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I am not very good at working on motorcycles so I need someone’s help. I have a 1997 Suzuki Marauder that will not start. I started it about two months ago and it was running really funny almost like it didn’t have enough power. So I put a little gas in it and it ran just fine. Now two months later I go to start it and it will not start. It is close to wintertime here in Indiana so I just wanted to start it one last time and then fill the tank with gas and some stabilizer. It turns over but will not start. I charged the battery and took the spark plugs out and looked at them. Both of the plugs were pretty black, I had an extra plug, which was new so I put it in, and then I put in the better of the two plugs. Still the bike will not start, it turns over but it just will not fire. I put a new set of slip on pipes on the bike about 5 months ago and I never jetted it, could this be the problem? The bike only backfired like once or twice and it always seemed to run fine once it was warmed up, heck I even thought it was running a little better after I put on the pipes. Does anyone know what might be going on or have an idea of what to try to get the bike to fire up? Please any info would be great, I just want to start the bike one last time before winter gets here. Thanks all.

try the gyrometer fluctuater, or maybe its the gizmo-solenoid connection...

sorry, honestly i have no idea...take it to a shop? maybe theyll just look at it and tell you whats wrong and you can fix it yourself so its cheaper. you sound like your pretty handy.

stranger1147 wrote:try the gyrometer fluctuater, or maybe its the gizmo-solenoid connection...

sorry, honestly i have no idea...take it to a shop? maybe theyll just look at it and tell you whats wrong and you can fix it yourself so its cheaper. you sound like your pretty handy.

Otherfun makeup words "Rammersham, Aft-Drive Bearing, and Fusion Coupler"

Anyway, I am limited in my technical prowess, but I didn't see you mention alternator anywhere in there. Did you check that?

Might want to clean up the carb... And yeah, if the plugs are black, good sign you're running too rich for the pipes you put on. So yeah, rebuild the carb and make sure you put in that stabilizer and all.
Wrider

I don't know about the effect of your new pipes, but if you're not riding your bike on a regular basis, even in the summer, 1) add fuel stabilizer with every tank of gas, and 2) put your battery on a trickle charge all the time, such as a Battery Tender Jr.

Replace both dirty plugs, and charge your battery up overnight. If not a maintenance free battery, ensure that the battery has enough distilled water for each cell. Try starting your bike tomorrow. Remember to turn on the fuel. If it does not start and you know the battery's good then you need a carb clean, a messy and expensive (if you send it to a shop) process.

You also can't just start the bike up, warm it up at idle and then shut down. This simply uses precious battery power at startup and the battery can't replenish itself. Do this enough times without a trickle charger and you'll end up with a bike that can't start. You need to ride your bike for 20-30 mins at 2,000 RPM or higher (much higher than idle) so that the alternator can recharge your bike.

Have you verified you're getting spark?

How do I verify I am getting a spark? Also can I rebuild the carb without a jet kit?

You check by grounding the plug and/or wire. Be careful! Also, check that timing is set properly as per the manufacturer's specs. If timing is set right and you have spark for all cylinders, then check the A/F mixture. Check if it fires up and runs w/ a bit of starting fluid. If it starts up w/ starting fluid, then I would check for vacuum leaks, then run a compression test if ya don't find any leaks, then check out the carbs if there's good compression. IMO, rebuilding them will probably be the most expensive/time consuming (unless it has bad compression), so ya might as well check the other possibilities first. Especially the free ones.

How old is the battery? I bet it may still have original battery. You maybe getting spark but if your plugs are black maybe not enough. Charging system okay?

It won't hurt to clean the carb either. How old was the gas before you let it set 2 months? Not to be rude but how much stabilzer did you put in it? Try to do the inexpensice things first. Work your way up....or take it to the shop. What the heck?

Wrider wrote:Might want to clean up the carb... And yeah, if the plugs are black, good sign you're running too rich for the pipes you put on. So yeah, rebuild the carb and make sure you put in that stabilizer and all.
Wrider

Carbs would be my bet too, but I wouldn't necessarly look at changing the air/fuel mixture, untill you have the bike running properly and doing rides of at least a few miles on it.

Just starting a bike up, without riding it for a few minutes is always gonna leave a layer of black deposit on the plugs, which normally gets burnt off when you add more revs, and turn the choke off (ie like when you leave your garage ond go ride it somewhere).

Start the bike up a few times without really warming the bike up and burning the carbon deposits off again, and those layers build up

Take a wire brush, and take 10 seconds just to quickly clean the black carbon off the plug tips, (making sure that the gap in the tip is clear of any debris before you put them back in the bike, and clean out the carbs.