Motorcycle Repair: unable to start, rectangle buttons, nitty gritty details

Question
hi john,  i bought a 1979 bonneville,  it didnt start at the time but the owner stated that it does or did.  i talked with his mechanic and he was suprised that it wouldnt start.  it has only a kickstart,  i open both petcocks,  tickle the carbs, ignition on,  and kick.  i  get  nothing.  i replaced points, condesers, plugs and wires.  the killswitch is in the up position.  there are two black rectangle buttons above and below the kill switch that i have no idea what they do.  i checked the wiring and it seems ok.  i would appreciate whatever advice you may  have.  its been awhile, i hope your son is safe.   thx bill

Answer
Bill
The son is safe, back on U.S. soil. I drove down to Fort Bragg not too long ago to watch him and his unit jump from a C-17. Damn, that's one huge airplane. And man, was I jealous. I hadn't done that in more than thirty years, but it almost made me want to re-enlist. I sure am glad I'm too old. If I wasn't, I just might be crazy enough to do it.

Most important rule:  Never buy a bike that isn't in running condition unless the deal is too good to pass up and you are prepared to do whatever it takes to remedy the situation. The scariest words a seller can say are "all it needs is ......" ,or " I don't know why........", or "It's never done this before.....".

I must tell you is that the '79 Bonneville is a little too new for me to really know the nitty gritty details about it. But there are a few guesses I could make.

The first thing I would try is to flip the kill switch to the down position and see what happens. Always try the simple things first. Then next thing to do is remove a plug and smell it. there should be the smell of fuel on it after you have kicked the bike over a couple of times. Look to see if there is moisture beading up on the plug.

Your problem could have been as simple as a clogged fuel line, or condensation. Not uncommon with older machines. You may need to pull a fuel line from the carb and see what if anything comes out when you open the petcock.

Then there is the always fun spark plug firing test. Remove a plug and using some kind of  heavy insulation to hold it against the head, kick the bike over and see if there is a spark.

Do a compression test to make sure that there isn't a blown head gasket or something else.

Track the wiring from points to coils to plugs and make sure that you haven't made a switch somewhere. Points should open near the top of the compression stroke for the cylinder it is firing.

Always try the free or cheap solutions first before you spend money.

Oh yeah, do you get lights? Is the battery charged and fuse ok?

I know all this may sound lame, but if you have forgotten just one little thing, Murphy's law says that the item you have overlooked is most likely your problem.

Get back to me and let me know what's happening.

John