85 VF500F starting issues

This began about 2 weeks ago, the bike will crank, but won't start. It is getting fuel (you can smell it) and the kill switch is on. It started out being intermittent, I can usually get it to start fine if it's been sitting overnight, but if it's warm it's usually a safe bet it won't start. I have replaced the choke unit on the left clip on (it was cracked) and the ignition unit on the right unit (it burned up yesterday, probably due to this issue), but that's it.

Anybody have any suggestions as to where to start?

 

Test for sparks on all plugs first. Could be bad CDI, bad ignition coil, or bad pickup coil. If you do have good sparks, probably time for a carb cleaning. You also need to check that the fuel pump is working OK.

 

Thanks Squirrelman, I will check all of that tomorrow afternoon. How fast do carbs foul/gum up/whatever you want to call it though? They were cleaned and synced around this time last year when I bought the bike.

 

With our crap ethanol-added fuel carbs can clog in a matter of weeks unless you open the drain screws before periods of non-riding.

 

Ah, I see, well I've ridden almost every day since about March, I emptied it before I let it sit over the winter. It's my main means of transportation.

 

HOw many miles on her ?? Examine the sparkplugs for the proper running color, check the gap, and consider replacing them if you don't know when it was done last.

Do you need choke to start the bike ?? Will it run without any choke after a minute ??

 

Well, I checked the plugs, they need to be changed, but I think the main issue was the battery. Yes it was dumb to overlook that, but I had thought it was only a year old. turns out it was about 10 years old.