I feel so stupid and smart right now (LONG read)

[kx100_owner]

ok, so about two weeks ago I found out a new friend of mine had a dirt bike just laying in his yard for a month. His mom was going on and on how she's going to call someone soon to take it to the dump. I, almost having no experience in the art of mechanics( I've only taken apart and fixed a Yamaha pw50 before. on my own with out any experience or instructions), decided I would take the liberty of trying to fix it. When I looked at it I saw it had no carburetor and was dirtier than a mud puddle. So I took it home and figured out that it was a 1995 kx85 (I thought it was a kx100 and am still not sure. how can I tell???). While I was taking it apart and cleaning it my friends dad called me up and told me he had a carburetor that would fit on the bike but he didn't know if it was compatible. I stopped by picked it up and cleaned it to. When it was all together and clean I made the stupidest mistake possible (being a newb hear) and thought I needed a tube on the carb to connect the drainage things like on the previous project(pw50). When I did that it never started unless I poured gas into the carb. Then it would shut off after 5-10 seconds of running. I thought I needed a new carb until tonight when I finally realized how stupid I was. I ripped that tube off and popped the clutch on my driveway. it started up instantly and I rode a full circle around my yard. When i started going up my driveway it died. I'm sure thats because I didn't warm it up and it's only 24 degrees out side. By the way, I'm just turned 16 a few months ago.

Sorry for writing a novel but I"m so excited because this is my first dirt bike, I fixed it (even though there wasn't much fixing) with no help what-so-ever, and it was free!!!

[Miralcos]

Good job! Now get yer coat on and go ridin'

[AZ250Rider]

That's pretty cool. Good for you getting that bike running again. Bikes were made to ride, not sit in a yard and rot. Maybe you are a better mechanic than you give yourself credit for. Keep us posted on the progress.

[pat0021]

Great job. Now just think what you could do with a little training!! Keep it up and learn all you can from all you can.

[kx100_owner]

CRAP!!! the reason it died is cus the engine keeps getting flooded and now it wont run any more than it did before, I don't know about that carb anymore. maybe I just need to adjust it???

[YurFatMom]

Fun read. It sounds like the float needle in the carb is shot, and needs to be replaced.

[kx100_owner]

Originally Posted by YurFatMom

Fun read. It sounds like the float needle in the carb is shot, and needs to be replaced.

What exactly would it look like if it was shot. I took it apart but didn't think i saw anything wrong.

[aftermath4788]

Hell, good deal. Free bike, runs alright, get them carbs working properly and you got yourself a bike. A free bike is always a good bike. Even if you dont do anything else with it, sell it, or use it to practice repairs. Take the engine apart and put it back together a few times so you know how to do that. Then its just a matter of learning what symptoms do what to a bike and youll be a good enough mechanic to fix your own stuff. Or put a few hundred in the bike to get it running like its spose to be and youll be a few hundred in the bike but thats all. It was free to begin with so itll be worth it. When I was 16, I was in highschool taking every automotive class they offered and man do I miss it. Youll get it right, enjoy it, ride it until you dont want to no more than sell it and make some money off it.

[YurFatMom]

Originally Posted by kx100_owner

What exactly would it look like if it was shot. I took it apart but didn't think i saw anything wrong.

If the rubber needle has a ring on it or any cracks, it needs to be replaced. If it is still good, you may just need to lower the float level to get it to quit overflowing.

[kx100_owner]

Originally Posted by YurFatMom

If the rubber needle has a ring on it or any cracks, it needs to be replaced. If it is still good, you may just need to lower the float level to get it to quit overflowing.

Yeah it definitely seems like it's flooding because every time I take out the spark plug there's this dark liquid on the end which keeps it from sparking. I also think it has faulty wiring. I'm going to take the carb apart soon and see if there's anything wrong. how do I lower the float and how much should I lower it?

[antiq]

Turn the carb upside down. With a small pair of needle nose pliers grip the float lever near where it attaches to the carb. Lift the float very gently just a little bit and then try it. Keep doing that until it doesn't overflow.