Red Echo

January 10, 2010

Bummer. Bike won’t start. Probably the carbs are gummed up from sitting around for months. That was more work than I felt like dealing with today, so I’m back home intending to do some work on Radian.

2 Comments

  1. Starting fluid (diethyl ether in a can) is your friend. Many times getting a engine running on ether will allow fresh gas to make it’s way into the intake manifold and then the engine will run normally. The procedure is easier with two people, one to work the throttle and one to spray the ether. The idea is to get the engine started and then squirt just enough ether to keep it running. After a minute or so you should be able to stop the ether and run on gas.

    Listen to the engine if you get excessive knocking back off on the ether. Use just enough to get started and running. Ether is a great part cleaner. Almost no residue. Ether is extremely flammable so use with care…

    STA-BIL is a good product. I try to make sure all engines get a good dose before being shut down for the winter. That way you can avoid the ether dance.

    Comment by Lewis — January 20, 2010 @ 6:13 am

  2. I tried an oil change the other day, and tried starting it with squirts of starting fluid, but didn’t have anyone to help with the can so I was trying to do it while I sat on the bike, which didn’t work so well. It sounded a bit closer to starting this time – coughing and thumping a bit – but I didn’t get it to catch by the time the battery started to run down. I put it back on the charger; I’ll try again this week(end).

    Never heard of STA-BIL; I’ll have to pick up a can of that. Thanks for the recommendation.

    Comment by mars — January 20, 2010 @ 3:41 pm