Sorry... my saga is long I know... [:@][:@][:@][X(][:'(][:@][:@][:@]

Ok, i'm about ready to set this sucker on fire! The back story is: I bought this bike last March and rode the crap out of it. When I first got it the previous owner claimed it had a fresh carb cleaning and oil change. I noticed some rust in the tank, but it didn't seem to be an issue so I just rode it. Well toward the end of the season, it started to run weird and stall on me.I jerked the tank off and noticed the fuel filter was full of rust. I kinda cleaned the tank out as best I could, blew out the fuel filter and took the bowls off and cleaned the carbs well with about 3 cans of carb cleaner. After putting it back together,I hopped on and went for a ride. The first 5 minutes it ran PERFECT. The throttle was razor sharp and better than it had ever been. The next 5 minutes home, however, it went back to it's old bogging down, coughing, full throttle going 30mph BS so it took it home and jerked it back apart. By this time it was getting cold, so the bike satin myheated shopwith the carbs in my house till last month.
I finally got some gusto about me, and decided to get her back on the road. I took the bowls back off the carbs as I had before and cleaned them up with another couple cans of carb cleaner. I was sure to squirt out the jets and bowls carefully... and everything looked good. While I had it apart, I coated the tank with that gold coat stuff, so there is no more rust what-so-ever. I also put on a D&D exhaust and single pipe header with new gaskets and changed the oil. I charged the battery up and tried to fire her up. I didn't get jack. (yes, my fuel was fresh from BP) I hooked it up to the battery charger thinking my battery may be low, and cranked it and cranked it. Nothing. I sprayed ether in it. Still nothing. After about half an hour of this crap, I finally got it to fire up. It didn't run that well at first, but after warming up a bit it idled smoothly at 1200rpm and would run up through 11k without incident. I turned it off and it restarted without issue so I though I won the war. The next morning I went out to fire her up again and rrrrr rrrr rrr rrrr rrrr rrr rrr rrrr rrr rrr... nothing. Rrr rrrr rrr BANG rrrr rrr rrr rrr Bang rrr rrr rrr rrr. It would backfire but wouldn't catch. After another half hour, another half can of ether and another battery charger hookup it ran. So, once it starts it runs perfectly... but getting it there is a nightmare.
I took it back apart and checked the spark on all cylinders. It was good. I checked all 4 plugs... they looked perfectly normal. I checked the coils just for good measure andthey were fine. I re-cleaned the carbs... reasembled everything and tried it again. It STILL won't start on it's own legs. WHAT IN THE HECK IS WRONG WITH MY BIKE? I can't see why the carbs wouldn't be synced. It ran perfect last time out and I haven't turned any screws. I don't get it. Someone, please help me get on the road. The pretty days are depressing me so bad.

PS: I fix cars for a living. Pretty much anything that can be done I can do... I just can't figure out the problem. I have the manual and it doens't say anything about not starting at all... only running crappie. I just don't know anything about carbs really. I'm an EFI guy with a carb bike.

I REALLY don't want to take this thing to a shop. In my experience, every time I take a vehicle to a dealer/shop, I pay them money but get my ride back with the same proble it went with. Surely there is someone out there who has had a similar problem or knows enough about it to point me in the right direction.

 

Oh yeah... and it also has a brand new battery in it and I have good cylinder vacuum. When you put your hand over the carb it tries to suck it off and your hand is wet with gas. Seems to me I have spark, air and fuel...

 

well the only differences in the first and second 5 minutes was basicly heat build up - heat could be affecting electronics or the carb.

possibly could be flooding - can check that by pulling the pump fuse then draining the bowls and try starting it with a little spritz of starter fluid. if it tries to start that way then the carbs are the cause

 

hmm ok i reread and i think i misunderstood at first.

question. when you turnit off at night are you shutting off the fuel petcock?

check the oil for the smell of raw fuel also. if the float valve isn't sealing when you shut it off it can drain fuel into the cylinder flooding the engine and washing down the cylinder walls. can make starting a real pita and is bad for bearings. shutting the fuel petcock will stop the flow to prevent it until the valve and seal can be fixed. I had my 6r get a peice of rust int he valve once and block the valve open. and it acted like that.

 

i would bet you have bad floats in your carbs, did you get new ones or just re use the old ones?

 

There is no off position on my petcock. There is Main-Reserve-On.

I reused the old floats. They look to be inlike newcondition to me, but that doesn't mean they aren't bad. When it starts it runs perfectly... it's just getting it there.

 

yeah i had i similar problem with a moped. it would start great and run fine but after a little while the bowls would fill and drown/flood the engine.

Like i said the floats are probably bad and should be replaced (mine did not look like it had to be replaced either), you could try to take off the carbs right after you run it and then turn them upside down, if it seems like there is way to much fuel in there that is what it is. good luck

 

Is there any way to check a float without just replacing it? They are a sealed unit correct? This bike only has 12,500 original miles on it... 3500 of which I put on it.

 

Ok boys... I got the thing where it would run pretty relyably. Well enough that I had the confidence to ride it anyway. I ran it about 10 miles and it was ok but it didn't have crap for power. I had to hold full throttle in third gear just to keep it at 55mph. It still backfires a bit as well but not as much. The exhaust note is kinda disappointing too. I have heard mopeds that sounded more aggressive. Any thoughts?

 

Oh yeah... and the air box is all stock, and yes all the tubes are sealed to the carbs. It was a huge pain in the *** to get them on... but I eventually did get them there.