Sick to my Stomach

Well my 1986 XJ700 is in limbo and I am very confused.
I cleaned my carbs over the winter and cannot get the bike to run, feel like I am way over my head and should take to a true mechanic to finish the project.
The problem is I have over $2000 invested in the bike and have no clue how much it will cost to get back running.
Do I part it out, try to sell it, or invest more money to get it up and running.
I put a small fortune into cosmestics and safety and now it won't even run.
Any one with an idea I have missed.
Thanks
Brian

 

does it turn over? spark? helping us narrow down the problem will allow us to help you than saying "it doesnt run"


when working on my seca... it didnt really start until i put some ether in the airbox to get things going... now it fires up everytime

 

Ok sorry for not giving additional info.
I do have good spark on all four. It does turn over.
I had a huge air leak and fixed that last night, today when I started it ran around 1000RPM but that was with choke 100% and when throttle is introduced it died.
Adjusted the mixture screws thinking that was a lean condition and now I can't get it to run even with full choke.
I am up for any ideas.
Thanks
Brian

 

Sounds like fuel problem. Are the plugs wet after you have been trying to start her?
Make sure fuel is getting through from the petrol tap.
My bike took a lot of cranking before she would fire after standing for 5 months and having the carbs cleaned.

 

Mark
I looked into a fuel issue.
One thing I am not sure is I installed a inline filter and it does not fill up with gas but there is fuel in the bowls.
I also installed new plugs and they are wet.
I have also verified my petcock is working correctly, nothing changes either in Prim or On position.
Should i install the old gas line to see if that changes something ?

 

There was a post this week where the owner had fitted a filter and couldnt start the bike - he changed back. it's worth a try.

 

I will try it, another question to everyone.
What would the symptoms be if I installed my floats upside down ?
I am debating about pulling them again to verify they are installed correctly.
Thanks

 

you just need to whip off one bowl the check the floats, if 1 is wrong they are all wrong & vise versa,
put a clear fuel line to the carbs to SEE the fuel getting there, get the motor running first, put the in-line back later.
these bikes can take a while to start after a carb rebuild, they need to get back in the habit of running.
make sure the battery is fully charged & even jump from a backup (not a running car, though)
put the pilot mixture screws back to the stock setting.

 

Make sure you check the float levels while you have them out.
Float levels are critical for optimal performance and proper tuning.
While you have the carbs out, make sure ALL the passages are totally clean or you will probably have to do it again.

I'm not familiar with the hitachi carb, but I think you would either have a fuel level extremely high or extremely low. Either one is going to cause fits.
You should be able to check the float levels with the carbs on the bike. That will also confirm whether they are upside down.

Did you do a compression test?
Pull the plugs and let them dry, I would crank the engine over with the plugs out to get the old fuel out.

 

You have to relax.
All you need to do is put the pieces together.

You did the Carbs.
Now. It won't run.
99 out of 100 times its ... Failure to Prime.
Put the Petcock on PRI.
Remove the seat.
Shoot Starter Fluid in the Airbox and get it to Pop.
You won't get any gas to the Carbs unless your in PRI.

Once you get her running ... we'll Tune it.

Pull the Plugs.
Clean them or install new ones.
Make sure your are getting Spark.

If it runs on Starting Fluid ...
You still have Carb Problems

If it don't Pop on Start Fluid ...
Troubleshoot Ignition.

 

All of the above, plus just being horribly out of sync can do it too.

 

Make sure that in-line filter is positioned with the bottom (outlet) lower than the inlet. I had changed my old filter out and used the kind I am assuming you have that fills up partially with gas. the line I used put the filter in a position where the thing would fill with gas. Wasn't even thinking about it at the time. And couldn't start the bike because it wasn't drawing fuel. I am not suggesting that this is your problem, but do make sure it is positioned to where the vacuum can draw fuel. It should draw fuel into the carbs from the filter and draw fuel into the filter from the tank.
Again, not saying this is your problem, and do prime that beauty.

 

Thanks Rick I needed that.
I pulled the carbs back out to verify the floats are installed correctly.
They were good.
I will also recheck the measurement on all the float height.
I also verified the pilot and main jets are loacated in the correct port.

I will re-install tommorrow and shoot starter fluid in the airbox, I am also going to re-install the original gas line to rule out a problem with my filter.

I also was trying to run it while the petcock was on the ON position. I did switch to Prime for a period but didnt want to overflow the gas lines.

I will also re-sync the carbs on the bench to verify that I am not way out of wack. I used the paper clip method last time but will use a buisness card this time.

Is there anything else anyone can think to check before re-installing the carbs?


Thanks to everyones help with this project, it is turning out to be a very interesting lesson.

Thanks
Brian

 

boy, sounds like you have it ready to go... I sure hope it will work, because as you've said, you checked for leaks.


good luck

 

Leave it on Prime all the while you are trying to start it.
TECHNICALLY, if the float valves are all working, you could run on prime all the time but if anything leaks by....well, you know what happens.

Having it on prime is also another way to confirm that the float levels are not too high and working properly. (If they are set too high, they'll overflow with it on prime)

Make sure your battery is fresh and good luck.

 

******UPDATE*****
After removing carbs and RTV'ing the carb to boot connection. Verified Floats where set correctly and in the correct position. Bech sync'd the carbs again to verify they where good. I re-installed and shot some starter fluid and bam IT WORKED :lol:

I still have to sync the carbs using the famous two bottle sync tool and general maintenance stuff but the worst of my problems seems to be behind me.

I want to thank everyone for their input and help, without it I don't believe I would have gotten this far.

Brian

 

I had an Inline Filter shut me down.
It was made in China and the Filter Paper was no good.
I couldn't blow through it.

Charge the Battery.
New Plugs.
Starting Fluid.
Get it running.

Once you get it running ... we can do some tuning.

Don't feel bad.
My Bike won't start.
I think my Battery is too weak.

 

one other thing to check if you have hard starting that I didn't see mentioned here (I had this problem with my x before it was redone) was that the PO flooded the crankcase with gas. Float needles were not working right and he left it on prime. I drainde the 'oil' and it was so thin and smelled so much like gas it wasn't funny. I referred to it as 'pee' because it was so thin. There was also about a quart of gas in the oil. I believe it had a lot to do with the hard starting I encountered.