Help!!!!!!!

[justmount1]

well i started off on my bike on the way to work last night. got it into 6th cruising about 55 and all of a sudden bike starts to jerk and is slowly losing power. so i pulled in clutch and it dies. coast it to a stop and sit there and look it over. try to start for 5 mins not even close. turned it around and rolled it into ditch as i thought i was gonna have to hike it home and tried to start it one more time. it fires up and i ride it back into town and it rode fine all the way home. any clues?

[chef1366]

Possible fuel starvation. Possible causes
Bad fuel cap venting.
Bad petcock.
Obstructed float bowl venting.
Kinked fuel line.
Vacuum line from petcock kinked.

[justmount1]

thank you when my girl comes home from work i will go get the bike from her moms and bring it home and check it out.

[spyug]

Don't take this the wrong way but is there gas in the tank? This has been a fairly common problem for a lot of us on the XS board. Sometimes it is the obvious things we overlook.

Sometimes you can be down to last few drops on the side of the petcock and yet there is still some on the other side. Moving the bike side to side may gets the fuel going again.

From the symptoms it is definitely a fuel starvation issue so check evrything over as chef says.

Let everyone know if you find something. Always helpful for the next guy or gal.

Cheers,
Spyug.

[justmount1]

just got done filling the tank at mobil about 5 miles before

[chuckycheese]

What?

It sounds like the gas tank vent to me and, if not, probably electrical. This is one of the many times when knowing the model and year of the bike might be helpful. I wish everyone would put that on their 'signature'.8-[

[justmount1]

1980 gs550L

[justmount1]

i was wondering how would i put an inline filter that i always here people talking about on my bike.

[chef1366]

You put it on the fuel line between the carbs and the petcock. Make sure you only use a gravity fed filter with 5/16 inch flow capabilities. (Lawn mower type) Don't use one for an automobile because they are made to be used with a fuel pump.

[justmount1]

why?

ok so i brought it home ran fine. drove it about 20 miles yesterday rode fine today i rode it about 4 miles and i stopped to pay a bill and shut it off and came back out to head on my way to work and would not start didn't even come close to starting so there it sits. any ideas and yes there is fuel and yes it was in the run position and yes it did crank just did not fire. i rocked the bike back and forth thinking that maybe something was clogging fuel line and that did nothing.

[justmount1]

anyone near Sterling IL that maybe can help alittle bit?

[BassCliff]

Mr. justmount1,

Could there be gunk in your gas tank causing an intermittent clog at the top of the petcock? Bad diaphragm in the petcock? Vacuum hose leaks? Did you pull a plug (or plug in an extra one) and check to see if you were getting spark? Could it be an intermittent electrical connection? Dirty/broken fuse box terminals? Sorry for your trouble. Keep us informed. Not to be cruel, but I like to learn from these scenarios. I know that'll be me someday stuck on the side of the road. I wish you all the best.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[justmount1]

i will definatly keep u guys informed. when i get the bike home i am going to drain the tank and check it because i know when i bought it there was rust flakes in it. i belive my petcock is ok and i believe my connections are ok so i think it is just the tank that it leaves me with.

[justmount1]

how would i go about cleaning my tank and recoating it. when i cleaned it before i just flushed it with some gas to try and get some rust out

[justmount1]

ok now i went to pick it up and it fired right up and when i got it home it wouldn't start again so now i am to the conclusion that when it is warmed up it will not start.