TW won't start?
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352 Posts
Running new gas or old? If old: drain the tank into a suitable container,
put some fresh gas in the tank, take the sparkplug out (leave the ignition off)
and kick it a few times to clear anything out in the cylinder, then put the
plug back in and try starting it as if it were a normal cold start.
Otherwise, some folks have some specific procedures that work on their bikes,
may or may not involve starting fluid, etc. Search the forum for those posts,
someone may have a direct link to give you.
Forgot to mention, if your bike doesn't have a kickstarter, do the same thing
with the ignition on and *don't touch the plug* until the ignition is off.
You'll hate yourself for a few minutes if you ignore that one..
Good luck!
put some fresh gas in the tank, take the sparkplug out (leave the ignition off)
and kick it a few times to clear anything out in the cylinder, then put the
plug back in and try starting it as if it were a normal cold start.
Otherwise, some folks have some specific procedures that work on their bikes,
may or may not involve starting fluid, etc. Search the forum for those posts,
someone may have a direct link to give you.
Forgot to mention, if your bike doesn't have a kickstarter, do the same thing
with the ignition on and *don't touch the plug* until the ignition is off.
You'll hate yourself for a few minutes if you ignore that one..
Good luck!
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7,044 Posts
To run, any gasoline engine requires compression, fuel, and spark. If you have compression, it has to be either fuel or spark. If it has compression and spark, it has to be fuel.
Does the engine turn over? If not, try push starting the bike.
If the bike ran when parked, 99.9% of the time the carb needs cleaned. I'd go back and go through the carb to make sure all is well. I don't mean just pull the carb off and blow some carb cleaner in the passages, I mean a total disassembly, inspection, and cleaning of each and every part. If I had a dollar for every recently cleaned carb I rebuilt and the bike ran fine, I'd have enough cash for a trip to Alaska.
Does the engine turn over? If not, try push starting the bike.
If the bike ran when parked, 99.9% of the time the carb needs cleaned. I'd go back and go through the carb to make sure all is well. I don't mean just pull the carb off and blow some carb cleaner in the passages, I mean a total disassembly, inspection, and cleaning of each and every part. If I had a dollar for every recently cleaned carb I rebuilt and the bike ran fine, I'd have enough cash for a trip to Alaska.
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352 Posts
I agree with the above: if starting fluid won't make it fire up (have to do this on my old blaster
every single year) and at least burn off the vapors, you've got ignition/compression issues.
Chances are, qwerty's nailed it and the carb needs a full disassembly, inspection, and cleanup.
I'll add one thing to the needs of a combustion engine: the proper amount of air.
One quick test that doesn't involve pulling the carb: hook a hose to the bowl drain on the carb
and drain it all out with the petcock shut off, then turn the petcock on and crank it for a bit.
After that, turn the gas off again and drain the bowl once more. If you don't have plenty of
good clear fuel the second time, your float is stuck closed, the filter screens are plugged,
or your bowl drain is plugged from the sediment and varnish in the bottom.
Make sure the air filter is clean, the petcock screens both in-tank and in the assembly itself are
clean. Double check that you didn't end up with cracks in the rubber intake from sitting, and check
that the local field mice haven't decided to make base camp in your air filter housing. Been there.
every single year) and at least burn off the vapors, you've got ignition/compression issues.
Chances are, qwerty's nailed it and the carb needs a full disassembly, inspection, and cleanup.
I'll add one thing to the needs of a combustion engine: the proper amount of air.
One quick test that doesn't involve pulling the carb: hook a hose to the bowl drain on the carb
and drain it all out with the petcock shut off, then turn the petcock on and crank it for a bit.
After that, turn the gas off again and drain the bowl once more. If you don't have plenty of
good clear fuel the second time, your float is stuck closed, the filter screens are plugged,
or your bowl drain is plugged from the sediment and varnish in the bottom.
Make sure the air filter is clean, the petcock screens both in-tank and in the assembly itself are
clean. Double check that you didn't end up with cracks in the rubber intake from sitting, and check
that the local field mice haven't decided to make base camp in your air filter housing. Been there.
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796 Posts
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40 Posts
I think Petrus has it here... Seriously, try push starting it.
Key on, switch on, fuel on (I forget every time I work on the thing), passenger pegs up (trust me), choke on...
Stand on the left (clutch lever) side, put it in 3rd gear, pull in the clutch, push it up to jogging speed, step on the foot peg (don't hit the shift lever), dump the clutch... just be prepared to hit the clutch again (and front brake) so you don't lug the engine or stall it from being in third. I don't even throw a leg over when doing this any more, I just step on the peg and stay on the clutch side of the bike.
If it starts, you probably have a weak battery. If it doesn't, then look at some of the other more serious stuff.
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