she won't fire up :(

We are birds of a feather then Apache...I love to tinker..with anything, I was brought up watching my Father repair sewing and knitting machines in England and I guess it rubbed off...I have just finished wrenching on my Old Hardley Davidson (Is what my motorized bicycle goes by) tightened up a few things, oiled a few others, I just strung that #41 chain that was spoken of, on to it and it looks allright. Proof is in the pudding, a trip to wobblypop shop should do it...

freewheeling frank said:

ya it is friday payday not working on anything tonite except a few barleypops!

Click to expand...

1. pull the plug and put a little gas in the plug hole to help prime the engine. Replace the plug and see if you start the engine. If no start, good possibility it is a Magneto or CDI problem.

2. change the plug out, the China Girl Plugs are not that good. Replace with a NGH BP6HS plug with about a .25 gap

3. do the spark plug test as some one mentioned here, plug on top of motor, move bike forward, see if you see any spark from the plug.

4. a real good consideration is to put a neoapreme "O Ring" between the the carb tube and the intake tube, to insure ther is no air leak so the cylinder. "O Ring" dimentions are 5/8 ID X 3/4 OD X 1/16 wall. The cylinder will not suck gas from the the carb, if there is an air leak. When you reattach the carb to the intake tube, press carb tube on firmly to get a good seal, and tighten the carb clamp

5. You may not be getting any engery from the Magneto, or the CDI. I had that problem resulted in no spark on the spark plug.

6. MOST IMPORTANT do not give give up. Take your time, stop and think it thru. You need fuel, compression, and spark to start the engine. My engine did not start at first. I tried all the comments and suggestions on this site. I had to replace the Magneto, and then the engine started with in 100 feet. It sure is fun when she runs, be sure you do not over speed the engine during the 1 st tank of fuel, break in the engine slowly.

GOOD LUCK WITH IT, HANG IN THERE, NEVER, NEVER QUIT. (Quote by Winston Churchill at a College Graduation Commencement Address)

Dave
Lakeland, Florida

I had this exact problem and it drove me nuts until I figured out my gas cap is not venting properly. Take the cap off and carefully remove the rubber seal and make sure that it is venting and if it is not time to drill some new vent holes. I actually drilled a hole right in the center of the cap and made a one way flapper valve to test it. Hopefully thats its

tank vent for sure glad you found the issue.

this place is great, i hope the above solves yer problam as i think it will, frank

First and foremost, before you start drilling and unscrewing stuff, go for the most simple and obvious, check your gasoline for any sign of water, pull off your fuel line from the carb and drain it into a clear or white bowl, look for the gas to float on the water, I have realized that it takes a good while to run even a tiny blob of water through these carbs to get back upto speed also it is damaging. I ran into a similar issue, It was brand new gas, but I had not purged my "older jerry can" and of course put, put, cough cough, quit quit. After piddling around a while I had to step back and think. If there is any sign of contamination, drain your fuel system and flush it, take the float bowl off your carb, (three screws, one to mount it, two on the float bowl) rinse it out and blow through the venturi. I find these lil Gems almost indestructible otherwise. I have mixed into my fuel some of that space age metal treatment stuff, slick fifty/prolong, ect,I run some through every couple of tanks.

1. check to see if the gas tank valve filter screen is clogged. I removed my and put a in gas line paper fuel cartiridge on the fuel hose.

2. yes vent the cap by drilling a small pencil lead size hole in the center of the gas cap. I would continue to use the rubber gas cap gasket, because it acts like a seal and helps to keep the cap from vibrating loost.

3. put a small "O Ring" in the carbs tube. It will help to seal a possible air leak at the carb and intake tube joint.

Good Luck, glad ya ll got it to run

Dave
Lakeland, Florida

Hey Joe: Glenn bye the way here...Just keep in mind its only a forum for ideas, a brilliant one, but a forum none the less. I got my "Hardley Davidson" running just fine for her maiden voyage, best ever. But today alas, that #41 chain that I tried (as per a suggestion) doesn't like my baby's drive sprocket nor the driven one either, it popped once on a bad deceleration the day before, today it derailed while pushing it in reverse..Wait, damn it, I just had a "EUREKA" moment, check my clutch plugs, I'll bet they are over due. I'm going to punch some out of the side wall of a tire and try a couple of pucks made of that...Here goes...

YAH-HOOOOO, Six miles, 12 kilometers, give or take a few meters, or three feet. If it will go round the block twice, it'll go to work, I'm looking to offset link this #40 chain if I have the stretch in it now, as it's p---ing me off now. I knew it's no use to try to re-engineer something too a point...Pain is Gain though if you Love Something....

Regarding the throttle control. For several years on a number of different motors including the China Girls I use minibike throttles which have worked very well, look good and have comfortable grips for the hands. I find mine on ebay.
Silverbear

Ah Hah...A cyber monkey..hahahahahha, I'm a find it in my shed kind of guy, if not, park it, someday , someone will come along. I think they have a reality show about me, called :Hoarders". I don't have, will not have, Credit cards. P.S, whats a "CELL" phone, hhaahahaha. Glenn.

+1 Bushpig

I hate cell phones and tbh - credit cards scare the piss outa me lol

Hey AH64Apache -

I hope your ride works for you. You sound like you have all the known bugs worked out.

Now just a suggestion that I make to everyone (especially parents of younger riders)... Make yourself VERY visible to the 4-wheel cagers. Example for myself: I have a white motorcycle helmet and a neon-bright yellow jacket I wear on EVERY ride. I intend to stand out like an eyesore when I am riding. Cager drivers tend to move away from me when dressed like this. When riding in darker hours (dawn and dusk), I ride wearing a orange vest with lots of reflective tape. Why riders wear black clothes at night is too much beyond me to comprehend. This town has a history of old people on medication running down bicycle riders.

I found too that if I stay under the speed limit and dress like the eyesore as described above, law officers just ignore me. I was dressed like this two weeks ago. I passed state police cruisers and county deputies in a low-speed zone traps; they just nodded or ignored me as I rode by. Later, I rolled up to two city policemen while on my bike (engine off) and asked for directions. They were as friendly as could be.

With this, I hope you enjoy running up the hundreds of miles your build is capable of doing!

MikeJ