battery went dead from difficult starting due to i think leaky/clogged from bad gas

[maestro]

again bike sat some 5 yrs with gas in tank,,,,yes since ive had i got it started,,,,smoke everywhere,,,but it all burned out,,, oil treatments and gas treatments applied,,new plugs filter and oil filter,,,used seafoam in gas,,,guess doesnt take over night to work,,,but has shown some improvement,,,use to have to leave choke wide open and prime engaged befor it would start,,,now just choke and i can even turn that down now but while sitting it will randomly idle high then down,,then high and then back down like youve just started it letting it warm up,,so some improvement,,It cut off when apprching a stop sign today,,,battery was ok at that point but wouldnt start,,the more i tried battery died more,,,so off i go pushing home some like 5-6 blocks,,,few up hills,,,when i got close to home on back road i cut between neighbors yard savein atleast 2 blocks,,was embarrassed,,but i held my head high,,,think my chances of seafoam alone working are slim i dont know doesnt hurt to pray for a miracle,,about two days ago i put 1/2 seafoam in a 1/2 tank 93 octane and have ridden it atleast 10-15 miles or start and let run when raining ...what im doing is just starting it atleast and letting idle while parked if i cant ride and let run for a while,,,or ride say 5,10 or 15min gettn it nice and warm,,,will apply the other half of seafoam when this runs out or close to it,,,,i think fuel filter ill replace this week,,im trying all i can befor the ultimate the guy coming next week to come get carbs and take home with him,money is tight ,,,guess we all know this !,,hopefully just a good cleaning,,,carbs were leakingsome saw it today gas glistning on bottom of carb took my finger and touched and smelled and yep gas so means new gaskets ,,but its worth it ,im told about pet cock possibly being defective what are some symptoms please share and is there any indication from what ive mentioned so far indicating this ??,,anything else to try guys before he takes my carbs for repair or cleaning please do share,,,seafoam can only make gas line better am i right??let me know guys thanks,,,maestro oh yeah can i jump start my bike from my truck or do u suggest taking battery out and having charged,,,and how does battery stay charged while riding is this correct,,think battery died due to me leaving on cut on button sorry this is my first bike be gentle fellas wont do it again trial and error i guess!?

[Duo Maxwell]

I actually read some of your post but I highly recommend you take a minute to actually format your words so it is marginally possible to read them.

If you don't spend any time asking your question why the hell is anyone here going to spend 10 minutes picking apart your post to help you out?

Here's a FAQ for you on forum posting.

1. Research your problem and try to have a general understanding of things before you post.
---Almost all your questions are answered on google.
2. Ask your question and when you do...make sure your post is readable and displays some sort of effort in its writing. Also, showing that you've done some legwork (googlework) yourself helps as well.

I'll go ahead and spoon feed you some things for the time being but next time work on making your posts readable.

1. Yes, you can jump your bike off of your truck...pretty much all automotive batteries (if not all) are 12V nowadays.
2. Kats are made to run on regular 87 gas...putting 93 in won't make a difference.
3. If you keep raping a dieing battery...a deep discharge will result and you're pretty much better off buying a new battery at that point.
4. If your Kat is sick...respect it and wait for it to be fixed before riding the hell out of it.
5. Pretty much all of your problems point to dirty carbs. When a bike does that idle dance it's usually because the pilot jet (the jet the injects fuel when you have no throttle open to keep the bike running) is dirty and needs cleaned. You can clean your carbs yourself and it takes about half an hour to get them off, 2-3 hours to clean them, then half an hour to put them back on.
---You will need a bottle of carb/throttle body cleaner and a set of jet needles. Both of these can be had at any self-respecting bike shop for 10 dollars each.
6. I'm not sure what gasket you are talking about...the rubber between the carbs and the motor don't go bad too often...before buying my bike it had been sitting for a year and it is an 89 kat with 21k miles on it. Wait for that guy to come down and he'll tell you what you need to know.
7. If the bike starts and runs well enough for you to ride it I doubt your petcock is out. The gas source for your carbs isn't the gas tank directly...the bowls in your carbs fill up with gas and that's where the carbs get their gas. There is a float inside each bowl that opens and closes a valve to let gas in. It's like a toilet basically.

I was in the same position as you about 3 weeks ago. Battery dead, rough idle, dieing with no choke. I didn't really know that much about bikes but with a some poking around and a LOT of googling, I've learned a lot.


Summary: Research and format your post next time.
-Gabriel

[Trackerrrr]

Word of warning, DO NOT jump your Kat off a running car or truck!!!! The car/truck alternator will fry your electrics. Jump off the battery with the vehicle off. You've been warned.

[scottynoface]

Word of warning, DO NOT jump your Kat off a running car or truck!!!! The car/truck alternator will fry your electrics. Jump off the battery with the vehicle off. You've been warned.

Seriously, DONT DO IT!

[maestro]

duo i will definately shorten post,thanks for your time and info

so i will put myself in check of legnth of post,your right,,,i guess i jus have alot im tryn to find out,,,like you only 2 weeks and ive learned a ton,,enough so that i know its carb cleaning time,was gonna try what i read in a post seafoam put in fuel line which will go directly to carbs,,,im jus trying things befor the ultimate carbs pulled and cleaned with new needles.

No i havent been riding the h#*! out of it at all have put seafoam in with a couple of gallons of gas seeing if it improves and it did but still runs on choke some with choke off but not long,cleaning is whatr ill do,,,thanks hows this for short!is for short and seperated,,,, one last thing what makes some gas just a drop come from one of the small drip hoses on right side center below the exhaust,there are two of them

[scottynoface]

You're not riding around with the choke on are you?

[maestro]

scott,,i rode the bike whn i purchased,,and,,

during that time,when i realized it was the carbs that need cleaning etc. was wheni realized it not only would only be ridden with choke fully on and fuel valve on prim,yes i know gas was pouring into carbs with this,,,but actually since adding gas treatment,and changed oil ad filter and plugs,periodically id try it riding one block to see if its any diffrent,,,periodically it can run without choke but soon will cut off,,

so for purposes of trying to eval the situation test riding one block not driving around the neighbor hood or else where like bike has no troubles,once rode several blocks and it shut off and never restarted,battery run down from difficult starting resulted in me pushing bike back home several blocks,,,definately needs cleaning no more evaluations also a guy said it was skipping ,prob because one or two plugs getting too much gas..from being on choke too long or prime.

[Slofuze]

Wow. Not incureable, but getting the carbs cleaned/rebuilt might be a good idea. A new battery would also be in order. It sounds like you're dropping a cylinder or two because of fouled plugs due to all the gas. Perhaps pulling the plugs and letting it sit a few days might help. I'm not a mechanic, but I suffered from a weak battery before.

[maestro]

slofuse! battery is new,was just run down due to difficult starting

also plugs are new,but im thinking because so much gas is involved with starting and keeping it running to ride 1 block for evaluation,dude listened to it today a good friend of mine and noticed 1st off it was skipping and he said was prob a plug or two prob getting to much gas,ultimately im gonna have carbs pulled and cleaned and or pieces or parts replaced.

but slo what im doing is trying things to try to break the gunk in the carb useing seafoam,,im told to pour directly into fuel line so it get directly to the carbs and let it set for a day or even longer depends on how gunky it is,have heard great reviews about this working,not sure if it will help but a cheap way that possibly could work.yes having on choke to ride for evaluation and even still cutting off is a definate sign carbs fouled and thinking about it; having it on prime is definate too much fuel to be riding on,i will get to the bottom come what may.

Its a nice bike only 1800 miles and outside visual is definately showroom,been offered 3000.00 from first look and they didnt know any trouble and its a 98 gsx600f katana,guess fair to say clean as a whistle but dirty as H!@$,,,yes looks that good,garaged kept,,,thanks dude!let me know more if you know more..

[DumbLuck]

first tip : read the directions on the seafoam can. one can will treat around 30 gallons of gas so half a can to 3 gallons is WAY WAY WAY too much. drain the tank and float bowls and start over with fresh gas. clean clean clean them carbs. takes more than just seafoam to clean the teeny tiny passages and jets. NEVER EVER try to reem them out with some sort of metal wire if they're blocked, and only do one carb at a time. as the skoot sat for 5 years, the brake flulid is prolly snot and badly in need of changing. going fast dont matter if you cant stop. bet the chain needs serious attention too.

FYI: while 12 volts is 12 volts, there is a huge difference between 14 cranking amps and 800+ cranking amps. go ahead and jump your bike off a car battery, but dont whine and complain when your electronics fry