lost power, and then the bike died..

The last month or so of riding, it’s becoming harder to start the bike. Three weeks agao I was riding, cruising at 60km/h I started loosing power. At the red light, it completely lost power. Somehow I started it again, and again at the next stop. Then I wasn’t so lucky, the old horse completely died. But no problem, I wanted to leave it in the garage that day anyway. Too bad I had to push it for 2 km. I know the bike has gas. Also pushing the bike and starting on second gear didn’t work. Also couldn’t fire it up with the kick start. I hear the ignition, and the exhaust puffing a bit, but the bike won't fireup.

Any ideas what to look for? The dealer isn't too far, but would be nice if I could fix it by myself or ride the bike there instead of having to push it for another 2 km.
I'll be back in 10 days. By then, the bike would have been sitting for almost a month, with almost 3 liters of fuel in the tank. I forgot to disconnect the fuel pipe...

Merry Christmas!

Hard to know for sure as I don't know your bike or its history. However if I were to aquire your bike with its current problem I would start by simply working through the service schedule. Valve clearance, sparkplug and air filter in particular. Also check for kinked trapped fuel and breather hoses while doing the service. Your issue might be compounded now if the fuel in your carb has gone off. For future reference if I'm leaving the bike for any period of time I tend to run it with the fuel tap off till the carb is empty and drop some fuel stabiliser in the tank. For the cost of the fuel and to make fault finding easier it might be better to drain the tank and put fresh fuel in. Hope that helps and you get back on the road.

Thanks for the reply choldy.
This happened a day after I left the bike in the rain. Bike was in heavy rain all day. Ok, maybe i deserve this, sorry bike!
How exactly do you check the sparkplug? I know how to take it off, I can compare it to a chart i downloaded off some forum to find if the bike is running lean or rich. But how to check if the sparkplug is directly related to the bike not starting?
Valve clearance was checked a week before, the mechanic said it sounded ok when idling; no chattering clicking sounds.
I can hear a spark when i turn on the ignition, and I think I hear something turning. But the bike does not fireup. So I think that leaves the carbuerator and air filter. Can I do something to the carbuerator without taking it apart? That job I don't know if I can do on my own. I know a carbuerator is easy to take apart, but not as easy to assemble.
Any more tips what to look for?

ok to check the spark plug, assuming its healthy according to the colour chart, you can remove it, lay it on the engine attached to the lead and turn over the engine, you'll be able to see if your getting a strong spark. If not it may be an issue with the HT lead or the coil itself or your battery may need charging/replacing. Here is a cheap option if I were you, my gear indicator packed in after being out in the rain and a good washing session. Today I started at the headlight and worked back through to the taillight disconnecting every electrical connection, cleaning the corroded/dirty ones and packing the connections with dialectic grease. Now everything works again, at least if you do this you will eliminate it being a simple corroded or disconnected electrical item somewhere on the bike. It takes about an hour to work your way along the loom, that would be a good trouble shooting start and preventive maintenance to stop you getting the same issue on rainy days again.

Oh and I just noticed your mechanic siad it 'sounded' as if the clearances are right, I would still physically check.There is a really good guide on here and its not a particularly difficult job to do, just a bit fiddly, good luck and let us know how you get on.

If you check the plug via Choldy's advice, and it seems to have spark, you can try draining the float bowl to be sure it's not full of water.

Attachment 2887

If you don't have spark, you might want to take the handlebar switch apart to be sure there is no water in there causing a short circuit.

Cheers!
ChinaV

Back in kunming! Choldy, ChinaV thanks for the pointers, looks like a couple of things i can check with minimal tools. Otherwise, I'll have to push it from the underground garage.

At first, I couldn't reach that screw on the bottom of the carb with two hands, was hidden behind the exhaust pipe. Skipped that and went on to open the carburator from the top and the air filter side and sprayed some carburator cleaner. Checked the pipes for kinks and checked the spark plug (unscrewed the sparkplug, put the cable back on and shocked myself for a second or so, not smart but i know electric connections are ok). Finally gave up, after an hour of filldling, I put back everything in and pushed the ignition:: some hope but still no fire. Pushed it to the mechanic..

A smarter way to check power is reaching the spark plug is removing the cap off the cable and holding it close to the spark plug. You should see the spark easliy. Using four hands, the loosened the screw at the bottom of the carburator, and let out some fuel. Before closing, he tapped the carburator a couple of times to check whatever is in there is not stuck. Sounded like a ball of some kind. In the process, they bent my kickstand! Now the bike fires! I'm not sure, but i think if i managed to bleed the float bowl, as ChinaV suggested, I would be ok.
Thanks everyone, now i know what to do next time.

Just googling for more on carbs, and found something called the $1.98 tuneup. Seems this could have worked if stuck in nomad's land.

Quote:

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1. Take off the air cleaner and start the engine

2. Rev up the engine about half way up.

3. Put something suitable over the air intake, cutting off all incoming air. Because of the air cleaning housing, this is usually a metal cup or something, but anything that will cut off air will work. Another forum says soak a rag with carburator cleaner and use it to block the air intake, keep running until rag is dry. Of course if you have carb cleaner handy, you probably aren't stuck in nomad's land and can afford to take the carb off and give it a good cleaning.

4. when the engine almost dies, remove the obstruction. Wash, rinse, repeat. (repeat 1 or 2 more times)

What is happening is that the momentum of the engine creates a strong vacuum in the carb. That vacuum dislodges minor specks of crud that are in the jets and stuff. Frequently, this little trick is all it takes to get an engine to idle correctly or accelerate smoothly.

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I could have done this when i first noticed the bike starting to die. Temporary fix, but just good enough when I didn't have more time.