Won’t start after a wash

[ignatiuz99]

Maybe? Still a noob in the moto world. Where/what would the carb vents look like? I was pretty cautious when washing but I didn’t get the engine area pretty heavily, wrapped the pods with towels and made sure nothing got in there

[ignatiuz99]

Just started it up with starter fluid, got a couple of pops as to be expected. As soon as I put it into first it dies. Whats the common senses with that?

[rphillips]

Not being there it's hard to imagine how & what was done. When it started did you use choke? Did you just let it idle and gradually decrease the choke as the rpm's rose as it was warming up? Did it start and keep idling without choke? did you gently rev the eng. to 3 or 4 K while it was up? was it warm and idling fine and when put in 1st it instantly died or was it idling fine in 1st and died when you started to pull away?

[ignatiuz99]

Pretty much yes to everything above. Started in neutral, let it idle for a little and warm up with choke out, gradually put choke back in, revd it a little and it sounded fine. Doesn’t idle in first. Had it in N, clutch in, went down to first and died. No jolt, just died

[Rob S.]

APE pods are nice. You might want to check to see if they have the proper size for your bike...

APE pods are on my bike (11EZ). Look great and were half the cost of K&Ns.

[rphillips]

No jolt means not a stick'in clutch. Well did it do this more than once? Maybe try to get it running and put it from neutral to 2nd instead of 1st.... Wondering if filters are back on as they were when running fine before wash job.

[ignatiuz99]

It did do it more than once. Then the battery died, charging it up right now and I’m gonna try again after I hit a good lift. Pods were also put back on so the pods are not the issue. Again just to break it down
-put the pods back on
-starter fluid
-started in neutral
-went into first the died (multiple times)
- and I may be going crazy and a seriously stupid question but it caught my eye. Now after the wash it was to roll forward when starting from first, back tire is getting power. This didn’t happen before. Is this common?

[rphillips]

There will always be a slight drag in the clutch when in gear & clutch pulled in, but you said when you had it running and shifted into 1st no jolt, just died, if clutch too tight there should have been a noticeable jolt. I dun'no, May try, put on center stand & get it started in neutral, now to 1st, & see what happens. If eng. doesn't die, with clutch pulled in mash rear brake enough to stop rear wheel & if eng. dies clutch is dragging too much.... Only thing electrical in there while shifting to first is gear position wires, can't see anything there shorting out ign. system.

[LAB3]

If I'm not mistaken the gear indicator position over rides the neutral safety switch in the clutch lever, if the clutch lever is in the "open" position the power to the CDI is interrupted causing the engine to stall. Make sure the clutch safety switch is working with a VOM.

If you're going to have trouble with the bike when it gets wet you'd do well to check all the connections, clean them with contact cleaner and put some dielectric grease on them to keep our moisture. Take apart your switch housings and clean up the contacts, you'll be glad you did!

[ignatiuz99]

Okay - update! Got bike started again in neutral with starter fluid. Again I got the issue with it not letting me get into first, as soon as it happens - engine dies. I don’t understand a lot of what is in the post above but it sounds like that may be the issue. Can anyone elaborate?

[ignatiuz99]

Another update. Rode it in first, I don’t know what I did to get it into first. Rode it a little and it’ll not getting all of my cylinders, i had this issue a couple months ago but fixed it and now it’s back. Was told this is a curling issue most likely, what does this mean?

[rphillips]

I have no clues, but glad you're getting it closer to up and running... Will be interesting to hear what finally fixes it.

[tom203]

So in neutral with starter fluid it will start….but no umph, so likely running on just one or two cylinders. When it starts and runs in neutral, touch the exhaust on each pipe and determine which cylinders are firing.

[Rob S.]

About half a century ago I took a car wash up on it's offer to steam clean any engine for $10. The 327 under the hood of my '68 Camaro was rather grimy, and the cleaning didn't much change that, but there was one very noticeable difference.

After they suggested I dry out the inside of the distributor cap, the car started and I went on my merry way. But since then I've been wary of water on engines.

You're welcome. Glad to be of help.

[roeme]

Well, last time I took a pressure washer to a bike of mine, one cylinder refused to fire until the engine got proper hot on the other cylinder (and sun) and dried off the water that got under the spark plug cap.


Not sure what your exact situation is, but I'd expect water in the electrical system where it shouldn't be. Have you really, properly dried out the bike? Letting it sit for 48 hours won't do when environmental conditions aren't met (outside/cold/wet weather/unheated, uninsulated garage/etc...).