Bike just won't start!

[Water Warrior 2]

You will need a fully charged battery before making any more attempts. A small 2 amp charger would be handy for a bike battery. Anything greater will tend to cook the battery. Also consider a battery tender for the times the bike is out of action for extended periods. A tender is cheaper than a new battery. Don't ask me how I know. :whistle:

[frempath]

If it fired the starting fluid, I would think that the problem goes back to fuel delivery. To me it sounds like your gasoline varnished and either the fuel lines are plugged or the carbs are gummed up in a closed position.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by RavenousPirate

I don't know what you mean by the wire.

The lead that goes to the top of the plug when the engine is running. It pushes onto the top of the plug (with a slight click) by way of that black rubber thingummy. :2tup:

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by RavenousPirate

Can told me to spray it for about 3 seconds into the air intake and then try to start, which I did.

Do you think this would work once I'm able to get the battery fully charged? Or is there something else I should look into?

Haven't tried the spark test because I don't know what you mean by the wire. Very very new to this :-D

OK, forget the spark plug wire; apparently there IS spark.

The 3 seconds spray is for a CAR; for a bike, a one second would be more appropriate; then repeated 1 second sprays to keep it going for a little while to get some gas circulating in the carb.

Yes, a fully charged battery is VERY important.

Also draining the carb bowl might help. On the very bottom of the carb is a nipple pointing down (with a rubber hose on it ? I don't remember) and a screw at the top of it. If you loosen that screw, with the petcock set on PRIme, fuel should flow out (catch it in a can or cup;NOT styrfoam). Let 4 or 5 ounces flow. If that doesn't work, then you have a serious fuel flow problem. If it does work, then close the screw and try to start again.....with a charged battery and a little starter fluid. If the situation doesn't get any better, then your carb needs a manual cleaning and that is usually not a good thing for a rookie to be doing.

P.S. Where you at in Florida? I'll be down there in a couple of weeks.......and we have a few other members scattered around down there too.

[RavenousPirate]

Alright, battery charger arrived so I charged the bike all the way today. Used the starting fluid again, it fired but wouldn't stay running.

Did what you said with the carburetor, I believe. I loosened the screw going into the hose on the bottom... this caused gasoline to leak out from a hose that comes out of the bottom of the bike. I let 4 or 5 ounces drain into a cup, tried the starting fluid again.

Now the bike will fire as long as there's starting fluid in it, but it won't stay running unless I keep the throttle pulled all of the way. Once I release it, the bike will just die out. Any other suggestions, or do you think the carburetor needs to be cleaned out?

Also, I'm in Orlando. Just moved here a week or two ago.

[alanmcorcoran]

Did you have choke on? If it runs with the throttle open, it may just be a fouled carb. How long did you keep it running before you gave up? (try at least ten minutes.) I had to run mine for about 10-15 minutes one day before it would let me throttle up without stalling. This was after it had sat for a few weeks. I assume prior posters have recommended Berryman's, seafoam, etc. Mine cleared up with regular riding this time, but last year (I think after over filling the oil) I had to have the carb cleaned at a shop before it would run properly. It's been running decently (assuming I get on it once a week) ever since.

[burkbuilds]

I will repeat, if the gas has been in the tank for several months and it has ethanol in it, drain it all out and start with fresh gas! I've messed with motors for hours and couldn't get them running then finally drained them, put in fresh gas and they fired right up. That ethanol crap doesn't have much of a shelf life!

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

Did you have choke on?

And is the stock air cleaner still in place ?? It should be.

You should have the choke operated about 3/4 and you should NOT touch the throttle (leave it closed) until you hear the engine fire.

And until you get this resolved, you should leave the petcock in the PRIme position while you are trying to start it.

Alas, I think the bottom line is going to be that the low speed jets are completely clogged and you will need a manual carb cleaning.

If you had cleaner in the gas tank when you did the "bleed", I was hoping that you would get enough cleaner into the carb to "unstick" it after it sat for a while. Charge the battery again and give it one more try before giving up and calling the shop.

[bonehead]

Just a SWAG here, is the idle adjustment screw adjusted properly. I know mine vibrates to a lower idle over time. How many miles on the bike? What's the service history?

[RavenousPirate]

Haven't been able to check the forums the last couple days, sorry about that.

I didn't try running the bike for that long, no. I think I kept the throttle down for about a minute or so.

Stock air cleaner is still in place to my knowledge but I can check that tomorrow. Yes, I've had the choke on everytime I've tried as well as leaving the petcock on prime.

I haven't tried replacing the gas, so I will try that tomorrow. Also, I haven't checked the idle adjustment screw but I can give that a look tomorrow as well. What exactly am I looking for? =D

There's 5800 miles on the bike. It had one previous owner, and to my knowledge the only service done on it was to replace the rear reflector or something like that due to a recall. Other than that, I've replaced the front brake pads myself.