[mclennk]

Hey,

I have a 1981 Kawasaki 440 LTD. I put my bike away last fall and it was running however now, when I try to start the bike up, I'm having issues. Here's the problem. When I turn the kill switch to "run", put the choke fully on, and press the start button, the engine turns over but the only action I get is regular popping sounds (like a mini-ignition) in the dual carbs, followed by exhaust trickling out the air intake (located under the dual seat). It's as if the bike is igniting the air/fuel mix in the carbs and sending it back out the air intake. However, when I turn the choke off and try again, I don't get any results at all (no start, no exhaust, just the engine spinning over and over again). I'm confused at why there appears to be exhaust coming out my air intake (the exhaust doesn't come out hard/fast, if just trickles out after each pop in the carb). Anyway, any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Kirk

 

[StarGate]

Did you use any sort of fuel stabilizer when you put the bike away for the winter?

 

[mclennk]

Even though I know better, I didn't. I took the carbs off last week and the float bowls had a dusty residue left from dried up feul so I cleaned them up and sprayed the carbs down with carb cleaner. I'm starting to think maybe I've got a few passages clogged up. I've heard about boiling carbs in lemon juice for 15 minutes or so, any thoughts? Thanks for the reply.

Kirk

 

[StarGate]

Haven't tried the process myself but I have seen pics of carbs that had this process used on them. I'm not sure how well it works for cleaning the jets and passageways out but it makes the carb body look nice. You need to remove all the jets and clean them. The holes in the pilot jets are tiny and you need to be sure they are clear. You can hold them up to a light and see the light through the hole. Then spray some carb cleaner down the hole where the jet screws in and make sure it flows out the other end of the passage. Do this with every passage you can find in the carbs. If you have a compressor or air in a can you can blow the passageways clear after using the cleaner on them.

 

[mclennk]

So you think my issue sounds like a potential carburetor clog problem, huh? I'll give cleaning them a more detailed effort. Any other thoughts? Thanks!

Kirk

 

[StarGate]

It's the only thing I can think of that could cause the problem and could have happened as a result of winter storage. Of course it wouldn't hurt to check/adjust the valves if it hasn't been done recently or that you know of. Another thing to check/inspect is the points and timing advance mechanism.