Starting Problems

[bgallup]

Ok so the old girl sat dormant last year due to a number of issues.  I went to start her back up the ohter day and am having no luck.  Petcock is on, engine turns over but she will not start.  There was a period of time when the tank was off for a repair.  I do not smell gas when trying to start her either.  Could the petcock need to be rebuilt?  What is the best way to start and track down the issue?

[Chrisj CMA]

If youre lucky its a weak battery.  But, if it sat a whole year.........slow jets in the carbs are toast if you didnt have the gas treated well or the carbs drained.......

[bgallup]

Thanks Chris - Any Idea of how to determine if that is the problem and then how t go about repairing?

[Black Dog]

If you have some 'jumper cables', hook 'em up to another vehicle, and see if ya can get her fired up, with a bit more juice.  The Valk is picky, about needing a good spark...  She may spin like crazy, but unless you have a good charge on the battery, the voltage may not be enough to 'fire' the beast.

Black Dog

[Patrick]

The way to see if you have fuel delivery is to open the drain screws in the float bowls and see what comes out of them.. If nothing,, then,, you may have to pull a vacuum on the petcock and see if that helps.. Once its running[you may need a jumper battery as the boys stated] then you can figure out if the low jets are giving you trouble.. However, if you didn't add anything to the fuel prior to storage you'll have low jet issues.. Good heavy doses of Sea-Foam may help with that..

[alph]

any engine needs three things, gas air and spark.  if it sat for a while that tells me your carbs are varnished, this can happen in as little as three months depending on fuel qualilty.  believe me, cleaning your carbs is a pain!  you might have a plugged fuel line also, as a previous post says, open your float screw and see if you get fuel out of it, if you do and you still don't get fuel in your carb the needle valve probably has crap in it...  pull out a spark plug, plug it into your spark plug cable then turn over engine, do you have spark?  that's a great sign cause that means that's not your problem....  did a mouse make your air filter a new home?  check if your air plenumn is all plugged....  get some starting fluid from your auto parts store, spray it into your air intake while trying to start it, if you have spark she will start but wont run, it's your carbs, they're plugged.... 

let me know if that works...

Al.

[bgallup]

OK - here is what I have so far and I really appreciate all of your patience.

float bowls 2, 4, and 6 have gas flowing out of the drain plug.  float bowls 1, 3, and 5 the drian plug is only wet.

I will be trying the starting fluid trick here shortly.

Now so I can feel really stupid how do you use seafoam since I cannot start the engine?

[Jay]

If you smell gas it's probably getting it.  If it's been sitting that long it may not be getting through all carbs.  Dump a can of seafoam in the tank.  Throw the jumper cables on, because like Black Dog stated, this bike is picky about the voltage.  Crank it and see if she starts.  It may take a while, but the seafoam should remove any varnish in the jets, sometimes needs some time to soak.

[Hoser]

Please do not use too much starting fluid, it can and does make a motor go boom if used too liberally.     Hoser 

[bgallup]

I will skip the starting fluid for a spark plug test where can I find Sea Foam?  And how muchin the tank?

[R J]

Any parts store carries Seafoam.

This time around I'd throw the whole can in.

If it is going to set for a long time I throw in 1/2 a can.

Then when I get it out on the road again the other 1/2 a can goes in the 2nd tank.........

[John U.]

bgallup, I have been where you are. You should try Techron carb/injecter cleaner, it's a bit more agressive than Seafoam. Before you do, drain the tank then add a gallon or so of new fuel and a bottle of Techron.
It's not likely to work, but worth a try. If it doesn't you'll have to remove the carb bank  (remove the intake tubes, tank and airbox). The carb bank can be bungeed up one side at a time to remove the float bowls and slow jets. It's not easy no matter which way you do it.
Some pf us have replaced the slow jets with 38s (35s are stock) to reduce the likelyhood of getting plugged up from ethanol.
So while you are doing all that, check the float bowls to see what and how much sediment you have.
A bike that has sat for a time may have a rusted tank. The fix for that is a whole nother world of adventure. Get a small flashlight and an inspection mirror.
Don't let all this daunt you, we can help with all of it. Just consider it one of life's detours, but there is a fix for all of it. 
Keep us posted, and good luck.

[bgallup]

So the old girl wants to start.  Last night after the sea foam she tried to kick over but still had no fuel on the right side carbs.  Today when I went to kick her over gas poured out of the right side and I found a disconnected fuel line at the T juntion.  So there is my next challenge getting to re attach the fuel line.  Obviously I will have to remove the air box, but we have progress.  I will keep you all posted.

[Patrick]

Mix the Sea-Foam[or whatever you're using] thoroughly with the fuel, don't just dump it in the tank.. I happen to like good heavy doses.. With a good healthy battery it should crank solidly and start..If you think its been flooded and the cylinders are washed then removing the sparklers and adding just a bit of oil will help them draw..  It should start with plugged low jets,, it'll just run terrible at low engine speeds.. Putting a block of wood under the side stand to straighten the bike up a bit may even help.. If several tanks with fuel cleaner doesn't work then you'll probably have to open up your tool box and get your hands dirty .. 

[bgallup]

Thaks to all - She is running!  Went on a short ride today.  Going to fill her up and a little sea foam just for good measure.  You all were a great help.  Hope to see you at inzane.

[MP]

I would keep running some seafoam in it for a while.  May help, and won't hurt.
MP