cb360 won't start

C

cahurst2001

Been Around the Block
my bike won't fire. i eliminated the starter, so i am only on kick. took the bike completely apart six months ago and it would start on the first kick. fast forward to today.

finally all assembled, i go to start it and nothing. check petcock, choke, ignition and everything if perhaps i missed something. all working.

good compression? yes
carbs getting fuel? yes
clean fuel and no clogs? yes
floats floating freely? yes
floats set correctly? yes
both spark plugs firing? yes w/good spark
points have good clearance/gap? yes

points are clean and grime free and have voltage(did light bulb test), but i haven't set about taking the alternator cover off and doing it precisely w/the rotor. i actually took the alt cover off and it dumped quite a bit of oil. about 8 ounces i'd say. that much unusual? i know a little isn't out of place, but a cup?

when i disassembled the bike, i didn't touch the points or the alternator rotor, so i didn't think anything of it. i checked the spark plugs and not only were they firing, but had fuel on them. minimal fuel, but not soaked so probably not flooded.

is the timing that far off? it would have to be way off to not even fire, right? i am stumped, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks, gents!
 
check the battery?,even with kick only you still need a strong battery to start,
check the timing? i've had a running 360 sit for a 6 months, and the timing was way off, condenser failed too , just sitting,
dirty fuel as well,take the air boxes off to see if your carb slides are moving up or not,double check all you connectors i've plugged one ground from ignition in wrong spot and it wouldn't start,
lastly check your fuses, the ignition is i think the middle one 15? the lights are 7,
good luck,
 
That amount of oil in the alternator sounds excessive to me. When I take mine off, it's usually about an ounce of black gold.
 
saucer said:
check the battery?,even with kick only you still need a strong battery to start,
check the timing? i've had a running 360 sit for a 6 months, and the timing was way off, condenser failed too , just sitting,
dirty fuel as well,take the air boxes off to see if your carb slides are moving up or not,double check all you connectors i've plugged one ground from ignition in wrong spot and it wouldn't start,
lastly check your fuses, the ignition is i think the middle one 15? the lights are 7,
good luck,
Click to expand...

Those are good tips. As for a weak battery, yesterday my battery was so weak the neutral light wouldn't come on, but it kick-started fine. It ran on one cylinder (2 cylinders when I got up to 3000 rpms) and would die if I hit the horn. LoL
 
Chad said:
That amount of oil in the alternator sounds excessive to me. When I take mine off, it's usually about an ounce of black gold.
Click to expand...

i've over filled the bike with oil once by half a quart, it wouldn't fire until i drained and put in the right amount, oil was in the cylinders, some have said to put gas in the cylinders leave the plugs of and kick it til it dries out,i've kicked a 360 until the neutral light went dark, charged the battery , then it fired right up,
 
the battery thing depends on the bike. my '78 cb400tII has a permanent magnet alternator and separate wires going from the aleternator to the ignition box (stock CDI) it can actualy start and run with no battery installed. I still don't have a charging system. I have a computer hard drive power conector wired up to the battery so I can plug in a charger every couple of days. If it has air, gas and spark you should get something. how did you test these things. the only thing I can think of is the timing being off.
 
saucer said:
check the battery?,even with kick only you still need a strong battery to start,
check the timing? i've had a running 360 sit for a 6 months, and the timing was way off, condenser failed too , just sitting,
dirty fuel as well,take the air boxes off to see if your carb slides are moving up or not,double check all you connectors i've plugged one ground from ignition in wrong spot and it wouldn't start,
lastly check your fuses, the ignition is i think the middle one 15? the lights are 7,
good luck,
Click to expand...

the battery is brand new and the sparks were strong and bright on the plugs. fuses are all fine. the slides and floats are functional. i double checked all the connectors, and they're ok. would the timing be so bad that it wouldn't even sputter?

johnson_steve said:
Hmm. how did you test those things? do you have a timing light?
Click to expand...

as far as timing, i didn't use a timing light. i used the advice/technique here: http://yedda.com/questions/motorcycle_6279312391633/
the light did go on and off when opened and closed and i used a guage for the gap. i haven't done a real thorough job. is the above link a good source/way to do it?

saucer said:
i've over filled the bike with oil once by half a quart, it wouldn't fire until i drained and put in the right amount, oil was in the cylinders, some have said to put gas in the cylinders leave the plugs of and kick it til it dries out,
Click to expand...

i realized i did overfill the oil. about a half a liter too much. i wasn't paying attention... i drained it and refilled w/the right amount. is putting gas in the cylinders and 'dry kicking' the best way to get the excess oil out?
 
cahurst2001 said:
the battery is brand new and the sparks were strong and bright on the plugs. fuses are all fine. the slides and floats are functional. i double checked all the connectors, and they're ok. would the timing be so bad that it wouldn't even sputter?

as far as timing, i didn't use a timing light. i used the advice/technique here: http://yedda.com/questions/motorcycle_6279312391633/
the light did go on and off when opened and closed and i used a guage for the gap. i haven't done a real thorough job. is the above link a good source/way to do it?

i realized i did overfill the oil. about a half a liter too much. i wasn't paying attention... i drained it and refilled w/the right amount. is putting gas in the cylinders and 'dry kicking' the best way to get the excess oil out?
Click to expand...

hah that's funny i thought i was the only one to have done that, with my 360 we just drained it , put in the right amount of oil, and put in new plugs, kicked it til started up 5 to 10 kicks for me, a mechanic friend said to try gas in the cylinders , but i didn't need to, i'd try kicking it, i'll fire at some point,
 
saucer said:
hah that's funny i thought i was the only one to have done that, with my 360 we just drained it , put in the right amount of oil, and put in new plugs, kicked it til started up 5 to 10 kicks for me, a mechanic friend said to try gas in the cylinders , but i didn't need to, i'd try kicking it, i'll fire at some point,
Click to expand...

i even checked the dipstick. guess i'm the dipstick...ZING!
 
still no start after about 20 kicks. oil is at the right level now, but haven't tried gas in the cylinders. so i'm guessing it is back to the timing? or the condensor? but if the condenser was bad, wouldn't there be no spark at all? so is the above link i posted about the timing the best way to fix it? or maybe clean the plugs after too much oil?
 
couldn't hurt to clean the plugs. also I usually check for spark by removing the plug and having it hooked up to the sparkplug wire while touching the threaded part to something grounded like the engine. while doing this kick the bike. this way you can actually see what kind of spark your getting.
 
johnson_steve said:
couldn't hurt to clean the plugs. also I usually check for spark by removing the plug and having it hooked up to the sparkplug wire while touching the threaded part to something grounded like the engine. while doing this kick the bike. this way you can actually see what kind of spark your getting.
Click to expand...

yes, that's how i did it. strong enough to ignite fuel i'm positive.
 
hey if the condenser was bad your spark wold be eratic, one of the 360 i had had no condenser it ran but not great, i'd hook up the battery to a car and try the start button, but always check timing,
 
finally got her running! the first time was too much oil i'm sure. the second time, after i rechecked everything, i had appaently dislodged one of the wires from the points to the condensor when i put the tank back in place. when i went back to recheck everything for the 3rd time, i noticed it. reattached the wires firmly, ignition on, choke and she fired on the 2nd kick!

thanks again for all the input guys. couldn't have done it w/out you. now i just have to tune the carbs and get her on the road.
 
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