'98 Valk has weak spark

[RonHolly]

My '98 Valk has been sitting all summer.  Put new gas in tank and started her up.  Not running so good!  I had cleaned her up about a month ago and she ran fine.  Pulled all plugs and checked spark on each and they "seem" to be week.  Installed new NGK's and same weak spark.  Can't believe that all three coils would go bad.  Anyone have any ideas that are related to all three coils?  After the hurricane moves on thru I'll do a resistance check on each coil and wire.  Thanks

[Blackduck]

These don't have a super spark like you would see on other engines, remember they fire 2 plugs at a time.
May not be  a lot wrong with it.
Better guess would be some fuel treatment, sitting that long there maybe gunk/varnish in the carbs.
Cheers Steve

[Bone]

My '98 Valk has been sitting all summer

That is your problem.
My 98 Tourer hasn't been sitting but gradually went from running good to hesitating on take-off, and just not running right. I thought weak spark but there hasn't been any post in years of any one having weak spark so I went after fuel. I started adding 4 ounces of B-12 to the tank each gas stop I run until reserve. Mfg recommends 1 ounce per gallon. I thought it was running better after one tank but have used 2 cans of B-12, 8 tanks and the Valk is running better than I remember ever running.
Maybe your carbs have become slightly gummed up.

[Steel cowboy]

It could be a week battery, put a charger on it, a weak battery can make it run bad. I add B-12 to my gas every month to keep the fuel system clean, but I use half a can per tank full.

[RonHolly]

Thanks for your suggestion.  I had already put the charger on the battery and it was fully charged and spins over good.

[RonHolly]

My '98 Valk has been sitting all summer

That is your problem.
My 98 Tourer hasn't been sitting but gradually went from running good to hesitating on take-off, and just not running right. I thought weak spark but there hasn't been any post in years of any one having weak spark so I went after fuel. I started adding 4 ounces of B-12 to the tank each gas stop I run until reserve. Mfg recommends 1 ounce per gallon. I thought it was running better after one tank but have used 2 cans of B-12, 8 tanks and the Valk is running better than I remember ever running.
Maybe your carbs have become slightly gummed up.

Not really sure what a "healthy" spark looks like on my Valk. I really believe the fuel is the problem.  When I replaced gas I also drained all six carb bowels.  I'm guessing carbs are gummed up.  I'll drain the tank again and add about 1.5 ounce to a gallon of gas and run it up in the driveway for a while.  Right now I'd not be able to even ride it around the block.  Thanks

[Bone]

Good luck,  getting the mix into the carbs lets it work when the bike isn't running.

I'm getting ready for the Michigan winter.

[RonHolly]

Good luck,  getting the mix into the carbs lets it work when the bike isn't running.

I'm getting ready for the Michigan winter.

Gonna do the same thing to my Triumph.  Both had not been ridden in about 15 months.  Just plain ole neglect on my part so now I'm paying the price.

[Bone]

My first ever motorcycle was a 650 Triumph Bonneville.

[Fazer]

+1 on the B12.  I use it a couple of time thru the riding season.  When winter hits, I put in a half a can of Seafoam in a full tank and hope to get a ride in every so often during the cold weather.  So far, I have never gone longer that a couple of weeks. 

[falconbrother]

I seriously doubt the spark is the problem.  Generally speaking, the situation is almost always spark or no spark.  Weak spark is as rare as hen's teeth.  There are situations where you can loose spark due to say, rain..  But, it usually means bike runs really bad or not at all.  Yours sure sounds like bad gas or varnish in the carb(s).

[Lyle Laun]

It sounds more like gummed up carbs than coil issues. +1 on the B12 solution.

As far as hen's teeth, I did have a bad coil  that needed replaced but the symptom leading to that was a slight miss when accelerating at highway speeds.

Lyle

[RonHolly]

[/quote]
Gonna do the same thing to my Triumph SpeedMaster.  Both had not been ridden in about 15 months.  Just plain ole neglect on my part so now I'm paying the price.
[/quote]

You might be wondering, "why would anyone not ride his moto's for 15 months?"  Well July of last year I was doing a very simple, slow u-turn and my rear tire spun out on the raised white line!  Cracked two ribs and took about 4 months to heal up.  This happened on my Speedmaster and broke the clutch handle and rear view mirror.  My left leg was trapped underneath and nobody stopped to help me get the bike off me.   Guys at "Jiffy Lube" saw me and ran over and helped.

Now can someone give me some "cheese" to go with my "whine?"

[Blackduck]

Would not call that a whine, more statement of fact.
But you can have some cheese + crackers  then find a good Red to go with it
Cheers Steve