Wilsons Sandbox

"a phipps" wrote:

> [snip]

... try get my bike going ... I'm not having much luck though. In the Fall, I thought I had done everything I needed to do to store it. I changed the oil, added fuel stabilizer, filled the tank, ran the bike, shut off the fuel, drained the carb, put a drop of oil in the cylinder, removed the battery, cleaned everything, ..... I thought she would start right up again for me in the Spring. Not so. It seems like the engine is not getting any gas. I have the gas line hooked up and the fuel petcock is set to on, I'm getting spark, battery is charged, but no go. I have little mechanical ability ... Can anyone offer some advice? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Al, There's some good advice in 2 of the 3 replies (snicker). You did the right things last fall, let's look at some possible remedies. You said that the gas petcock was on, but is there enuf gas in the tank for the 'on' position, or does the gas level require 'reserve'? When you removed the spark plug, was the tip moist with gas? If the tip is dry, you're not getting fuel into the cylinder even if the carb float bowl is full. Trying to start your bike several times unsuccessfully will leave a moist coating of gas on the plug tip. I'll assume that your A1 petcock is the same as my A9 ('95). There are 2 hoses going from the fuel petcock to the carb. The thicker (horizontal) hose feeds gas into the carb float bowl at the rear of the carb. The second hose is the vacuum accuating line that starts & stops the fuel flow to the carb. There is no 'priming' position on the petcock. To test for proper fuel flow out of the tank, disconnect both rubber lines at the petcock. Hook up some 1/4" fuel line to the horizontal gas feed on the petcock and let the other end sit in a drain container. To test for fuel flow take a 1 foot fuel line & hook it up to the other petcock fitting. When you suck on the end of this second line, this should allow gas to flow out the first hose into the container. Try this in both the 'on' & 'reserve' positions. If gas does not flow out, open your gas cap to vent the tank & try again. If gas flows now, there's a blockage in the gas tank venting system. If gas still doesn't flow, the petcock may be blocked or defective. Removing the petcock from the tank is the way to check for blockage in the petcock or the debris screen. The petcock can be disassembled for cleaning if necessary. I would try these simple tests before trying the pour-gas-in-carb technique. If the float bowl does have gas, there is a blockage in the carb, probably in the low-speed circuit. This will require removing the float bowl & cleaning the low-speed jet. Good gas smells like perfume compared to the smell of 'bad' gas, which smells like .... er ... monkey vomit. I'd suggest getting a friend who knows what he is doing, if you have to delve into the carb's internals. Let us know how you make out. Professor '95 A9 Federal Way, Wa [USA]