Questioni bought this bike for my wife to learn how to ride...the guy i bought it from said it needed carburator work... i took the carb off and clean it and blew all the stuff out of it.. all the high and low end jets our cleaned.. everything is clean... but it still wont stay started... it will run but wont idle .. i turn the choke off and it wont run... i have to pull the choke out to start it and then give it gas to keep it started... i checked the spark .. excellent ! i checked everything on the bike... what should i do next... it sounds like it cant get gas... thanks for your help... steveb
AnswerSteve... I checked the online microfiche site:
http://www.powersportspro.com/partsfish/
and see that there were different carbs between 82 and 83, so be sure that you have the right year machine, as sometimes the titles and the actual model years can be at odds with each other.
If you used a good carb cleaner and paid special attention to the #35 idle jet, then you could still have a blocked idle mixture passage in the carb body. The idle jet is only .014" so it is easily blocked with the smallest debris.
Other things that cause Non-idle symptoms are:
Low float level... I think yours is not adjustable, though
Air leaks.. at intake manifold to carb and to the head.
Carb air cut diaphragm.... small cover on the side of carb covers a diaphragm that controls backfiring. When the diaphragm gets a pinhole, it creates an air leak to the engine. The carb illustrations show a cover for the diaphragm, but not the diaphragm, so am not sure if yours has one or not. Common failure item, though. Get them from Honda or K&L distributors.
Idle mixture screw out of adjustment... these are fuel screws, not air screws, so backing it out will richen the mixture. These usually have a limit cap on them. Use a soldering iron on them for a few seconds to melt the adhesive and the cap falls off, so you can adjust your mixture screw more fully.
Tight valves! Many times these engines don't get their valves adjusted. Clearance is only .002", but it has to be there or the engine loses compression and can burn a valve in prolonged conditions.
Idle speed screw set too low. Turn in the black knob to increase the idle speed.
Make sure that the fuel tank is completely clean as is the petcock assy and screen. Blow through fuel lines or replace to be sure that you don't contaminate the fuel flow to the carb float valve.
Bill Silver
