[jkv45]

Originally Posted by Edhead

Hey guys, newish to the forums, looking for some guidance. I've only recently started doing my own oil changes(last-2-3 times ). This gave me a bit of confidence to fool around and maybe learn something about my bike and hopefully get it running.

Bike wont start, one day was working two days later will not start.

I watched a couple youtube videos and did some googling to try and troubleshoot basic stuff.

Battery is @ 12.8v. It cranks, but wont start.

Replaced spark plugs just to see if maybe that was the problem, haven't
changed them since I got the bike(20,000 miles now). Both plugs have spark. The left one looked old but the on on the right hand side of the bike was down right nasty(black gunk). I tried to start after new plugs and no luck still. I checked the connections to the coils to make sure they weren't corroded or anything, and they looked fine.

I drive my bike to work most days so the gas doesn't really have time to get old, but I thought maybe since I leave it to the elements (Florida humidity + rain) maybe some water found it's way into the tank somehow. So I drained the carb bowls(?) to see if there was water in there. Gas was gas-colored(no green funk or anything, so I think the carbs okay), and there was a bit of water but just barely. Tried starting it again, same deal.

I checked the air filter and it seems wet (oil??), not like the light little bit you put on after you clean it, but damp. I'm not sure if I should have done this, but I took the air filter out and tried to start it like that and still no luck.

I'm pretty sure that it's not a spark problems. And I assume that since there was gas in the carb bowls that it's not a clogged fuel line problem(?)


So wet air filter + fouled spark plug = ??
I'm guessing it has something to do with oil but I'm not sure how it got there. Are these two things connected, or just coincidence? Could improper oil filter installation cause something like this?
I last changed the oil like 1500~ miles ago and put in a new oil filter, would it take this long for a problem to surface if I had done something wrong? Could old oil be the culprit?

Sorry for newb questions, all help appreciated guys + gals.

I'd completely drain the tank and floatbowls before ripping things apart. Any water in the floatbowls signals a problem. Figure out why the water got in there. Is it condensation or is the filler cap leaking?

The air filter should be cleaned and lightly oiled. Just enough so you can feel it, but not enough to be wet.