[LarryInSeattle]

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I had to push the starter button several times before she popped back fired as loud as a gun shot... and then it caught and started. I have ridden it 1700 miles since leaving home a week ago without any problems starting or anything.

I stopped at a car parts store and bought a can of seafoam and put half of it in a full tank and rode it 350 miles today.

I will put the 1/4 of the can in tomorrow morning on a full tank and finish with the same dosage on the next fill.

I have 1400 miles to go before I am back to California.

Any thoughts?


.

 

[Oregonwinger]

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Did it crank at normal speed? How long had it sat, when this pop reared it's ugly head? Like 10 mins, an hour? Fuel in exhaust? Was the tank full at the time?

 

[tnoort]

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Oregonwinger wrote:

Did it crank at normal speed?

Pertinent question.............I had one experience with mine when the battery was pretty flat and it would just crank..........and crank...........and crank......not quite enough to start.............POW!

More than a little disconcerting........I got off to see if my mufflers were still intact........AND it didn't start!

T.

 

[LarryInSeattle]

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Oregonwinger wrote:

Did it crank at normal speed? How long had it sat, when this pop reared it's ugly head? Like 10 mins, an hour? Fuel in exhaust? Was the tank full at the time?

Had not run for 3 days in the cold and rain in Mission Tx. Damp. Tank was full. Full choke and hit the starter like I normally do. My battery is a gel, new in March of 2011.

The bike cranked like it always had. Just didn't start. I stopped cranking after 5 or 6 seconds..... let it rest for a few seconds and did it again.

After it was warm, it started at first push on the starter.

 

[AZgl1800]

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It just loaded up with more fuel in the carbs and cylinders than it needed with all that cranking.

When mine does the same as you are talking about, I give it 15 seconds or more rest in between start attempts.

Still, I sometimes get the pop sound.
Nothing to worry about.

 

[newday777]

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How old are the plugs? You also might have a plug wire leakage

 

[Dusty Boots]

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Sometimes mine will be reluctant to start in high altitude (>7,000')when it's been shut down for an hour or two after a long, hot run, as they are running richer in those conditions and will take more cranking to fire up, but it's never backfired.

Also, when 1st started for the day in altitudes > 5,000' and full choke applied, it rarely revs > 2,000 RPM, no matter how long I leave the choke/enrichener on for, while it normally runs over 3,000 rpm when closer to sea level if left running for the same amount of timeand I don't reduce the choke lever.

 

[Rudy]

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I'm suspecting possible leaking shutoff valve with one or more float valves leaking as well.

 

[LarryInSeattle]

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Dusty Boots wrote:

Sometimes mine will be reluctant to start in high altitude (>7,000')when it's been shut down for an hour or two after a long, hot run, as they are running richer in those conditions and will take more cranking to fire up, but it's never backfired.

Also, when 1st started for the day in altitudes > 5,000' and full choke applied, it rarely revs > 2,000 RPM, no matter how long I leave the choke/enrichener on for, while it normally runs over 3,000 rpm when closer to sea level if left running for the same amount of timeand I don't reduce the choke lever.

Thanks Ken.

This happened at just a few hundred feet of sea level. I had traveled as high as 5,000 ft when going through New Mexico and across Texas.

I am at 900 ft this morning and will be starting the bike for the ride to Alpine, Ft. Davis, Van Horn, and then through El Paso.

Hopefully it will pop right off and I will be good to go. It is chilly here today, so I will br running full electrics today. Coat, gloves, chaps and boot liners.

 

[LarryInSeattle]

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Rudy wrote:

I'm suspecting possible leaking shutoff valve with one or more float valves leaking as well.

Your comment suggests that it is flooding before I walk up to the bike. So, leave the throttle alone and just put on the full choke when starting it?

Thanks for your comment.

Larry

 

[Dusty Boots]

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larryinseattle wrote:

Rudy wrote:

I'm suspecting possible leaking shutoff valve with one or more float valves leaking as well.

Your comment suggests that it is flooding before I walk up to the bike. So, leave the throttle alone and just put on the full choke when starting it?

Thanks for your comment.

Larry

Yes ... leave the throttle alone, for when you twist it the least little amount you are injecting fuel down the throats of the carbs (accelerator pump), which could very well be causing an overly rich starting condition with excess fuel dripping down the carbs and into the exhaust , igniting it when your bike does fire, causing the backfire.

Just use the choke and no throttle.

If the same condition exists when you fire it up this morning with no throttle, then you are most likelygetting fuel leakage from either/all of those areasas Rudy suggests.


larryinseattle wrote:

Hopefully it will pop right off and I will be good to go. It is chilly here today, so I will br running full electrics today. Coat, gloves, chaps and boot liners.

Another thought..... have you been running your heated gear a lot lately, is your alternator OEM and lastly, do you have a volt meter on your bike?

 

[AVA AUTO TECH]

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You said it sat for three days in damp weather. As said on one of the above posts, check and replace you plug wires when you get home. Enjoy your trip.:action:

 

[LarryInSeattle]

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Dusty Boots wrote:

larryinseattle wrote:

Rudy wrote:

I'm suspecting possible leaking shutoff valve with one or more float valves leaking as well.

Your comment suggests that it is flooding before I walk up to the bike. So, leave the throttle alone and just put on the full choke when starting it?

Thanks for your comment.

Larry

Yes ... leave the throttle alone, for when you twist it the least little amount you are injecting fuel down the throats of the carbs (accelerator pump), which could very well be causing an overly rich starting condition with excess fuel dripping down the carbs and into the exhaust , igniting it when your bike does fire, causing the backfire.

Just use the choke and no throttle.

If the same condition exists when you fire it up this morning with no throttle, then you are most likelygetting fuel leakage from either/all of those areasas Rudy suggests.


larryinseattle wrote:

Hopefully it will pop right off and I will be good to go. It is chilly here today, so I will br running full electrics today. Coat, gloves, chaps and boot liners.

Another thought..... have you been running your heated gear a lot lately, is your alternator OEM and lastly, do you have a volt meter on your bike?

It has a digital meter and a compufire alternator. I used the electrics most of the entire trip. The meter read 13.3 to 13.5 when running down the road with the gear plugged in.

 

[LarryInSeattle]

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I used a can of Seafoam after having the hard start problem. Half of the can in the first tank of gas and .25 for the 2nd and .25 for the third, the next day. Never had a problem after that.

Thanks for all the replies. I am home now and bike is on a solar battery tender. 4000 miles later, all is good.