TNrookie

Today was kinda anti-climactic....bought a helmet, installed the Wolo Bad Boy horn....reassembled bike, and was ready to take my inauguaral ride on a beautiful 70 degree day. And then...nothing.

First, a little history. Bought an 04 Volusia 2 weeks ago. Heard it run for several minutes in guy's driveway, loaded in onto trailer, and have started it up a time or two since to move it or something like that. That being said...it was apparently that seller had overall not ridden it that much and IMHO has some signs that it just hasn't been ridden at all lately. In the year and a half that he had it, he only put 1200 miles on it. But not only that, tires were very low on pressure...so much so that front tire was low enough it made it difficult to turn the bars. Tags expired in May and apparently weren't renewed. Bike has a full tank of gas but I'm wondering how long that has been in there. Was thinking of putting some SeaFoam in there but after this incident I think it might be a moot point.

So after reassembling everything today, it started, kinda 'coughed', and then died. Tried to start a time or two after that and now it just kinda turns over and doesn't do anything. Any chance that it could be junked carb/old gas or is it something else? I will prob take tank off and see if I pinched something or missed something...but after all, all I had to do was undo the clip thing and disconnect fuel line. I did mess with mix screw because I was afraid I had turned it while getting it snapped back into it's bracket...but I've pretty much adjusted it both ways while at the same time adjusting choke and still can't get it to start at all.

Any help would be appreciated. It was a bit discouraging but at the same time I'm hoping I can get to the bottom of it and feel like I've eliminated one big unknown from the used bike purchase. Thanks in advance!

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aka RockyStop, TNsmartass
Chairman and Co-Founder, Stebel CYFHMN Club
2004 Volusia Blue/Gray
Bikes I Miss:
'04 Volusia (Black)
'07 C50 (Red/Black)

DCinCT

can't help but will offer a good luck and enjoy with your new addition.

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Whats the big hurry...slow down and enjoy the ride!

cavie

Drain the gas from the tank and the carb. Then add some Seafoam to the new gas. Seafoam ain't gonna help thr old stuff. Can you say ethenal? Check to see that you didn't trip the handle bar kill switch. Don't know why they put those on there.

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'03 Volusia Intruder, Cobra Drag Pipes, K&N air filter, Fatty Knees Bars, Mustang seat, Grasshopper backrest, Wolo horn. Gold wing floor boards and a few other goodies.

TNrookie

How do I drain carb? What's easiest way to drain tank...just turn it upside down? It's not kill switch....bike still turns over...don't think it would w/ kill switch on.


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__________________
aka RockyStop, TNsmartass
Chairman and Co-Founder, Stebel CYFHMN Club
2004 Volusia Blue/Gray
Bikes I Miss:
'04 Volusia (Black)
'07 C50 (Red/Black)

C50TinAB

Have you checked the fuel filter? Perhaps its clogged. As for the old fuel, if it ran for several minutes when you first looked at it a couple of weeks ago it's probably still ok. If you do want to drain it just take it off and do what you can, it won't matter if you don't get it all out. You could also try removing the air filter and spraying some fuel in the carb while you crank the engine.

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'09 C50T Black/Grey

Billy4858

Did you check the pair valve hoses. I had my tank off 1 time and after I put it back on bike ran 30 seconds to a minute, upon checking the pair valve hose in the front have come lose.

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May God bless you and keep you

Hi-Vis

New gas AND new spark plugs. Make sure the battery is fully charged too. Please let us know the remedy.

__________________
Special Edition 2009 C50 Green/White . 13600 miles. Loaded up and then some!
2006 Honda Big-Ruckus 250 scooter. ~Rare~

If an old man is Laughing at you for no reason, you might want to take a mental inventory because you might have lost something.

ATGATT Sweat, not blood.

cavie

You are correct about the kill switch but I have found that language and the internet have a way of confusing things. Had an issue on another forum where the OP was discribing a starting problem and kept using the terms "not starting" and "not cranking" while stating his problem. Not starting and not cranking are two different problems. I see you know the differance. Remove the tank completely and drain and wash with new gas. Remove the carb and clean. There are small passages in there that get clooged with the leftover ethonal sludge that Seafome just will not remove. I can strip and clean and replace an outboard carb in 10 min thaks to ethonal. Motorcycles take a bit longer. Seafome works for maintenance after everything works. If you live south of the Mason Dixon Line you won't have this problem cause you'll be ridin'. look for non-ethonal recreational fuel in the future. Marathon Stations sell it in Florida. About $.40 more per gallon but worth it's weight in gold.

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'03 Volusia Intruder, Cobra Drag Pipes, K&N air filter, Fatty Knees Bars, Mustang seat, Grasshopper backrest, Wolo horn. Gold wing floor boards and a few other goodies.

03volusiarider

The mixture screw that you are referring to is the idle screw. Is the vent line below the fuel line on the petcock hooked up?

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TNrookie

I think you may be onto something. I noticed the ends of two hoses just kinda hanging and I remember wondering if it was right. I think one is the coolant overflow but wasn't sure about the other one. Anybody got a pic of what it's supposed to look like?


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__________________
aka RockyStop, TNsmartass
Chairman and Co-Founder, Stebel CYFHMN Club
2004 Volusia Blue/Gray
Bikes I Miss:
'04 Volusia (Black)
'07 C50 (Red/Black)