Total Motorcycle Community Forums

This makes zero sense to me.

I am assuming there's nothing wrong with the engine as it's been running fine.

I push the starter and the motor starts running for a split second then dies.
Illogically when I try and start it again this joke excuse for a motor flatly refuses to start, and I am running the ignition for as long as 15 seconds, shaking the bike violently up and down, everything, and all it gives me is that stupid starter sound.

It even started running again then once again wouldn't.

What do I do to make this thing start?

hmmm.... probably a stupid question, but hows the fuel, and the petcock?

Set to on, then I set it to reserve in case it was low.
Neither did anything.

There's gas in the tank.

pull the line off the carbs and see if you have flow. maybe an airlock somewhere. spark?

If the bike failed to start would they be flooded?

they could just be right fouled up from something, check them.

By the way how much time does a battery have worth of running the starter?

Ummm, mine lasted a few minutes of on and off before I killed it, when you start to hear it slowing, stop. *L

it could fail to start because it's flooded. It takes 3 things for the motor to work. Spark, Fuel, and Air. Fuel and Air are controlled by the carbs, so draining those, and re-priming them (start it set to reserve if there's no prime on the petcock) and trying to start it. Though the easier thing to check first is Spark. Pop a plug wire off a plug, stick a paper clip in the plug wire, hold it 1/4 inch from top of plug, and try to start it. If you see a spark, it's probably not that. But try it with BOTH plugs to be sure, as it may not start if one plug is shot. Now, i duno about Mikuni carbs, but if you've got Kehein carbs on that thing, the bottom of the carb unscrews, draining the bowl. Make sure you hold something under it, or you'll get fuel all over the bike. If that stuff doesn't work, the starter may be shot.

Cylinders could be flooded, not the carbs. If nothing else works, pull out the spark plugs and run the starter for a second, that will empty the cylinders.