so this is really starting to frustrate me and i'm hoping my current plans solve this but i'm a bit worried.

my bike sat for several months i'd say atleast 5 through the winter before i got it. when i got it it took a couple tries to get it to fire up and stay running but once it was going it ran great. didnt think much of it at the time. it has sat for the last month while i redo the plastics and some clean up and i knew the battery was old and tired so i put a new battery in prior to trying to start it again.

last night i tried firing it up for the first time and the first couple tries it hicupped for a sec and sounded like it wanted to start but didnt. i kept trying several times while taking breaks in between so i hopefully wouldnt flood it but i think i did anyways somehow. i noticed when it was turning it over there was a light bit of smoke/fog coming out of the exhaust (i'm assuming unburnt fuel, definitely wasnt oil). i got frustrated and gave up.

now today i pulled the tank to check the plugs and get the likely who knows how old 1/4 tank of gas out of it. i'm sure this wasnt helping things either. once i got things apart there was a couple things that concerned me. hopegully all of these collectively are keeping it from running. i've included pictures of things as well so hopefully anybody can give me a bit of insight/opinion on what i've got going.

the bike is an 01 f4i. 10,950 miles. has a k&n, micron slip-on, and dynojet power commander III. also i can hear the fuel pump come on, and i dont have any warning light comes on indicating any issues.

the plugs were soaked and nasty. they look to be original based on the condition



the air filter was also pretty dirty. i will be cleaning it before it goes back in.


everything looked decent otherwise. nothing unplugged or out of place as far as engine vacuum lines of sensors.



i did also notice this vacuum hose that i can't figure out where its supposed to go to. this was present before me messing with the other stuff.


and this is were it ends up. the smaller hose is the coolant overflow vent hose. the slightly larger one in front connects to the tee at the other end by the rear shock. any ideas?


if anybody else has anything else they would suggest i check or try besides new gas, plugs, and clean air filter while i have it apart i'm all ears. i have to wait til tomorrow to go get new plugs anyways. thanks!

 

For the love of God replace those plugs. The last time I seen a plug that nasty was in a 20 yr old lawnmower that wouldnt start.

 

and that effin' air filter looks like some kind of animal nest. The weird hose with the angle fitting goes in the bottom of the gas tank. When i took mine apart it wasnt hooked up so i think it is easily removed when you take the tank off and even more easily unnoticed upon reinstall

 

Yeah, toss the plugs & get new ones; for sure. That air filter is the worst one I've ever seen, wow! I'd toss that too. Take the airbox and wash it out real good, maybe spray down the top of the engine with a degreaser.

 

ok good thats pretty much what i thought as well. thanks a lot guys

 

well update, put a new set of oem plugs in, clean air filter, and some fresh 93 octane. there was a small amount of old gas swishing around at the bottom that didnt drain out but i added 1.25 gallons of fresh gas which i thought would be plenty enough to mix and be good. i really hope that little bit wasnt enough to magically screw things up or worse do something to those damn expensive plugs. first try it fired right up! i waited and watched it get up to temp and monitor how it was running. seemed to be running good. once it got to 160' i couldnt help but give it just a little gas and let it blip up to about 4k and as soon as i let off it instantly died. i tried restarting it and it just cranked. waiting a moment and tried again and immediately gave up for fear of flooding it. no warning lights or anything unusual it seemed. cranked strong but not even a hiccup.

my only other theory at this point is that something with that power commander is messing things up. i have no idea what its set for and have no way of checking (no laptop and software). i assumed it was in some way set correctly considering it had been ridden like this by the prior owner but he said it came with the parts on it and wasnt familiar with it.


i'm really starting to hate this bike already and i've only had it a month and ridden it once up and down my street.

 

unhook the pc3.if it starts then thats the prob. if not then check the fuel pump, fpr, injectors. did you pinch any hoses when you put it back together?

 

that hose goes onto the bottom of your tank and goes out the bottom...just another overflow

 

Those hoses are no longer a mystery for me. It blew my mind when I saw em.

 

ok i think i may be in the clear ::crosses fingers::

i was talking to my boss today at work and he suggested that it may just simply be loaded up. i took his advice and after sitting for a day it fired up and as soon as it was idling i kept lightly rapping the throttle and and got it warmed up and gave it some good revs and now nothing out the exhaust and it runs just as it should it seems. too nasty out for a test ride but everything seems a lot better. damn finicky bikes. thanks again though guys