Wont fire

[Bamabrat]

Originally Posted by recumbentbob

Well I sure hope it starts after all the time you have spent working it.

Me too. Thank you

[Bamabrat]

Great news everyone! Big Al (my bike) is alive once more, and running awesome. I didn't push it too hard on my way to get gas.. chevron this time. 93. I got it up to 60 on the way home and it drove better than ever. Hallelujah!!

[Rasta]

Glad to hear this.Enjoy your bike once again!!

[id-man]

No wait a minute, this is not enough fanfare for such a momentous occasion. We need a marching band and circus elephants at LEAST! Good golly what a beating. Big Al knocked you down in every round but in the end you got the knockout. Congrats Champ.

[Bamabrat]

Originally Posted by id-man

No wait a minute, this is not enough fanfare for such a momentous occasion. We need a marching band and circus elephants at LEAST! Good golly what a beating. Big Al knocked you down in every round but in the end you got the knockout. Congrats Champ.

thanks. I'm too stubborn sometimes and don't know when to just give up. But this time I'm glad. You have no idea how much I learned by doing all of this

[vulcanscott]

NUF SAID !!!! Good for You !

[cnc]

Good for you and not only for getting the bike up and running again. I bet you learned a fair bit about the bike that you did not know before.
Congrats.

[ringadingh]

Good to see your up and running, Congrats!

[Bamabrat]

Originally Posted by cnc

Good for you and not only for getting the bike up and running again. I bet you learned a fair bit about the bike that you did not know before.
Congrats.

I did indeed. Before this fiasco, I basically knew nothing about carbs. Now I could field strip mine in my sleep. i guess everythign happens for a reason. i'm glad I learned about the fuel system in excrutiating detail, but going forward, I'd rather just read a book or a forum post about it.

Thank you (everyone) for your help diagnosing and correcting this issue. Hopefully it's gone and won't rear it's ugly head again. A couple of years ago, I would have called a tow truck and just taken it to a mechanic. I'm guessing I saved at least $500, possibly double that. Quick recap: clean the carb (was going to be $180 by itself), replace float needle/float/needle bracket/pin, intake boot and o-rings, clean fuel lines, tank, petcock, fuel pump/filter, replace air filter, 2 plugs, 2 coolant lines, scrub the corrosion off the main fuse, replace battery, fuses, etc. I checked the switches (ignition, neutral, kickstand) and coils. I think the only thing I didn't do was check the air pressure in my tires. Maybe i should. Last night just before bed, I added 1/2 cup of Seafoam to the gas to help clean out the carbon build-up on the pistons that I noticed while replacing the boot. I let it run for 5 mins then shut it down. This morning, it was difficult to warm it up, but it was 25 degrees outside.

For references, I used my Haynes manual a lot, along with the Nomad 1500 service manual, this forum, and "Just Answers" dot com. If you're not familiar with them, I paid $28 to ask a certified Kawa master mechanic since 1979 a question. Actually, to ask was only $5 and if satisfied with his answer I would pay a total of $28. He helped me for over 2 weeks. It was an online chat, so I could ask real-time. Well worth $28. His name is Doug E by the way.

The only time during this process that i was truly worried about screwing something up was this past Saturday morning while replacing the intake boot. the bottom screw toward the front cylinder of the boot started cross-threading while I was trying to get it in. It cross threaded about 3-4 threads, so I spent almost 2 hours trying to get the angle perfect to line up with the original threads. I finally got it, but I was imagining pulling the engine just for a cross-threaded screw. Luckily that didn't happen.

[jd01]

Jason, glad to see you got your bike going again . Now I know who the expert is if I ever have carb problems on my 01' . Just kidding. I'd hate to put you through that again! I've used the "Just Answers" website before too on other things like cars and appliances. Great website for lots of things.
Glad to see you're back in the saddle again.

[HwyRider]

Glad to see you got the bike running. Now you just need the weather to cooperate.

[Bamabrat]

Originally Posted by HwyRider

Glad to see you got the bike running. Now you just need the weather to cooperate.

Can you make that happen Neil?

[HwyRider]

I wish. We're back in to the polar vortex for the week.

[dshelly]

Glad you got it going again!!! All a guy needs is a good manual, a little patients, the right tools and you can fix almost anything. Congrats!

[mapleleafalumnus]

Well done brother!!!