HuskerRed, I"m guessing your draining the tank because the bolts in the gas cap are missing? the bolts would not cause it to leak water, its the actual cap that seals the tank when you push it down, 3 of the 7 bolts hold gas cap in place the other 4 bolts are just there for looks. Is the bike running ok?

 

It won't start because it's still full of water. The problem with the bolts is that 2 of the 3 functional bolts are missing and the gas cap doesn't seal very well (I presume from the amount of water I just pulled out of the tank). I got the bolt hole repair kit to fix that. I just want to drain it completely and get it running before the summer's over.

 

I couldn't get mine completely empty, even after shaking it around and turning it upside down, I had to let the rest evaporate. The filter should of come out with the petcock, not sure whats going on there but I would pull it out and drain the water out of the tank. Good luck

 

Okay, so I'm an idiot and the tube was the filter (I wasn't expecting it to be that long). I got it out, drained the tank completely and put gas in it... Still won't start. Is there something I need to do after refilling it to get it to start. I did drain everything (including carbs) and put an in line filter on. I just really want to get the damn thing running...

 

Did you pull the plugs and pump the water out? thats only thing i can think of atm.
I would be changing the oil as well.

 

Just to tie up the ends of this issue, I had the carbs cleaned and the bike runs fine now. The plugs were fine, but the mechanic said there was still water in it when he worked on it.

Thanks for everybody's input! I really appreciate the learning experience from fumbling through this problem.

 

Glad you got it sorted man.

 

Okay, so the bike ran and I got it into storage. It was a really nice day, so I was going to get into it and really winterize the thing before it gets super cold again. I went to start the bike and it ran on choke for a few minutes then it ran out of gas. Put more in and it started and ran for about a minute and then puttered out. I dicked with the idle screw to get it to start, but currently it starts sporadically and wont run (on choke).

The only thing I can think of that changed between the mechanic and me putting it in storage is that I put an inline fuel filter on it (after I got it to storage). The mechanic had taken it off when he worked on it and it ran (before putting in storage). Another thing is that the ride getting it to storage was rough. It was super cold and the bike stalled a couple times on the way (ride was less than 1/4 mile to friend's garage).

My new questions are could I have damaged something on my hurried ride to get the bike out of the danger of an impending snow storm, or could the small inline fuel filter be restricting gas flow enough to keep the bike from running properly? I plan on taking the filter off in the morning and seeing if will run (I'm reluctant to do this because I don't want to clean the carbs again). Also, how should I adjust the idle screw so that is normal again (this n00b unscrewed it all the way... At least I could feel the hole to put it back in without taking stuff off)

Thanks for any help

 

So, I went and toyed around with the bike today and removing the fuel filter didn't get it to start. What else could have gone wrong between a running bike that ran out of gas and now(refilled)? I had played with the idle screw, and it fell out (got it back in with a little fishing). Could this be maladjusted now? I walked through the trouble shooting in the service manual (fuel system), but it all looked good. I can't think of any reason why is would be air or electrical.