1st post- Need help please

Little bit of an update: Picked up a new battery so that should be good to go now. Added more fuel to the bike because evidently it didn't have enough to flow down into the carbs. So now the fuel is flowing great......a little too great, 2 of the float bowls are leaking So either the float is stuck or they aren't sealed very well. One step forward two steps back I guess :crazy: LOL. It's coming along though.

 

just keep plugging away at it. while things may pop up as you work your way through each issue, eventually you will reach the end of the line and there will be nothing else left that can go wrong and all will be well.

 

IF you're VERY lucky and only have leaky float bowl gaskets, not sticky floats or dirty needles, those gaskets -- that usually dry up and shrink during storage--may swell up with exposure to fuel after 2 or 3 days and begin to seal again. I've seen this several times.

If the float needles are not seating (particles of rust are a common cause) use some low-pressure compressed air in the fuel line to try to clean them.

BTW, there is no vaccum action in the petock as it's unnecessary in a system that uses a fuel pump.

 

Ahhh, thanks. I'm just going to keep plugging away at it and eventually the problems have to stop and I can start it :biggrin: I'll see if those gaskets expanded and re-sealed but I want to take them off anyways to see what's going on in there. It seems like I can take them off with a small screwdriver without even taking anything else off, just reaching my hand in there. Any advice?

 

It's alive! Seems to be running well too. Had an issue with it not wanting to idle with the choke completely off but a quick turn of the idle screw and it's all good now. Smoked some after a couple of mins to burn off all the fluids I've spilled on the exhaust but that's all off now :biggrin: Another issue was that I may have overfilled the coolant tank as it overflowed some after the bike was warmed up. Now time to check all the nuts/bolts and grease up the chain then go for a short ride around the block (has 2001 sticker on it).

Couple ?'s- Anyone have any input on the best way to do a coolant flush and refill with new coolant. Also same with brake fluids. Any other fluids I should change to new after sitting this long? Already did oil.

Also, what's the best RPM for idling? I found around 1000-1100..

 

essen-ial.-o.comfirm.your.fan.is.coming.on.properly.or.u.risk.bad.overhea-ing.

fan.-hermoswi-ch.is.usually.unreliable......manual.swi-ch.is.be--er.

 

How come your ( t ) doesn't work? lol. I'll check out the fan, thanks.

 

and spacebar =)

 

Anyone else?

 

11 or 12 hundred rpms sounds about right.
when flushing the coolant be sure to only use distilled water.
when i did my 07 there was a drain bolt at the water pump and one on the bottom of the engine block. i just drained all the coolant and then filled it up with close to a gallon of distilled, ran it till it got over 180* (it is crutial that you get it hot enough for thermostat to open up and allow the water to circulate and rinse everything out) reving it up and bliping the throttle. drain and repeat a few times. when you top it off for good be sure to get all the air out of the system. fill it up, run it hard and allow it to cool down and check if you need to top it off again.
when i filled mine up i just ran straight distilled water and water wetter. it never gets below 40 degrees in key west, so antifreeze is unnecessary down here but it may be for where your at...

by the way congrats on getting it running!

 

I disagree about anti-freeze not being needed based on temperature. Antifreeze acts as a lubricant for the water pump and for the whole system to be honest. I don't recommend running it that way.

 

Thanks. I've never done the cooling system on a bike before so I just don't want to mess anything up or get air in the system. I'll give the distilled water a try :thumbsup:

 

BENEFIT SUMMARY
•Doubles the wetting ability of water
•Improves heat transfer
•Reduces cylinder head temperatures
•May allow more spark advance for increased
torque
•Reduces rust, corrosion and electrolysis
•Provides long term corrosion protection
•Cleans and lubricates water pump seals
•Prevents foaming
•Reduces cavitation corrosion
•Complexes with hard water to reduce scale

taken from http://www.redlineoil.com/content/files/tech/60.pdf

 

Alright, since this update the bike is now draining its fuel into the oil?!? I've been going over everything on the bike then let it sit for about a week, come back to it and it starts/runs. Crack the throttle and it dies so I check the oil level and out comes oil/gas mixture from the dipstick area. I've been attempting to pull the carbs off with no luck so far. I'm assuming it's time to completely clean them. Also, the petcock must not be working 100% too because with it off the fuel should not be flowing through the carbs and into the engine. This bike is frustrating!

 

Because of the internal construction of the fuel pump it's not possible for fuel to flow through pump unless it's under power..........

you can easily test petcock by removing hose TO fuel pump and checking that no fuel flows when set to OFF

seems that you have leaky float needles, and cleaning might help.

have you examined the tank to check for rust ??

overflowing coolant might mean that your fan is not kicking on or or a bad filler cap

 

I'm running gravity feed. No fuel pump. The carbs need a good cleaning if I can ever get them out too. I cleaned the tank the best I can but its not in perfect condition yet.

 

These bike don't run well if at all with gravity feed. Once you get your carbs off you could have a stuck float bowl.

 

Well it was running good before it filled everything up with fuel. I'm pretty sure the floats are stuck and the petcock is leaking through. I'm going to try pulling the fuel bleeder screws tomorrow and blowing compressed air through the lines to hopefully unstick the floats. Also going to try and get new gaskets for the petcock. I hate how the petcock is built into the gas tank and not just a separate unit located under the tank:crazy: