Help!! CB350 won't stay running....
- Thread starter swensy77
- Start date
I can think of 4
1) Failure to completely disassemble. The parts that are stuck and so not taken apart are usually the problem.
2) Failure to understand how they work. It is hard to fix something if you don't understand what may be wrong. You have to rely on nothing being done wrong by someone who came before you, and put it back like you found it. Hard, but not impossible.
3) Failure to actually clean everything. Again, understanding how it works makes it a lot easier to know if all the tiny passages are working ok.
4) Using poor quality aftermarket parts. I know there are decent kits out there, but for bikes? Most parts do not need replacing. The value of few bucks more (sometimes more than a few) for OEM parts is the best carb money you can spend. I have seen carbs that ran like shit run just fine when all the "old worn out" parts were put back in, replacing the new shiny brass from a cheap rebuild kit, though that is more of a tuning issue - hard to think that would cause outright "won't run at all" failure.
Unless it's winter in Alaska, and you have to start your bike there and then, throw the starter fluid away. There will absolutely NEVER be a situation where you will need it. I have personally witnessed a perfectly good v-8 boat engine destroyed using it. Please don't be next to not heed this advice. I have started hundreds of engines, most of them their first time ever, and never needed it. And there will only be extremely rare examples of dribbling gas into the intake, and NONE of those would be a street motorcycle engine.
Pull your carbs off, leave the fuel hooked up. Take one of the float bowls off, turn on the fuel and check that fuel pours out and can be shut off with the float manually. Repeat for the other carb. This is pretty basic, but guarantees the carbs are the problem with fuel delivery, not something "upstream". Be prepared for a big dangerous mess. If you have fuel, take the carbs back apart. If you have confidence that the above 4 reasons are not likely suspects, look for something silly, like incorrect assembly of the floats, needle and seat, or bowls that is holding the needle and seat closed when assembled.
Odd to work on just one carb. Why would the bike not still run on the one you didn't touch?
1) Failure to completely disassemble. The parts that are stuck and so not taken apart are usually the problem.
2) Failure to understand how they work. It is hard to fix something if you don't understand what may be wrong. You have to rely on nothing being done wrong by someone who came before you, and put it back like you found it. Hard, but not impossible.
3) Failure to actually clean everything. Again, understanding how it works makes it a lot easier to know if all the tiny passages are working ok.
4) Using poor quality aftermarket parts. I know there are decent kits out there, but for bikes? Most parts do not need replacing. The value of few bucks more (sometimes more than a few) for OEM parts is the best carb money you can spend. I have seen carbs that ran like shit run just fine when all the "old worn out" parts were put back in, replacing the new shiny brass from a cheap rebuild kit, though that is more of a tuning issue - hard to think that would cause outright "won't run at all" failure.
Unless it's winter in Alaska, and you have to start your bike there and then, throw the starter fluid away. There will absolutely NEVER be a situation where you will need it. I have personally witnessed a perfectly good v-8 boat engine destroyed using it. Please don't be next to not heed this advice. I have started hundreds of engines, most of them their first time ever, and never needed it. And there will only be extremely rare examples of dribbling gas into the intake, and NONE of those would be a street motorcycle engine.
Pull your carbs off, leave the fuel hooked up. Take one of the float bowls off, turn on the fuel and check that fuel pours out and can be shut off with the float manually. Repeat for the other carb. This is pretty basic, but guarantees the carbs are the problem with fuel delivery, not something "upstream". Be prepared for a big dangerous mess. If you have fuel, take the carbs back apart. If you have confidence that the above 4 reasons are not likely suspects, look for something silly, like incorrect assembly of the floats, needle and seat, or bowls that is holding the needle and seat closed when assembled.
Odd to work on just one carb. Why would the bike not still run on the one you didn't touch?
