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**XSokieSPECIAL** · 09-30-2009, 09:34 PM

Hmmmm------ sounds like a lost cause. I'll have my brother in law come over from Port Angeles and pick it up to get it out of your hair.

Are you certain the fuel is getting out of the tank and into the carbs?

**xs11bobber** · 09-30-2009, 10:07 PM

C'mon Rick! You haven't been at it long enough to give up. Like XSokieSPECIAL said, check those petcocks. Set 'em to prime if they're suspected. If you look you should see the fuel flow -- if you've got the clearer type fuel line (I do for that very reason). If not, pull the line and set it to prime. The fuel should flow pretty smooth. If fuel flow to the carbs is present, I would try cracking a float bowl plug or 4 and see if the bowls are filling. That's be a start to diagnosis...

**Crazcnuk** · 09-30-2009, 11:03 PM

If he has gas overflowing out of the carbs, the petcocks are not the issue.

First,get a wooden handle (hammer, etc) and carefully tap the float bowls of the carbs that are overflowing. It's easier to tell which if you slip the airbox off the carbs.

If that settles the float needles, next take out one of the sparkplugs, I use #1, then put 1/2tsp of gas in the sparkplug hole, put the plug in and try the starter.

If your issue is gas it will fire. Then tell us what happened and we can narrow it more for you.

**Clerek** · 10-01-2009, 12:45 AM

Alright so...
It will ignite if I spray starter fluid under the slide in the carb. And then because of all the gas leaking out of the back of the carbs, it puffs smoke out of my pod filters. So spark isn't the issue. I have inline fuel filters and I can see the gas coming out of the tank so it isn't the petcocks. It is almost like the gas get's stopped somewhere between the float bowls and the cylinders! I was also thinking that maybe I have the idle mixture screws too tight and it isn't letting enough gas out. I'll try that tomorrow...Any other suggestions?

It's not that I want to give up...It is just so frustrating! I have put almost $6,000 into this bike and for that much I should have a really awesome running bike! It KILLS me when I see ads like this where you get a new (2005) GSXR and a FREE XS1100! I could have had two running bikes!

My wife keeps telling me not to think like that and not to dwell on S|-|IT like this but it just kinda pisses me off...

Sorry I needed to vent a bit

-Rick

**xs11bobber** · 10-01-2009, 02:11 AM

Originally posted by Crazcnuk View Post

If he has gas overflowing out of the carbs, the petcocks are not the issue.

Craz, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that. I guess I was more disturbed that he stated he wanted to give up in his first post. DUH! to me about the fuel leak from the carbs. I should've guessed stuck float valve myself. I guess it was a brain fart.

Rick, is this your hardtail project?
You soaked your carbs in the lightly boiling lemon juice didn't you? Did you check your float valves when you did that? They're only like $6 from mikesxs for the vavle and seat pair(make sure it's threaded BS34's).
2 turns out on the air mixture screws will work on open 4/2 headers when you get your leak fixed. One of them, I can't remember which, may turn in further than the other 3 (1 or 4 on mine I think). Then bread tie sync, which I found to be a little much, and it should run with no leak.

Nearly $6k!

How did you manage that!? For 6k I would've been shopping for gixxers from the start!

**Crazcnuk** · 10-01-2009, 03:21 AM

"it puffs smoke out of my pod filters."

This won't happen from overflowing float bowls... It's more of an indication of bad intake valves leaking back through the intake, or way out of time, so much that it's firing before the intake valves close.

I am assuming that neither of these are the case, however, as you would have likely had a fire by now if it was. You can also get spitting back through the carbs if your idle mixture is way too lean and/or you have a vacuum leak.

Biggest thing is to get the needle (float) valves sealing first. It's pretty hard to do any adjusting until they seal properly. These are '80 carbs, so they should be viton tipped.

**xs11bobber** · 10-01-2009, 04:08 AM

I guess I figured it wasn't really smoke. I had that happen on my dad's E and it wasn't smoke, rather a bunch of gas sprayed out much like a whales blow howl or an open mouth sneeze. I just had him clean the carbs again and the leak switched carbs. One more time, making it the triple clean, and all leaks went away and no more "puffs" of fuel.

....................................I Don't Know!..............................

(haha)

**XSokieSPECIAL** · 10-01-2009, 05:24 AM

Are you certain the fuel is getting out of the tank and into the carbs?[/QUOTE]

What I meant was---Are you certain the fuel is getting INTO the carbs. A fuel leak doesn't nessessarily mean it's coming out of the carbs. (i.e. lines, filters, inlet T's)
GT

**HobbyMan** · 10-01-2009, 06:51 AM

Did you put in the Jets from the kits? What brand kits were they? I can't remember which kits had the bad jets in them. I always buy jets directly from a shop. Second, if you have gas leaking out of the carbs when the bike is not running, it is the petcocks AND the floats. Either one should prevent that. Pull your carbs off and check manually to see that the pins are sealing. Also, wouldn't hurt to check your valve clearances like Crazcnuk suggested

**dbeardslee** · 10-01-2009, 07:14 AM

If gas is pouring out of the carbs, you might want to double check that your vent lines are clear. An obstruction there will cause them to pour gas out of the bells as soon as you turn the fuel on, and it will make it very hard to start. I had a similar problem on Betsy when I had some small lawn mower filters on the ends of the lines. Evidently they had gotten wet and the paper element inside got fouled up. I pulled them off, and as if by magic, the problem went away. JAT

**TomRodgers** · 10-01-2009, 07:17 AM

"white puffs of smoke out of pods"

Mine does that when the engine is cold...on the #4 carb...but goes away once it is warm....

sounds like something internal on the carbs....pull them off and double check (this coming from somebody that has never touched the inside of cycle carbs)...but two and two make 3

..... gas is moving from tank to carb...gas is not moving from carb to the area that makes the suck squeeze bang blow work (combustion sequence)....

no worries... SWMBO is about ready to string me up!!! ive been trying to sneak time in to work on mine everyday for a week now.... last night, trying to swap out carb holders from a parts bike that were in good shape for mine that were split all the way through...i was able to loosen ONE holder before she sent a child out saying "dinner is ready"

..ONE HOLDER!!!! WTF!!!! i swear she has a hidden camera out there!!!

**Ivan** · 10-01-2009, 09:11 AM

Wow, $6k? No wonder you are frustrated. But, hang in there, I guarantee the feeling of accomplishment will be your reward when you twist the throttle.

If you rebuilt the carbs and have starting troubles, I have heard of the bowl gasket being installed upside down and causing it to block off one of the circuits needed for good starting. Pull a bowl off and see if any holes are covered by the gasket.

Sometimes the floats on these things can be a real PITA. My scoot will hang the floats every time I forget to put the kickstand down. Don't laugh, it happens more than you would think. (Ok you can laugh, it is kinda funny.) Just keep finessing the floats and needles and you'll get rid of the flooding issue.

If your scoot has the tamperproof bolts on the timing plate, it should be close enough to fire. These look like the end of the bolt was broken off inside the little cup on the advance plate.

Have you checked compression? If you don't have a gauge, sometimes Autozone or Oreilleys will rent them to you for a nominal fee.

Another thing is if your scoot has gotten flooded, the plugs may be fuel fouled. too much fuel will keep the plugs from firing. Its and easy fix though. Just fire up the propane torch and burn the fuel off, until the tang gets red and the insulator is white again. Good as new.

If nothing else, just walk away from it for a week or so and turn on the news, you'll have something else to be totally pissed at.

**Clerek** · 10-01-2009, 10:33 AM

HA!
I will walk away from it for a week AFTER I can get it started up! It's getting cold here really quick!
I have compression, and the kits were from georgefix, sorry I didn't catch the brand, but I'll check later. I checked for a vacuum leak first, because I saw some cracks in my carb boots. So no vacuum leak...
Checklist:
I have spark (lots of spark...

)

I have compression

Petcocks are not the problem

Floats are not sticking (but they may be too high? I checked them again and again and they were at the correct heights)

Double checked the idle mixture screws...They are at two turns out

I checked all the fuel lines and none are blocked

This is all I can remember right now. I am planning on tearing into my carbs (again) after I get home from school. I may boil them again to get them extra clean again, and go from there. Maybe I just need new floats! The only thing I didn't change was the slide needle and the floats!

Thanks guys!
-Rick

I Love the feeling of accomplishment that I built this entire bike from one that was in pieces; basically from scratch! I am just frustrated that I won't be able to ride it much before it get's icy is all...

**Ken Talbot** · 10-01-2009, 06:28 PM

Any chance that you might have hooked up the fuel lines from the petcocks to the upper "T"s between the carbs, instead of to the lower "T"s? The upper T is a float bowl vent, the lower T is for fuel supply.

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Annoying starting problem/Bike won't start

Annoying starting problem/Bike won't start

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