2006 honda rebel 250 issues

[Guest]

Got This bike after 2 years of sitting only 4xxx mIles on it. Replaced the left side main seal (know to go bad if over filled with oil) cleaned the carb and put new spark plugs. Ran great for about 2 weeks now it won't start all of a sudden. Only rode it one day (the day it ran great) after that it sat till recently. Went over everything and looks good. However have some concern on the stator cover in oil now. Would that cause the bike to fire at the wrong time because that's one thing I haven't messed with. Figured sence it ran fine before timing was good. Anyone help me please.

[spyug]

Ok lets start at the beginning. I'm not sure what you mean about the oil and stator cover but that will have nothing to do with it not firing.

The engine has three things it needs to run (as Im sure you know) compression, fuel and spark. So lets look at these.

Compression is not likely to be the issue as it ran previously. Now you cleaned the carb and you changed plugs so we need to look at these.

Start with the plugs. Lets confirm spark. Pull a plug lead, fit it with a plug and rest the plug on the engine block. Turn the key on and crank the starter. any spark?
If you have spark you can partially eliminate that. I say partially because the spark might not be strong enough. Check the resting voltage on the battery. If it is less than 12 to 12.4 volts it ls likely not enough voltage to both turn the starter motor and provide spark to the plug. It is common that voltage at the coils is less than that at the battery due to corroded connections on the circuit sending juice from battery to coils. Corroded connections cause resistance which blocks passage of electricity and will reduce the amount that flows. A 1 volt or more of a drop can be fairly common. To confirm this you need to use your multimeter to see what the actual voltage is at the coil if it is substantially lower you will need to check and clean all connections from the battery, fuseblock, harness to the starter switch and back to the coil. Check your bikes manual for the schematic to follow and check voltage at each connection to determine where the problem lies

If no spark then replace the plug with the older one and try again. If spark is intermittent or still lacking then I'd suspect the plug caps. These can go bad and combined with a weak voltage at the coil will stop plugs from firing. Cheap to replace.

If on the other hand the spark is nice and fat, there is more likely hood that lack of fuel is the culprit. Now you say you cleaned the carb. did you take it off, fully disassemble and dunk all the metal parts in a proper carb cleaner for a day or so? If you didn't, the carb is not clean and a jet or passage is likely plugged. If the bike sat as you said it is likely that there could be sediment in the tank that has migrated to the carb. This can also be an issue and indeed has happened to myself a time or two in the past. Have a look at what I'm talking about:
fuel2.jpg
If the carb has not been cleaned as I suggest, I would tend to think that is the problem and you will need to reclean it more thoroughly. You can test this theory if you shoot a little bit of starter fluid through the carb and try to start it again. If it starts and the bike dies after then it is a fuel issue.

Once you get it running again we can revisit the oily stator but as the stator is a functional part of the charging system it has no bearing on the bikes timing so don't fret about that.

Good luck. Check what I have suggested and let us know what you find.

[leedutcher]

Well brand new plugs and does have spark. Brand new battery. Only reason why I said somthing about the stator and oil is because I "think" the rebel picks up its spark trigger from the stator. Which is covered in oil. I did remove the carb. Completely disassembled it and blew thru all the passages with compressed air. Has brand new internals (stuck float). The bike is completely stock. If cover the inlet to the carb (redneck choke) it will soak my hand in fuel....I can't beleave this bike has giving me this much trouble..lol

[spyug]

Now as much as you may not want to believe it , blowing through the carb is not sufficient to clean it properly. It has to be soaked in proper cleaner as often passages maybe partially plugged. Air can get through but it won't allow gas to pass. And getting gas blowback as you described can also indicate this.

Now the other thing about bike carbs is they are designed to work most efficiently with some amount of air restriction (caused by the airbox). If the airbox is off you can create the restriction by covering the mouth with cling film plastic and poking a little hole in the center. That may get the bike to fire.

If it still won't go you will need to strip and dip as I previously suggested.

This situation is not at all uncommon and I have experienced it myself. One set of carbs I had to strip and dip 3 times to get them clean enough to run.

I still wonder about spark if it is weak. Did you try a shot of quick start to confirm that it will fire? You may see a spark outside the cylinder but it still can be weak and of a short enough duration that it won't fire the fuel. In addition, If the carb is pushing too much fuel and it is not vapourizing correctly, you still might not get fire in the hole. It can be a combo situation.

I do think it is just the carb however.

Good luck.

Oh another thought. Sometimes with newly rebuilt carbs you need to crank and crank the bike to get fire. The bike battery will not supply enough juice for a few minutes of cranking so it often helps to add an auto or marine battery to give it a boost. If the battery is still in the vehicle, be sure to leave the engine off or the vehicles alternator can cook the bikes electronics. Give that a try too.