Start-up Problem

[blaine]

It possible that he is seeing oil,or condensation.But I doubt it.The plug will remain "wet" until you remove it and dry it.At this point I was just taking him step by step to see if he can get the bike to fire.
:cool:

[bjrscj]

Thanks for all the advice. Today I dried everything out by dry-cranking it, put the spark plug back in, and sprayed starter fluid into the airbox. I am happy to say that IT WORKED! I had the bike running for a good 15 minutes. However, I still have two concerns you may be able to help me with.

1. Even after 15 minutes of running in 40 degree weather, and after riding around the block a few times, in unchoked, unthrottled condition, the bike would idle slowly and die out eventually. Is this any indication of a problem with fuel, spark plug not having appropriate gap, battery, etc? I didn't mess with the spark plug gap, as the guy at the store told me it should already be fine (which doesn't sound right to me), but it looks much smaller than how I measured my last one. As far as the battery goes, I measured the charge at 12.58, and when cranked, it measured in the mid 11's.

2. When I was riding around, I heard a clicking/grinding noise coming from the dash by my keys. I have other keys coming off my bike key, and the metal was touching the metal of the dash, creating sparks. I realize that ground is running through the metal, but I don't recall ever noticing this happening before. Did I somehow mess something up when I hooked up the battery?


I can't thank you all enough. I definitely couldn't afford to take my bike to the shop, so you all saved me big time. Have a great weekend.

[Meme]

The dying at idle part may just be that it's not warmed up yet. If it is fully warmed up it is most likely the carb having some plugged up passages and needing a thorough cleaning. You may be able to get away with some kind of fuel additive. If not then take it off, disassemble it and spray EVERY little hole.

Not sure about the keys, but there shouldn't be any sparks!

[blaine]

Check your ground (-) cable a make sure that it is clean and tight,there should be a secondary ground going to the frame of the bike.The plug needs to be gaped to specialization.It could the cause of your stalling.I wish I had a dime for every time some idiot at the store told me the "plug was already gaped".That same plug fits numerous different engines,all with different gaps.
Oh,and your quite welcome.
:cool:

[mrlmd1]

Put some Berryman's B12 Chemtool or Seafoam into the gas tank at the dosage of 1 oz/gal of gas every 3 or 4 tankfuls. It will clean and keep your carb clean. They are available and Walmart and just about all auto parts stores.
When your bike is fully warmed up, the idle should be about 1300rpm. It could be that the idle is adjusted too low and you have to adjust it AFTER the engine warms up, with turning that white knob below the carb. Look in the manual for instructions or do a search on here for idle adjustment.
There should be no sparks from keys touching your bike anywhere leading out from the ignition switch. You are going to have to check some wiring or that switch Something is shorting out when you see sparks.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

When your bike is fully warmed up, the idle should be about 1300rpm.

:plus1: It's easy for a newbie to overlook the fact that the idle speed for the gz is much higher than one might expect. Don't forget that to set it the engine must be thoroughly warmed up & the choke off, although you might want to set it higher than it is now, with a cold engine, so that the engine will not stall, then make the final adjustment with a warm engine/choke off.

[Gz Rider]

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[chandlerbingfl]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

The gas is not your problem - it takes many months for it to go "bad", much slower in the cold weather. And it's not likely your carb would get gummed up in 3 weeks of sitting.
I would bet your problem is the battery, it's probably partially discharged. Did you measure the battery voltage with anything? What did you charge it with and for how long and how do you know it was charged up? You have to measure the voltage at least a half hour after you charge it, to let the "surface charge" dissipate, so you can measure the true voltage.
You need a fully charged battery (which is 12.6V) to start the bike and light off the plugs. Try jumping it from a non-running car and see if it starts. If it still won't start you will have to pull off the spark plug wire or the plug and see if you get any spark when you crank over the engine.
If you don't do this stepwise you will be turning your wheels forever and not solve anything.
You may also have flooded the bike trying to start it and that is a whole separate problem.

I am having starting issues also :??: so if I may ask a question? You state that the battery should be 12.6 volts correct? Then if the battery is dead or lacking in voltage how is it possible to push start the bike?

As for my start up issue it looks as though I am not getting fuel into the cylinder so it's time for me to proceed to read on!

Thanks,
Chandler

[alantf]

Originally Posted by chandlerbingfl

so if I may ask a question? You state that the battery should be 12.6 volts correct? Then if the battery is dead or lacking in voltage how is it possible to push start the bike?

Very, very, basically - you get the bike moving as fast as you can, in 2nd gear, with the clutch pulled in. When you release the clutch lever, the transmission engages. At this time, the moving bike causes the engine to turn. This, in turn, causes the alternator to spin & produce electricity, which fires the plug, so now the engine is driving the bike, & in turn producing more electricity to keep the bike running, & hopefully put a bit of charge into the battery.

[Gz Rider]

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