Age old troubleshooting problem

[Fjbj40]

If the bike has to set a long winter period heres what I would do to winterize it so it fires up in the spring.

1) Fill the tank to the very bottom of the filler neck and add a few ounces of fuel stabalizer.
2) Undo the vacuum and main fuel lines so if the petcock goes bad during hibernation it doesnt fill the crank case with gas.
3) Drain the carb bowls and leave the drains out overnight to ensure the air gets a chance to dry the bowls and jets. Close drains the next day so bugs cant get into the bowls.
4) Put a battery tender that has the automatic on / hold feature on the battery and be sure the battery is topped off if its a servicable battery.

Doing these few things takes little time and will make the start of the next riding season much more pleasant for you.

Good stuff Chuck, I will add that a fresh oil change before winter is good also. Drains off any moisture or corrosive agents in the old oil.

 

[JerbGas]

Good stuff Chuck, I will add that a fresh oil change before winter is good also. Drains off any moisture or corrosive agents in the old oil.

Ahead of that one, just had a fresh oil and filter change. and boy did it need it!

 

[chuck hahn]

Doesnt matter where on the frame its grounded..long as the connection is clean and solid. The main ground cable goes to the engine case which in turn makes the rest of the frame a ground because the engine is bolted to the frame.

I suggested a wire around one of the mounting bolts and to the battery negative because its just a short run and easy to do.

 

[JerbGas]

Doesnt matter where on the frame its grounded..long as the connection is clean and solid. The main ground cable goes to the engine case which in turn makes the rest of the frame a ground because the engine is bolted to the frame.

I suggested a wire around one of the mounting bolts and to the battery negative because its just a short run and easy to do.

yeah im not sure where i grounded it was a good place, and i think there was another ground that I just slapped on the same bolt. definitely need to check that haha since i think it was where the side cover gets mounted, so ill have to move it anyway

 

[JerbGas]

ok gs junkies, i am one more step toward success, but at the same time i feel like i got nowhere.

went out today to make sure it was even getting any fuel. took the drain bolt off the carbs: nothing. okay so there's no fuel delivery.
So, next i took a look at the fuel line in an attempt to get it off and realized that it was so long that the line went straight up into the tank cavity before going down to the carbs. well no sht its not going to get any gas that way hahahaha.
So i took the line off and to my surprise a tiny bit of gas did come out. But before I reattached the newly cut line, i wondered maybe i should test the petcock first...

so i grabbed a funnel and a cup, attached the cut off section to the petcock and ran the line to the funnel (you know so i wouldnt have gas going everywhere)
then i turned the petcock counterclockwise as i hear is the proper rotation and slowly turned it hoping to see gas come out at a certain point once i reached "prime"

still nothing. another roadblock i realized is that i have no idea which position to set it to run! there is only prime, an arrow next to it, a dimple of sorts. So is that the run setting? or the off setting?

anywhoo, i pulled the petcock out to see if perhaps the fuel filter was gummed up. Nope, completely clean. So i put the petcock back on and tried giving the vaccum line a suction while on both run and prime. gas came out of the main line the same way for both settings and cuts off when the suction is released. so i figure, okay my prime setting has gone bad, but it should be able to feed gas once its running due to the suction.

alright...so i hook the tank back up the main fuel line and give it about some suction. let me clarify what i mean. i have a hose that has a balloon ball in the middle, so if you squeeze it then block the end and release the balloon it fills back up with air gradually, hence suction. so i did that about three times thinking this would be enough to fill the bowls as i filled an entire solo cup with that many pulls testing it.

hooked the vaccum line back on and tried giving her a start with the solenoid bypass. still nothing.
i then cracked the right bowl drain screw and there was again no gas. then i unscrewed the lefthand one which is lower since the bike is on the kickstand, and gas comes pouring out. At this point i'm heading to bed, but perhaps maybe i just needed to pull more gas? how much is too much? how would i even know? i dont want to flood the engine!

 

[silverhelme]

You should check the on/off switch on the handlebars. If that is not functioning it will not start even bypassing the solenoid. The starter button will not work either as long as that switch is off ( or corroded ). I've had two do the same thing because of corrosion. They just needed some contact cleaner to work.

 

[chuck hahn]

Petcock handle facing rear of bike is PRIme, straight down is ON, and facing forward is RESereve. If it doesnt flow fuel freely ( without sucking on the vacuum) then the petcock isnt working right. PRIme doesnt require suction to flow.

In the ON spot, you should suck on the vacuum and fuel flow and it stops when suction is released. Same with REServe.

 

[JerbGas]

I had the spark plug wires connected to the wrong plugs on the left side. started right up. had to make some idle screw adjustments to get it idling right...im an idiot. hahaha