well i replaced the valves just the other day because the ones that were in there were really worn, and the pin on top of one of them was frozen. after replacing them i was still getting fuel coming back out of my overflow from the carbs. after cleaning the seats like you said it wasnt even turning over, probably because it was hydrolocked, overnigth i lost 1 1/2 - 2 galllons out of the tank!

i left the spark plugs out overnight and changed my oil this morning,. it still doesnt really want to turn over, it will intermittenly turn over then just click, and it really didnt want to start but finally i just got it started and idled for about 5 minutes, it was smoking pretty bad though, I don't know if it was overheating or just burning gas thats been spilt all over the engine from the overflow last couple of days i was trying to start it. i also initially had more gas come out of the exhaust, and then some drips from the exhaust joint where it meets the headers while it was idling. i ended up shutting it off after 5 or 6 minutes because all the smoke was worrying me, wont start now..............i have no idea what is wrong or what direction to even go in! please help its extremely frustrating that i had this bike in working order was able to ride it, then took it in to the shop for the final touches (tires/breaks/carb sync) and now its refusing to run again!

 

anyone help me out with what to do from here? i tried to push start it in second, the engine turned over a little bit but not completely, i'm sort of nervous doing it though so i stopped. i also took of the crank cover (i believe?) and turned the bolt in there clock wise and it moves, not completely freely but it does rotate fully....not sure where to go from here guys!

 

You need to get that engine and pipe empty of gas. This is what I'd do;

Drain oil, leave sump plug out, remove plugs.
Remove exhaust end can.
Spin engine on starter a little Careful you don't cause a spark from the HT leads!
Replace oil (cheap stuff), leave plugs out.
Spin a little more.
Charge battery
Take carbs off bike so fuel can't get in engine and rest on top of frame at the angle they would be if mounted with fuel pump connected.
Connect an auxillary tank - you can get one specially for testing with petcocks
Spin engine over to arm pump.
Watch!
Which carb is leaking and where from.

I'm not sure where the overflow is on these carbs. Not sure they have one that drains external. The pipes that come off the bottom of the carbs are not overflows they are manual drains I believe.

I had a problem with my bike when I got it - fuel was leaking out of one of the brass jet things you can see in the air filter side of the carb. The problem was caused by a blocked starter jet (the one in the bowl that doesn't screw out). This I guess was causing a pressure inbalance which forced fuel out of the jet thingy at the carb inlet and was flooding that cylinder - not as bad as yours. Not saying that's the problem but it's an indication of what can happen.

I assume you have checked none of the floats are full of fuel and the float heights are ok?

When it's fixed flush the oil and fill with good quality stuff.

 

thanks for the suggestions, i did everything (minus the carb leak check) and its still not even cranking! all i get is a click when i press the starter! like i mentioned before it does crank and begin to turn over if i push start it, but i don't believe i've pushed it fast enough for it to turn over completely, it makes me nervous because i have basically zero riding experience.

whats next? have i *possibly* shorted or blown something in the electric start department or is it not cranking because its still flooded? its been almost 4 days since this happened i thought any gas in the cylinder/starter would have evaporated by now, i have the exhaust and the spark plugs out,,, any more suggestions?

 

Do you have a set of jumper cables and a car battery available to you ? Use a car to help jump start the bike to see how it turns over. There is no need to start the car. Try turning the engine over with the plugs out. It should spin freely like this.

 

i'll try that, although it has a *brand* new battery in it! i'll update shortly.

 

hooked up to car battery - still just "click" when i press the starter

hooked up to car battery with plugs pulled - same thing

 

Well if the engine is not turning over, then either what powers the starter (starter relay/solenoid) is not doing its job, or the starter is not working right. You can bypass the Starter Solenoid with your jumper cables. The Starter Relay is up by the battery and has a 30A fuse on it. Connect from the positive terminal of the battery directly to the large terminal on the top of the starter. Your connection should only be momentary, maybe a second or two. The Starter should start turning immediately. If it doesn't then there is a problem with the starter. If it does start turning the engine over, then the issue is with the Starter Relay/Solenoid. Let us know what you find.

 

okay well im not sure what i did but the starter is turning now.

i think what i did was i put the positive cable from my tender onto the other side of the starter relay switch, the side opposite the bikes battery, it sparked really bad so i removed it instantly, pressed the starter and it started moving right away. is that what you were telling me to do? either way the starter is moving now, i will add spark later and then fuel and see what happens!

thanks for the help will keep you updated!

 

Well, not exactly but I guess the result was ok. I wouldn't have used the lead from your battery tender because it doesn't have the necessary amount of current to drive the Starter. Tenders are designed to provide relatively low levels of current for a longer period of time in order to maintain a battery. Although I guess it's possible that yours has a boost feature.

Anyway, applying power to the other side of the relay got power to the starter and now it's turning over. It may have also jolted the relay and possibly got it unstuck or something, it's hard to say.

I'm glad it's turning over. If the problem comes back, I think I'd be looking at the starter relay as the source of the problem.