newby start ups?

[barnicles]

Greetings all. looking for your expertise to help this newby start his bike.
I have an 03 kat 600 and have left it for over 2 month without any start ups(iknow. newby mistake ) battery is fully condtioned as I have it plugged into a battery tender.
I am just trying to get the bike to start but it will not. it seems to spit out puffs thru pipe but the engine will not engage and stay on.
is the carburator flooded?
are there specific steps that I missed?

PLease helllp please.:0

[Mr. Clean]

Well the first thing you need to do is drain the gas tank. The fuel is most likely bad. Next drain the bowls on the carburetors. Then replace the spark plugs. You could just try the spark plugs first but I'll bet you a cheese sandwich the fuel is bad. If it is the bike will run for a little while until 1 of 2 things happens. 1 your burn off all the bad gas, or 2 you burn some of the bad gas and foul out another set of spark plugs. #2 is the more likely outcome.


BTW Welcome to KR!

[The CyberPoet]

I agree with Mr. Clean's advice. Odds are you have three issues happening:

1. The fuel in the carbs is partially evaporated, leaving both fuel residues (gummy substances) in the interior and leaving you with gas that doesn't want to detonate. Setting the fuel selector to prime can sometimes overcome this by flooding the carbs with fresh fuel, provided the fuel in the gas tank is still good. In your case, it probably isn't. In the future, use a fuel stabilizer product before parking off the bike for a month or more at a pop, and drain the carbs empty at that time. Note also that bacteria in the fuel has degraded it further by eating some of the chemical compounds over the past two months, so evaporation isn't the only issue causing the old fuel to go bad.

2. Condensation creating water in the gas tank, and subsequently in the carbs. The higher the fuel level in the tank, the less air is there to form condensation, and thus the less water the system has to deal with. Draining the tank and carbs is the right way to get it out, although some users have claimed sucess with water-emulsion products, such as STP's all season water remover. Given that your gas is a couple months old, draining it is the only good solution.

3. The plugs are probably fouled now from trying to start it repeatedly with bad fuel.

My advice:
Drain the tank and carbs. Do not reuse this fuel (if you do reuse it, do so by mixing one gallon in with a full tank full of new fuel in your car, burning through it a gallon at a time).
Swap the plugs.
Buy a bottle of techron fuel system cleaner and the best high-detergent gas you can find (Chevron, Shell System V, etc.). Use a third of a bottle of techron and fill up a full tank of the good gas; this will help clean out any remaining residues.
Try it again.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[KatanaO215]

you could try moving the petcock to prime for about 15 seconds, they attempt to restart it.

Clean and Poet are probably right, but you might just need to prime it

[BeekMan]

you could try moving the petcock to prime for about 15 seconds, they attempt to restart it.

Clean and Poet are probably right, but you might just need to prime it

Have you also been using the choke? If not, do. If that doesn't work then do all the work listed above.

[trinc]

you MAY get away with using starting fluid. a second or two of spray into the air filter MAY get the bike to start. (with the choke ON)

2 months is right on the edge for gas. i'd add fuel cleaner and burn that tank through - then change the oil.

tim

[md86]

Maybe see if anyone's in the area and might be willing to swing by to have a look . I would if you were near here . Find some motorcycle friends who'd take you under their wing . Best way to learn this stuff . Of course , you'll get the next best thing here !

[barnicles]

gees thank you all. I have been reading these post for a while now and know your advices are priceless. you guys are great. thank you.

[SweetLou]

what area are you in?

[barnicles]

sunny las vegas hehe! lucky for me.

now another question.... draining the tank, which method is the best?
owner manual does not cover any of that, just the removal of the tank to get to the air cleaner. if I unplug the fuel hose, won't the fuel leak all over?
great thanks for all your inputs.

[The CyberPoet]

sunny las vegas hehe! lucky for me.

now another question.... draining the tank, which method is the best?
owner manual does not cover any of that, just the removal of the tank to get to the air cleaner. if I unplug the fuel hose, won't the fuel leak all over?
great thanks for all your inputs.

Get about four feet of fuel line. Ensure the petcock is set to "ON". Without removing the tank, disconnect the fuel line at the petcock and replace it with the new line. Run the other end of the hose into a five gallon gas can set on the ground next to the bike (so the hose is down-hill the whole way). Switch the petcock to "PRIME", and the fuel should start pouring out. Open the filler cap to speed the process. Once the tank is as empty as you can get it that way, you can take it off and shake out any remaining fuel -- and then check for rust & debris... Set the tank aside and start heading for the carbs

If you find rust: How to deal with rust in your motorcycle's gas tank

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[suited_duces]

I left the gas in my tank all winter and it started up right away in the spring. There wasn't even any hesitation. I guess I just got lucky. Good luck.