Getting Closer!

[tizod]

I got around the block tonight.   ;D  

-- Although I did die once and had to pull aside and restart it a few times--

Here is how the day's events unfolded....

* went out to start the bike after charging it last night.  Noticed that I did get some boil over on the battery onto the ground.

* Tried to start it but it still could not start on it's own but it really tried.  The engine would kick over for a second then putter out.

* Jumped it from my truck and it fired up after a bit of coaxing.  Each time I had to start it after the initial jump it would start on it's own.

* Seems I have to keep the choke around mid way or it dies.  If the bike goes under 2500 RPM it putters out.

* It died a couple of times as soon as I put it in gear but then I realized I was an idiot and had the stand down.

* Finally got her going enough to take her around the block.  She did fine until the final turn where she died on the turn.  I think it might have been overheating as it was getting REAL hot around the engine and my needle was maxing out.

This brings up a really dumb question that I am afraid to admit I need to ask.  Where do I put the coolant into the bike?  When I drained the radiator system a lot of coolant came out however when I went to add it back in through the cap on the radiator itself I did not get very much in there before it filled up.  Then I tried the reserve and it was already full.  Am I missing something obvious here?

[Lucky]

You probably have air trapped in the coolant.

Pull the tank and near the front of the frame you will find a metal pipe where the coolant line from the head goes in. this connector also has the sensors for the fan & temp guage. there is also a bleed bolt in this connector. with the bike cold remove the radiator cap and loosen the bleed bolt. fill the radiator till coolasnt comes out the bleed. jiggle the bike a bit and top off the radiator again. ?close the bolt and cap, start the bike & run for a minuet or so, repeat the procedure. once all the air is out of the system you normally will refill the resivoir bottle. but you shouldn'r normally need to add any.

Also, pull the wire off the fan sensor and ground it to the pipe with the key on the fan should come on. if it doesn't check the fan fusr (in the headlight bucket) and make sure it's plugged in. ?if it still doesn't come on jump the connections for the fan directly to ground and the battery & make sure the fan actually works.

--Lucky

[nvdranger]

having the choke half way on was one of the issues I had. ?I have to say it but your probably gonna have to rip the carbs out again. ?clean all the passageways with a thin file (i used a welder tip cleaner $4 at a local parts store). ?if i remember right it was the passage where the gas comes into the carbs that was the problem, or maybe your ball/weight is gummed up. ?
as for the coolant, you had it right. ?i had to fill it to the top, let it sit, fill, sit, fill, sit. ?check the haynes manual or maybe i read it on here somewhere that there is a spot to get the air bubbles out. ?someone should be able to help you further.

Ken

edit - lucky beat me to it.

[tizod]

Just to update....

I let it cool off then went and tried starting it after it sat for awhile and it won't fire again.

Do I have an electric problem?

[h2olawyer]

When you went to start it again, did the starter & engine turn over fast or was the battery dead again?

Do you have a voltmeter?  If so, what does it read @ the battery?  (both when key off & engine running)

[MotorPlow]

I don't think your battery should be boiling over with a charger on it.  Is the charger one that is designed for a car or specifically for a motorcycle?  If your battery is boiling over with the charger, I think you have a bad battery.  Spend the $30.00 and try a new battery.

Good Luck,
Chris

[tizod]

Well...maybe it is my charger.

The battery I have is from Wal-Mart. It is a "everstart" but has been renamed to "Neverstart."

The charger I bought it also from Wal-Mart.  It was only $20 and although it does say that it is "automatic" I am not sure if it truley stops charging after the battery is charged.

When I bought the battery originally I took the bottle that came with it and filled up the cells to the "fill" line.  A friend of mine (who knows a lot more about this kind of stuff then I) was on the phone with me after I bought the charger and was hooking it up.

When I first hooked up the charger it said that the battery was already charged.  My friend asked if I had added water to the battery and I was like "Huh?"

So I topped off the battery with water as per his recommendation and when I hooked the charger back up it said it was charging.  The next morning when I woke up it said it was done and I did not notice any boil over until when I got home later in the day.

Before I added the water and charged the battery it would hardly turn the starter then I could get that "click-click-click-click-click-click-click" sound.

After adding the water and charging the battery it almost turned over on it's own but still needed assistance from a jump to do it.  To get her to start I have to really hold that starter down until it finally turns over enough to get going.

Oh yeah...I did buy a voltmeter but I failed to heed the above advice and bought a analog one.  Since the scale is in incriments of 5 I can hardly tell a difference from when it is sitting there and when it is running.  My friend is going to loan me his digital one.

[Walt_M.]

Ok, now we know why fluid came out your battery overflow. Always follow the battery manufacturers instructions. You were doing fine until you added water and overfilled it. Also, no matter what anybody else says, always put a new battery on a 24 hr 'trickle charge' before you install it. Batteries are not very 'smart' and if they don't get fully charged from the start, they may never fully charge.

[Lucky]

If the thing is cranking slow with a fully charged battery, suspect oil in the starter.  this is covered on my site.
--Lucky

[tizod]

Ok, now we know why fluid came out your battery overflow. Always follow the battery manufacturers instructions.

Instructions?????

[MotorPlow]

I don't think I have ever bought a battery from Wal-Mart, always seems like I get 'em from an auto parts store.  When I bought them, they were already charged by the store and I haven't had to add anything to the battery.

I did order a battery from JCWhitney and it was shipped dry.  That battery, I did need to add acid.  The instructions for that one said to fill to the full line, then charge for 24 hours, then after the air bubbles had charge out, top off to the full line with distilled water.

It advised not to add additional acid to a battery that is already charged, top off with distilled water.  Why?  I don't know, it did not say.

Chris

[Walt_M.]

They want to maintain the chemical balance of the battery. The supplied acid is enough, more is not better. Adding water to overflow when charging depletes the acid.

[Lucky]

I've allways bought Wallyworld batteries, an as long as my charging system is working, they've been fine.

[Sable]

I also use a Wally-world batter... picked up a trickle charger there for $15.00 too!

~ Sable