or engine.
Just be mindful that petcock valve also has tendency to leak. Both valves should be checked from time to time and kept working as intended. Float valve also impacts how the bike will run (assuring proper fuel level in carb).

[brizbot]

If your carb is in good shape - especially float valve working OK, than you don't need to worry about a thing. Pri position should be avoided if you are to leave bike sit for days or weeks. Bike with fuel valve open (what prime position really is) may cause fresh fuel flowing to carb as it evaporates causing varnish buildup.
If you have problem with needle valve not closing correctly you may cause overflowing carburetor - fuel getting into filter housing or engine.
Just be mindful that petcock valve also has tendency to leak. Both valves should be checked from time to time and kept working as intended. Float valve also impacts how the bike will run (assuring proper fuel level in carb).
Thanks Wacio!

Yeah I was king of thrown off because the bike doesn't have an 'off' position but thankfully these forums have educated me that 'on' is fine since it (shouldn't) pull gas unless the bike has been started.

I am a little freaked out by the amount of gas that got into the oil, but I drained it last night and plan on putting in a new filter and oil today after work. Let's hope she starts up with no issues!

[wacio]

Fuel in oil means that your float valve is not working right. It could be cracked float, dirty valve or damaged o'ring around valve seat. I still would look at taking carb off and checking the carb fuel level adjustment and integrity of valve and oring. In good working carb this shouldn't have happened. Fuel level in carb is lower than height of jets and fuel only gets into the engine then running (sucked in with air).

[brizbot]

Fuel in oil means that your float valve is not working right. It could be cracked float, dirty valve or damaged o'ring around valve seat. I still would look at taking carb off and checking the carb fuel level adjustment and integrity of valve and oring. In good working carb this shouldn't have happened. Fuel level in carb is lower than height of jets and fuel only gets into the engine then running (sucked in with air).
Wacio

Thanks again! I (or my bike) didn't blow up!
As I mentioned before I changed the oil, changed the filter, wiped and aired out the air filter compartment, emptied out the tube under the bike, and even started the engine up several times without the spark plug.

I am taking it for inspection this weekend. I will ask the mechanic to check the carb.

Thanks again for your help.
Briz

[wacio]

Your bike would not blow up. Exploding vehicles are mostly effects of Hollywood productions. Your worst case scenario would be seizing engine, hydrolocking with potential of some mechanical damage or catching fire (very unlikely).
If you'll have someone look at carb make sure you mention carb causing flooding crankcase and air box so tech verifies action of components responsible for fuel level in carburetor.