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I have an 02 1200 Bandit. I had the carbs rebuilt last year. I rode it for about 80 miles after the rebuild. I started it this year and it ran for about 5 minutes then it died. I can't get it to start again. It is getting fuel to the carbs but something is going on in the carbs. I can spray starter fluid in the air box and it will start right away. Is there a reason the carbs will not take any fuel? I even left carb cleaner in the fuel tube for a week and it still won't take any.

How many months was it stored without running? Was fuel left in the carburetors during that time? Did the fuel have a good stabilizer in it? If the bike was put away with fuel in it, was the tank all the way full? Modern fuel is crap. Two of our five bikes are carb'd..... I'm extraordinarily careful with them in winter - if at all possible, they are run (not just started) every 2-3 weeks, the fuel is always stabilized with Ethanol Equalizer, and they're always put away with full tanks.

(This has something to do with a $900 carb rebuild job I had to pay for some years back..... )

I put Stabil in it. It had a little over half a tank. It sat for aboit 4 months. The carbs were all rebuilt last fall. It fired right up this year and ran for 5 minutes. It will start right up if I put fuel or starter fluid directly in the carb. It just won't take any fuel from the hose going to the carbs. Is there a check valve that could be stuck closed? My other 3 bikes sat for way longer and they all started fine this year.

I believe a Bandit 1200 has a vacuum fuel petcock, that could possibly be your problem. If the petcock is not working correctly, or the vacuum hose has a leak, or is not connected securely at either end, fuel starvation can happen - there won't be enough vacuum pressure to keep the fuel line open, or fully open. If the vacuum hose is good and securely attached, the little diaphragm in the petcock could still be leaking, or the valve it actuates could be stuck or sticky.

I own a Triumph Trophy 1200, which has a vacuum petcock; these bikes are famous for vacuum hoses getting kinked and causing fuel starvation issues.

I checked that. My petcock is not a vacuum style. There is no provision for any other hoses except the fuel hose.

I looked at a parts list. its not vacuum style according to that......

You are certain that fuel is flowing freely to the carbs.........?
I'd go so far as to pull the fuel line and flow some gas into a clean cup.
Verify that it continues to flow and is not just seeping into the carb.

If that fails, IMHO, its likely you need to remove and clean that valve and
perhaps the tank.

I'm sure it's flowing freely. I opened the petcock by accident and it poured out! I took a small fuunel and put it into the fuel hose to the carbs and put fuel in it and it the level in the funnel hasn't gone down no matter if I twist the throttle or not. In fact the fuel level didn't even change over night.