QuestionSo I got a 1983 Honda CM 250 Custom from my grandfather about 3 months ago. I had been sitting around for 17 or more years. I got it running 3 months ago and not to say it wasn't running the best but it was street legal and drivable. I went to start it up 1 week ago and all it would do is turn over and occasionaly fire up for about 1 second and then it goes back to just turning over. I belive I have tried everything, I have rebuilt the carb, new oil, cleaned the carb, redone all of the wiring, everything was mechanicaly sound and now I'm just getting frustrated and I realized I needed to ask an expert for Help.
Thankyou for your time.
- Brendon
AnswerIf I am reading you right, it sat for many years, you had it running (but not well) and then let it sit for 3 months and now it won't start.
It could be as simple as stale fuel. I assume that you put fresh fuel in 3 months ago because after 17 years any old fuel would surely have turned to goo. Or worse. But the fuel you put in 3 months ago could be stale now. Drain the tank & carb, put in some fresh fuel and try again.
Did you rebuild & clean the carb before or after you left it sitting for 3 months? If it was before and you didn't drain the carb it could be full of varnish again.
Just a thought: Was the tank drained 17 years ago or was it left full? If it had even a litre of fuel left in it to dry up and you then poured fresh fuel into it, the fresh fuel could have become contaminated by dissolving some of the old stuff. You might have to clean out the tank (& of course, the carb will be full of this stuff by now too).
Also, what do you consider "cleaned the carb" to mean? To properly clean carbs they must be removed from the machine, disassembled and have, at minimum, carb cleaner sprayed through every passage, followed by high pressure air (min. 60 PSI). Any signs of dirt or other deposits should be completely removed and all jets carefuly inspected and cleaned. Your carb is 25 years old and that's a long time for rubber parts that have been in a hot place and in contact with fuel. The rubber parts should all be carefully inspected and if any of them show signs of hardening or deterioration they should all be replaced with the best quality new parts available. Even if they all look good now, you should expect to replace them within the next year or so.
Have a look at the carb cleaning information at www.randakks.com - Randall is one of the top GoldWing restorers and carb specialists so the site shows GoldWing carbs, which will probably be a lot different from yours so you should consult your shop manual, but the same principles for cleaning should apply.
Unfortunately, he doesn't sell the parts you need. I would talk to the parts man at my local Honda dealer before I looked for the parts anywhere else - they are usualy pretty close in price to what you would pay online and if anything is wrong with them you can take them back in person instead of dealing through the mail.
