any ideas? starting trouble

ok. so i found out my 85 vf500 i recently bought the guy said it had gummed carbs but after lookin at the bike for 5 minutes after i got it home i realized he never turned the fuel to reserve (didnt enought to flow with fuel on) and he had the fuel filter on backwards :frusty: ...then after getting a new battery and charging it and after about 3 minutes of tryin to start it it fired right up and ran for about 2-3 minutes (roughly but it ran and it went thru the full rpm range without problems) then it died and ever since then it wants to start it sounds like it wants to turn over then it back fires and acts like its flooded.

and if i let it sit for a bit and go back out to try and turn it over it wants to start but same result and it still seems like its flooding it becuase its too rich a fuel mixture. is there anyway i can adjust the amount of fuel gettin to the carbs without totally disassembling the carb because i dont think theyre gummed up because if they were it wouldnt have started to begin with right? and help of hint would greatly appreciated and im gonna give it about another week then take to a local shop and have them go thru it but id rather not cause i really dont wanna spend the $$$ and i got quoted about 300 to just pulling and cleaning the carbs at both shops. but im also curious if it could be an ignition issue. all cyclinders and plugs are getting spark and all my electricals work except the headlight cause of a burnt bulb but im pretty much at a dead end and dont know where to go from here except the shop and thats my last resort lol

**sorry if theres another thread already on this but i tried lookin and found nothing, so sorry if my "noob-ness" angers anyone but im just lookin to get my bike running so i can enjoy the rest of the season, thx

 

Have you checked the pilot screws?

I think you will need to pull the carbs and inspect all the circuits and the float levels but you can start with the above to see if this helps.

There are a few tips and tricks to pulling (and installing) the carburetors.

More info can be found on this site with a quick search.

 

WELCOME !!

How many miles on your bike ??

If you needed the aid of the choke to keep the bike running, it would have fouled the plugs fairly soon and killed the engine. All the cranking you've done will lower battery power, so use your 1-2 amp charger to bring it back to about 12.6 volts b4 you try starting again.

If you needed the choke to keep it idling, the carb's pilot jets are probably clogged and need cleaning or replacement. With clean pilot jets the choke can be turned completely off within about a minute, and the engine should idle Ok with just maybe a bit of throttle.

If you can get your carbs off and into a box for shipping, i'll do a professional job of inspecting, cleaning, and adjusting as i've done for several on our website and for other bikes too.

Usually no parts need replacing, and in that case my fee for VF500 carbs would be $145 + return shipping, max 2 week turnaround.

PM me if interested.