All seems good, but not starting...

I wet checked the floats at 3mm from the float bowl gasket as stated in the manual, should I do a dry measurement instead?
 
Ah, yes, I never mentioned mine is dohc. Ok, so wet check is good. I'll try and dig into the valves today or tomorrow and post my findings as soon as I can.
 
I have a similar problem. There are a few things you could try.

#1. Don't forget to make sure the choke is pulled out.
#2. Make sure the battery is fully charged and try starting it while on the charger.
#3. Make sure the spark plugs are set at .032 of an inch. Mine were not today and it would not start.
#4. make sure you use starter fluid before you try to start it.
 
#4. make sure you use starter fluid before you try to start it.
ive read this a few times before on different threads.
here comes my 2 pennies again, If your engine and carbs are anywhere close to in tune, you probably dont need starting fluid. just me maybe, but that sh@t could do serious engine damage. it should fire without that little boost.
Please correct me if im out of line!
 
Using starting fluid won't have much of a damaging effect, unless you use too much or too often. I would never recommend running the bike very long while using it. If the engine won't run without the starting fluid, but fires off with it, then you have a carb problem. More than likely dirty carbs will be the culprit, but it could be other issues as well.
 
in my opinion starting fluid only shows that you have some kind of spark. it will fire with that stuff regardless of carb condition, cause your spraying it rite down the mouth of the engine. its like force feeding, its gonna fire if you got spark. might as well run it without carbs and just spray shit down the intake.
2 pennies again!!! thats how I feel, If mine wont run by itself, ill figure out whats wrong, not squirt shit in it till it runs!!

ok Ill get off my rant now!!
 
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Hmnn, I had never heard this before. On my project bike, I routinely use starter fluid to get the carbs running. Thank you for the info.
 
Ok, back with an update. I've tried almost everything in the book and many ideas not in the book to get her running right. Nothing worked. She'll fire up without starting fluid so I haven't been using since the last carb clean (the boil). I've come to the conclusion that my tci unit is not working properly. When I got the bike it came with two units. One would fire on the left with no spark on the right (unit1), one wouldn't fire at all(unit2). before the new year I replaced the transistors in unit1 and got spark back to both sides with the right being weaker than the left. Since then I've done all the work I've mentioned in this post.
Now, I've ordered new capacitors for unit1 to replace the old ones and see if that changes anything. I sent unit2 to a member of another forum who fixes (refurbs) these "brain boxes" to see if he has the magic touch. If they both work, cool I have two tci units. If one work, I have a "properly" running bike. If neither work, then I have a concussion from bashing my head on the wall. I'll keep you all informed of my progress! Thanks very much for the help provided an I hope to tak everything I've learned and pass it on to new members later on.
 
refering to the starting fluid, it can bore wash the oil away, but its supposed to be used on the inlet not directly in the bore.

Its only LPG anyway!
 
Hey everyone,
I'm back with an update. I sent out one tci unit which is still being repaired and I managed to repair the other one I have. Now, I got both cylinders to fire, I was able to rev the engine and thought I was all happy and on my way to a running bike. After getting her warmed up and lovely, I get poor idle. Checked carbs, recleaned, synced, checked mixture screws, no change. Left is lean, right is rich. Rough idle with a lot of afterbursts (late ignition?). Checked compression when cold, spot on. Checked again after warming up, super low on both (100psi). So, added a little oil to each chamber, checked compression again. Right, 140psi, left, 135psi. From what I'm understanding this is telling me I need new valve seals. I'd like to have another opinion about this before I attempt this since I've never done it before. Any help/advice would be appreciated. Walkthroughs are always nice as well....

Thanks to all.
 
Ah, yes. Rings it is and that's why you ask questions before taking action :) thanks for the correction. I'm sure this was asked in another forum, but, anybody know of a good site to get a new gasket set and rings? Checked with my local parts store and nothin this old (82) without special ordering.
 
Not to hijack this thread, but I'll share an old experience I had with starting fluid. I got to using it routinely (I know, not good) on an old 53 Chevy I had with the 6 volt system. Would never start when cold so I had the hood up, air cleaner off, spraying directly into carb while wife cranked over. Any idea how long it takes for eyebrows to grow back?
 
Lol, no problem on starter fluid stories. Actually my dad and I were shooting a bit-o-fluid into the carbs of my bike when I first got it back in October. A little backfire and some "poof" sound...yeah, I finally have hair on my hand/forearm again :)
 
OK, it's been a while now and I have an update. Got the new rings and gaskets installed and buttoned up the engine. Got her started on try number 3 with 1/2 choke and now starter fluid (hurray!!) and let her warm up for a couple minutes. Idle sounds good.

Now, idle seems good. Checked carb balance, it was spot on (to my amazement). Gave it just a hair throttle (much less than 1/8 turn) and she sputters, coughs and back fires out the carbs/airbox. Checked pilot screws, set both at 3 turns out, try again - same results. I decided to let the engine cool while I thought of other things to check. Randomly I decided to check valve clearances because I remembered something from an earlier read. Clearances are too tight!!

-Would this be a good starting point to troubleshoot the throttle issue?
-How do I know which shims are the correct ones? (i.e. clearance @ .002, should be .004-.006, shim is y280...do I get y285 or y270?)
-Would you say to clean carbs again? (6th time...)
-Could the timing be off 180? (would it even run??)

Sorry for the longer post and barrage of questions. Thanks for support from everyone and I'll keep an update of progress as progress allows :) Plus I'll try to get some pics up at some point.
 
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I've had most of that happen to me,and through the years,I've collected a wide array of gadgets.one is a spark checker that you can get at O,reilley's or probably any auto parts store.You simply plug one end of it into the plug wire,and the other goes to ground[it's a clip].As you crank away at the starter,it will spark across the adjustable gap.Then you adjust the gap,which is threaded,wider until it will no longer bridge the gap with the spark.When that happens,you can record the distance,and compare the two sides.If there is a big difference,you've found your problem.Bad grounds,condenser[really a capacitor]or wire connector can be among your many potential problems.The "boiling"carb trick is one that is really old school.When I was a kid,I helped out in a machine shop in Dallas Tx,where I grew up[Ask my Wife and she'll tell you that hasn't happened yet].One of my duties was to clean carbs,water pumps,fuel pumps,ect.,and yes at that time you rebuilt everything.The owner had a vat full of water and soap[I think he used Tide]You'd strip all th outer "stuff,and put the carb in whole.The water was kept not quite boiling,but close.The carbs came out clean as new.I still use that method with an old crock pot,the big one,but you can use anything you want to.It must have a lid,so as not to boil out the water. lha:yikes::yikes:
 

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