Can’t get a motorbike to start, advice needed!

[New Haven Neil]

There's no ethanol in our fuel here on our little island, thankfully, as the fuel comes from the UK without it in, and it is added at the point of distribution as a rule  - but not here.  The additives still leave gunge behind them if you let it flash off. The injector cleaner is worth a try, although I always drain carbs on our bikes that stand.  The injected one is never an issue though!

 

What's a Councourse please?

[Phil Traxson]

On 31/03/2021 at 08:23, gordon s said:

Thanks Jim, we’ve all been there and in the moment, we miss the blindingly obvious. I know I shouldn’t laugh after all those hours you spent stripping things down, but your post should be framed and hung in every garage/workshop to remind us all, not to automatically go for the most obscure things and check the basics first.

 

Really glad you got it going and hope your lad enjoys his freedom, albeit in a car rather than on a bike. I passed my test in 1964 on a 500cc AJS twin and would love another bike, but my wife is convinced it’s far to dangerous for a 72 year old......

Go for it, at 72 years old, 2 years ago I bought a Yamaha Virago XVS 535 V-twin after not riding for best part of 30 years. Absolutely great, sit up riding position, low seat height, slightly forward foot pegs. Ideal for the more mature rider, keeps up with the traffic, will cruise at motor way speeds but trickles along Welsh lanes comfortably too. Since July 2019 I've done nearly 10,000 miles on it, would have been more without Covid restrictions.  Just about to take delivery of a Suzuki VL1500 V-twin(8th of April) but in deference to my age it's a trike! Still keeping the Virago though. 

 

Phil T

[big jim]

Now I’m struggling to get it to keep running, I can get it to start with a bit of ezee start and it will fire up with very little choke in but it just won’t run at idle for any length of time 

 

I did however get it to run for a good 10 mins earlier at idle and also stood on its stand in 1st gear revving it with the back wheel turning but when it eventually cut out it just wouldn’t restart, it’s turning over but not firing up, I have had the fuel pipes off it and they are clean, as is the sample of fuel I poured into a jug so i know there is clean fuel getting to the carburettor if nothing else 

 

any thoughts?

[gordon s]

Is it fresh fuel? Had the same issue with my mower after the fuel had been left over the winter. Bought some of this from Screwfix, but fresh fuel sorted it before I had a chance to use it. May be worth a try if you have a tankful.....

 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-fuel-additive-250ml/9631x

[big jim]

I’ll try some of that tomorrow, might buy a new spark plug too just to be sure, as the spark seemed to be off to one side of the electrode when I checked it out of the cylinder

 

i might drain the fuel first though and put some fresh in 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2021 by big jim

[Rods_of_Revolution]

If you've got a spark and clean fuel, then it could be lack of compression. You'll need a compression tester to check that though. If no seals are visibly damaged and there's no oil or fuel seeping from anywhere, then it could be the piston ring.

 

Cheers,

 

Jack

[big jim]

The consensus from a couple of other people I’ve asked is the fuel is probably the issue as it’s been sat for so long, I’ve just started draining the tank but I need a bigger Jerry can so I’ve got a 10l one to collect tomorrow from Screwfix, along with a smaller one for the fresh fuel as I don't want to use the one I’ve just put the possibly contaminated fuel into!

 

I don’t think it’s anything as serious as engine damage, the bike is only 18 months old and 900 miles on the clock abs was fine when it was dropped off, it’s just not moved since, the only other issue I can see with it is the drum brakes need freeing up a bit as again they have been stood static for months

 

 

[big jim]

Drained the tank down and added fresh fuel as well as stripping the carb down to have a look inside and clean it out 

 

Bit of rust/gunge in the bottom that I’ve cleaned out

 

injectors are clear too

 

Got a fresh spark plug too, got it to fire but again a few minutes then it would shut down the I had a thought, the idle screw, I wound it out and back again and it fired up ok and it’s currently been sat running for 15mins idling about 1200-1500 revs so I’m hoping that once I shut it down later and try and restart that may have been the issue, a simple lack of fuel as it was wound too far in

 

heres hoping!

 

[big jim]

Well I’m at a loss now, shut it down and left it for a few hours, came back to it and it won’t start again, really getting to me now as I’ve done all I can I think 

 

I’m going to have to take it off sale I think while I get it properly looked at, annoyingly it’s got a bid and 60 odd people watching it on eBay 

[gordon s]

Apart from the obvious kill switch and fuel turned on, is there any chance of an air lock in the fuel pipe? The other thing to check is that hasn't flooded, so take the plug out, clean and dry it and check the gap again.

[big jim]

I suppose if I didn’t turn the fuel tap off it could have flooded it then? 
 

I’ll pop and take the plug out and have a look in a sec 

[Nearholmer]

You've looked at fuel, you've looked at ignition; have you looked at air?

 

Could it be starved of air somehow? Blocked or wet filter, that sort of thing?

[gordon s]

25 minutes ago, big jim said:

I suppose if I didn’t turn the fuel tap off it could have flooded it then? 
 

I’ll pop and take the plug out and have a look in a sec 

 

Flooding would have happened by continually trying to start it and the plug getting wet. The more you try, the wetter it will become. Take out the plug and turn over the engine on the electric or kick start to remove any fuel vapour in the cylinder. Dry the plug and clean it. Replace and go through the normal start procedure. With any luck it will fire again. More often than not, people flood engines by over cooling or just continuing to pump fuel in when it's nor firing.

[big jim]

 

 

1 hour ago, gordon s said:

 

Flooding would have happened by continually trying to start it and the plug getting wet. The more you try, the wetter it will become. Take out the plug and turn over the engine on the electric or kick start to remove any fuel vapour in the cylinder. Dry the plug and clean it. Replace and go through the normal start procedure. With any luck it will fire again. More often than not, people flood engines by over cooling or just continuing to pump fuel in when it's nor firing.

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

You've looked at fuel, you've looked at ignition; have you looked at air?

 

Could it be starved of air somehow? Blocked or wet filter, that sort of thing?

 

the plug was dry when i took it out, im not entirely convinced the spark is that strong either

 

also took the air filter housing off while ive been looking at it, no issues there

[alastairq]

Is the kill switch malfunctioning?

 

[Can you easily bypass the kill switch for now?]

[polybear]

Try it with the fuel cap off the fuel tank - there's a little breather hole in the cap and if that's blocked it'll cause fuel starvation.

[big jim]

2 hours ago, alastairq said:

Is the kill switch malfunctioning?

 

[Can you easily bypass the kill switch for now?]

I don’t think so as it will fire with the eeze start in it so there is a spark 

 

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Try it with the fuel cap off the fuel tank - there's a little breather hole in the cap and if that's blocked it'll cause fuel starvation.

tried that too but no luck

 

I've just given up and put in the listing that it needs a proper service and I’ve offered the winning bidder the opportunity for me to remove his bid or give him a little bit of a discount towards getting it serviced, it’s certainly not a huge issue as I’ve had the damn thing running like a sewing machine this afternoon. and it’s most likely very easily fixable (probably for no expense) but I’m certainly not letting the bike go for pennies for the sake of a 10 minute tinker by someone who knows what they are doing! 

just so frustrated by it! 

[big jim]

Another suggestion is the spark plug gap, I didn’t adjust it when I put it in and it should only be 0.6mm, I’m sure it’s at least double that out of the box, I have some feeler gauges so I’ll have a look tomorrow

 

my brother said he might be able to come over and have a look, I forgot he has 2 motorbikes himself so have just spoken to him about it, he suggests the mixture may need adjusting as well as the idle 

 

one way or another it’s not going to beat me 

[big jim]

A productive day, my brother came over on his motorbike and had a look at the Lexmoto, a bit of a come down from his triumph RS Sprint!

 

we got to the bottom of the non starting issue, basically the choke cable was loose so when the choke was fully open the butterfly in the air intake wasn’t shutting completely, it was closing about 2/3 of the way allowing air in, once I shut it manually from the side of the carb it fired up first time from Stone cold and has managed to do so all day since, it was just a case of adjusting the slack from the cable so it closed the air intake fully, to be honest it was something I’d noticed earlier in the week but I didn’t think the valve needed to be completely shut for it to fire, in my head it was “no air no spark” but obviously not! 

 

he took it out for a spin and discovered the rear brakes were seized far worse than we thought so he had the back wheel off and stripped the brake drum down, the operating arm was solid in the drum, after a lot of to-being and fro-ing and WD-40 the arm is now completely free in the drum (even able it be removed) and the rear brakes now work perfectly, we’re just in the process of putting it back together but he’s stopped to have his tea with us! 

 

the only other issue is the little switch for the brake light that is attached to the brake foot lever has broken but I’ve bought another from Amazon that will be delivered tomorrow so the new buyer can fit it themselves unless I can find a bit of time tomorrow to fit it myself 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by big jim

[big jim]

Started first time this morning without issue, it also sold on eBay and has been paid for, just awaiting collection