Engine flooded...need help

[frankman20]

Ok, I put the bike away last night and this morning I went to fire it up and noticed the smell of gas.  I look down and the switch was on prime.  I leaked about a gallon onto the floor.  I then proceeded to take the plugs out and crank the starter, gas flew out like the bike was a squirt gun.  I burned the plugs off and put them back in.  I tried to start it and it just cranked and cranked.  My guess is that there is still a great deal of gas in the cylinders so I have the plugs out so it can air out....does it sound like im on the right track?  is there anyway I can speed up the process?  Thanks....I'm new to all this stuff

[spdracer75]

Once you get the bike running, it would be wise to change the oil and filter.

All the gas running down the cylinders probably thinned it out  a good deal.

You did set the fuel valve back to on right?

All I can say is to let it air out a bit, maybe with the plugs out of it,  crank it over some with the throttle held open, just to try to flush some of the excess gas in the carbs out.

However, I think some people with the problem you are having wind up having some other carb problem like stuck floats or something after finding a huge puddle of gas on the floor.

Also.  check the tank.. make sure you still have gas left in it.

Other people may be of more advice than I would be to proceed further.

[frankman20]

Yeah I have the valve back on the "on" position.  I think im going to need to rebuild the carb sometime soon, but the bike should start....I'm hoping once the cylinders dry out.  Thanks for the help.....I would also appreciate any other ideas or comments.

[Jasco]

Try cranking with the throttle open.  This has worked for me before, but will not fix the problem that caused it to flood to begin with.

[frankman20]

you mean crank at full throttle with the plugs out....right?

[Sportbilly]

Any time you think you've flooded, bike tip over, choke too high to start etc, crank it with the throttle WFO (no choke), no need to remove the plugs if it's not too bad.  Provided you have enough juice in the battery, it'll clear out and start to fire when the mix in the chamber gets just about right.

[frankman20]

I'll give it a try it a bit here and see how it turns out..

[frankman20]

I just tried cranking it with no luck,  I pulled the plugs with the wires still attached and noticed that I wasn't getting any spark.  I have the plugs gapped at .8mm....anyone have any ideas?

[BadBatzMaru]

its not enough to have the wires attached, the plug still needs to contact the engine to complete the circuit. The engine is the ground for the sparkplugs, try it again and hold the plug (w/ wires connected) with the metal ring (that normally rests on the cylinder head) on the engine and see if you get a spark. Whenever I've flooded, I just take out the plugs crank it a few times to get the excess gas out of the cylinders (like you said comes flyin out) and then put the plugs back in.. give it throttle while you start and voila.

[Steve500F]

Just a reminder...make sure you're well ventilated while dealing with gas and spark.

[frankman20]

im letting the bike set out in the sun for awhile to get it warm...then im going to give it another shot....I dont want to keep cranking and cranking and end up burning up the starter

[frankman20]

Ok, heres what im doing.  I turn the choke off and start to crank the bike without any throttle after a few seconds I kick the throttle back to full the the bike jumps up to 1k rpms...sounding like it wants to start but dies down and does not go any higher  (I have the bike jumped off of a car battery) any other ideas??

[BadBatzMaru]

is there any gas left?

[frankman20]

Theres gas left,  I check the plugs and im getting spark, after I crank for awhile gas starts to leak out of the muffler.  I checked the oil and it as as thin as gas.  im going to go grab some more oil and change it....i doubt the oil would have to do with it starting or would it??  I'm going to go change it now....I'll be back in a bit

[frankman20]

I changed the oil and she fired up.  Theres tons of smoke coming out of the exhaust.  I had it runnin for like 2 min and it was like a smoke bomb going off.  I decided to shut it down to give it a rest....the smoking is just the oil and gas in the cyl. burning off right?

[Steve500F]

I changed the oil and she fired up.  Theres tons of smoke coming out of the exhaust.  I had it runnin for like 2 min and it was like a smoke bomb going off.  I decided to shut it down to give it a rest....the smoking is just the oil and gas in the cyl. burning off right?

...and probably a lot of the gas/oil that got in the muffler

Glad to hear she's running

[frankman20]

which way do you turn the idle adjustment knob to increase the idle? Thanks in advance

[Kerry]

which way do you turn the idle adjustment knob to increase the idle? Thanks in advance

Since the knob is "upside down" it can get confusing if someone says to turn it clockwise or counterclockwise.

To increase the idle, use the same motion you would use to tighten a regular screw or a jar lid.  It might help if you close your eyes and let your hand just DO it.

PS - If you get it wrong and the idle decreases ... um ... turn it the other way.  :mrgreen:

[frankman20]

I got this bike running somewhat.  Whenever I get to roughly 5-6k the bike looses power, the pitch of the engine becomes much lower and sometimes it even kicks the rpms down like its gonna die.  I put 6 quarts of oil in the case...It looks full on the dipstick, but its hard to tell...did I put too much in.  Also my battery is pretty low on charge...would this have anything to do with the power loss occurring around 5k?? Thanks a lot....

[BadBatzMaru]

6 QUARTS?!!!!! Thats a lot. Should only put in ~3 when you change the oil... Drain 3 quarts.