Left bike outside and now engine won't start

J

J Omega

New Member
So I drained all of the fuel out of my bike and left it sit outside overnight (during a light rain). Today, I tried starting it again and it won't even come close. Checked the spark plug and it was working. The fuel/air intake is clear. Emptied out the carb and refilled it. There is definitely compression.

The bike doesn't even make a light popping noise like it normally would when I peddled. Is there anything left to check?
 
Maybe water is in your kill switch......

Is the air filter completely soaked?

Good luck with your search!
 
How did you confirm that you have ignition? You said you "checked the spark plug".

I'd make sure that you have spark first then move onto fuel. Not knowing how much moisture the bike was exposed to I'd guess there might be water in your fuel tank. Did you check it before refilling the tank? Is fuel flowing from the tank to the carburetor?

Get back to us with what you find.

Tom
 
I would disconnect one of the wires coming from the kill switch pull it back where it cant touch the frame anywhere and try to start it.

Not sure what the reason for draining all the fuel out was and not sure what you mean by refilling the carb, but as Tom pointed out you should make sure that fuel is flowing from tank to carb and by very slowly unscrewing the small screw on bottom of the carb bowl see if you actually are getting fuel into the carb, you don't have to take the screw all the way out and be sure to close petcock valve from tank first also.
if you choke the engine and do a good bit of pedaling and it does nothing, you should then check the spark plug and see if it is wet with fuel, if it is dry then you likely have a fuel issue with carb jet being plugged up most likely, but if the spark plug is wet with fuel, then most likely you have an ignition problem which could be several things but probably something simple, if you have some W-D 40 and I mean actual W-D 40 it is a water displacer ( W-D ) in the name means "Water Displacement 40th attempt".... just a little education for those who may not know this.
Anyway, spray around the spark plug wire where it goes into the CDI ignition box and you can even remove the magneto cover and spray the W-D 40 all in there, spray it into the kill switch by putting nozzle against edge of kill switch button on twist grip throttle if that is the type you have.


Hope this helps and goes along with the things that have been mentioned so far and remember that W-D 40 is not your friend when something need lubrication, but it can be your best friend when anything electrical like ignition gets wet......!

Peace, Map
reddd

WD-40_Smart_Straw.JPG


http://wd40.com/about-us/history/
 
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same thing happened to my friend's bike. Magneto was dead - Its a pretty common problem. I seal every motor I get with silicone around the mag cover. We put a new mag into his bike and it started up just fine.
 
Moto said:
same thing happened to my friend's bike. Magneto was dead - Its a pretty common problem. I seal every motor I get with silicone around the mag cover. We put a new mag into his bike and it started up just fine.
Click to expand...
Also seal the wire entry port. Squirt a little silicone sealant into the hole surrounding the ignition circuit wires where they exit the magneto compartment. That area is subject to water spray off the front wheel.

Tom
 
The kill switch is already disconnected. I did that before anything else. I also already removed the air filter to get rid of that variable.

I already checked that the carb was getting fuel. Also unscrewed the jet to make sure it wasn't clogged. Can see straight through it.

There is no water in the tank.

In order to be 100% certain that the plug was working, I actually removed the head and held it while I peddled to make sure that the plug was sparking. There is a consistent spark.
 
Don't leave it outside. My bike stays comfortably inside with me and my pup. I clean it up after every ride. I expect it to remain dependable for many years.
 
a spark plug can partially foul such that it will spark outside the motor, but not under compression in the motor

could there be water in the bottom of your motor?
 
A little topic tangent here; not everyone can park indoors. My family thinks I'm a bit weird and gets a bit annoyed when I bring in bikes (wintertime) to work on them. I manage to get away with quite a bit around here. But there are limits. If I tried to use this house as an actual garage, then my wife would get some kind of revenge on me. I'm sure of it.

But more to the point; you shouldn't have to go that far. Though these engines are a bit delicate, they're not that wimpy. Seal up that magneto housing, plus the clutch housing, and it should be able to stand some light summer rain. My motorized bicycles have endured worse than that.

I suspect that the trouble is not really rain related. Some component is not living up to its duties, it would seem. But I'll bet the rain is only coincidence.

The spark plug and the magneto sound like the likely suspects to me.
 
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