Ok, I give up. How do you start these things?!

S

sterno666

New Member
I got my kit from zoombicycles monday and I have been screwing with it all week! I had a bit of a hard time getting the rear wheel/sprocket trued up. Now I can not get this thing started. The kit had the worst installation instructions and the wiring instructions were worse than that. I found a wiring diagram on here but I still am not sure if it's right.

I have engine experience, but not much with 2 stroke. I've been wrenching on motorcycles and car for years.

How fast do you need to get going to get it started? I've seen videos online where people have to pedal half a block and I've seen guys just lift the rear wheel and kickstart.

Any input?
 
make sure choke is on when you try to start. i couldnt get mine to start unless i did. shouldnt need to go fast or far at all
 
assuming it's all hooked up right...

the idle screw on the carb should be unscrewed about 3.5 to 4.5 turns.

make sure the petcocks are turned on. newer carbs have one on the carb, and the one on the tank. lever points in the direction of flow.

pull the choke lever up all the way and push the primer button in a few times.

start pedaling, get up a good amount of speed and drop the clutch.

hopefully, it'll start sputtering to life. keep pedaling a little more. if it tries to fire but won't stay running, mess with the choke a bit. if it won't idle, mess with the screw a bit.

I've had 4 bikes that all start different. one you can basically kickstart, one needs to be roling a little, and one takes 50feet (that one runs the best.)

that's the basics, anyways.
 
Yes bairdco and just to add to that, my bike needs the choke up and I only have to pedal a few times (maybe 10 feet) and pop the clutch. Then it starts to fire but it won't fully start running until I put the choke back down to the off position and then it takes off.
 
I recently purchased a ZoomBicycles slant head. the only real complaint I had was that whatever was used to secure the screws on the gear cover was too strong. easily stripped the soft screws used to secure it. had to drill through the three heads to solve this problem.
It has seemed to me that these kits (not just zb) will sputter to life just before you're ready to give up. just when you think you've been had, buuuurrpppp, putputput...
can you hear the piston turning over when you release the clutch?
maybe try half choke?
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'll try all this stuff. It's 98 degrees here with about 60% humidity, so my patientice gets thin quick like ninja. I'll give it a shot tomorrow and let y'all know.
 
I am in the same boat! I'm on my second tank and I am to olllld for this . I had no trouble starting TO the store but hadda be hauled back, The clutch wouldn't fully turn off and I didn't have the pedal strength to start it.

WHO's got the best deal on a PULL start and am I dreaming in hopes THAT will solve my "LABOR-PROBLEM"
 
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I had a similar problem at first because the install instructions suck. You need to pull the clutch rod that comes off the top of the engine in more than 90 degrees when you lock the clutch handgrips. It needs to be at 90 when the handgrip is out fully.
 
Ok, none of that worked. Still no bueno.

I can hear the piston moving when I pedal in gear and it sounds like it's getting compression. If I push the primer on the carb enough, gas floods out so the carb is getting gas. I disconnected the kill switch completely so only the cdi is plugged in, black to black and blue to blue. There's gas in it and the chain has only around 1/2" of play. I've tried kicking it and riding it for about 100" with the choke open, halfway, and closed.

I'm real close to trading it to a neighborhood kid for cutting my grass.
 
Does it give you any sign of firing like a pop here and there or no sign at all? If you are just a little more patient it will be worth it. We will help you get to the bottom of this.
 
There's no pops louder that the piston breaking compression. Then again, I have no idea how loud these engines should be.
 
Have you taken the spark plug out and checked for spark by rooling the bike w/the motor turning over
 
make sure the fuel flows while you're riding, one time I forgot to turn on the fuel, (first time I ever ran the engine) and it started running, brand new kit but it wasn't making much power, I wonder why :)
 
I pulled the plug and no spark. I switched plugs and I think there's spark. I'm working by myself and it's really bright (and hot) so spark is hard to see but I heard spark on the new plug and not the old one.

For a little less than one second, I thought I had it running. Maybe now it's the carbs?

It's just too damned hot for me to work on it for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. And now I have to go to work. Maybe I'll get it running tomorrow.....
 
True, the engine may be loaded up with fuel now. If you have spark, try starting it without the choke on, throttle opened all the way. Give her as much air as possible to get the excess fuel out of her.
 
Use a socket adapter and spin the magneto nut. Spin it top to the right, the same way you would turn the nut to tighten it.

Edit: hold the drill tight as when you come up on the compression stroke there will be resistance.
 
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