Hi folks,

my '96 Savage is my first bike - got it for little money from a friend and really like to ride it!

But now the bike won't start anymore, and I'd thought I'd ask the experts if it's something I can fix before I take it to the shop. (I don't know much about bikes yet, but I'm usually good at mechanical things .

So, the effect is simple: the starter works, but the bike won't start, and the compartment behind the air cleaner fills up with gasoline ...

Does that indicate that something's wrong with the carburetor? Or am I totally on the wrong track here?

Anyhelp greatly appreciated - I'd like to get my bike up and running again!

Thanks!
Stefan

Has the bike been sitting for a while?

torque wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:09:



Alright, that's what I thought ... are there any known pitfalls I could fall in when taking the carb apart, cleaning  and rebuilding it?

- Stefan

Check the actual gas in the tank, mine wouldn't start when I got some bad gas at a BP station. The gas was full of water and debris like rust flakes. The holding tank at the gas station must have been just about empty, and had water and other crap in it. Had to drain the tank and clean out the carb.

lordsteve_666 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:09:


What compartment behind the aircleaner?  You mean the airbox?  Do you have a lot of gas back there, or do you just smell gas?

Something odd happened this morning...
After my (heroic) 500 mile ride, I endured 2 weeks of rain, drizzle and generally speaking miserable weather. So I commuted in my car and the bike just laid there waiting for something to happen.
Then, this morning the sky was clear so I told myself 'Let's go!', donned my riding gear and...
Wofwofwofwof sput sput chuff.
Bike wouldn't start.
Battery was good and in order, I started smelling gas, but bike wouldn't start, and there's NO WAY one can get to the spark plug in good time (on my former glory, my old Moto Guzzi, the plug's right there staring at you!)
So this evening I got my tools, the Service Manual, a jerry can and 2 hours and  few cu$$words later (and some help from a neighbor of good will) I had undone the seat, the battery, the air filter, a whole bunch of absolutely unnecessary items and finally got to the fuel tank.
I drained that and finally parked it on the ground.
...
Guess what? The standard plug wrench is too thick and won't fit in the spark plug hole!!!  
So some more cu$$words and I told mysef 'Let's give it one last try...'
The darn bike [glow=red,2,300]started [/glow] !!!
What happened next proved to be quite unusual...
A good half pint of gasoline started frothing in the air filter housing !
I have absolutely no idea whether it had already pooled there during my unsuccessful attempts to start the bike this morning and during the late afternoon, or whether it had ... poured out of the carb float tank. I learned (the hard way) that the air filter housing has a sort of 'bottomless pit' (to hide the bugs sucked inside?) and it took me a while to mop it all out.
By the way, can I pour it back in the tank or should I use it as 'revenge juice' to get even with my arch enemy villain?
My half hunch is that I had left the petc0ck in the ON or maybe PRIME position, and had flooded the carb and the fuel had dribbled into the air filter housing. Also, another hunch is that the spark plug cable had not been fitted properly and was a little loose.
Can I just reassemble and drive off? I had wanted to check the spark plug but event though I have bought a plug wrench of the correct plug size, it seems to be too fat and simply will NOT enter deep enough to engage the plug itself. ???
So now I have a bike which is in bits on the floor of my garage, and do not know wheter to disassemble it some more or refit everything (possibly in the wrong order    ) and pretend 'it never really happened'...

I am in a bit of a predicament...

Maurizio

Well, so far as the spark plug socket goes, I believe this is the one that fits the bill though I haven't tried it myself.  It is the correct size (18mm) and appears to be long enough.

Click on the image below.  You'll have to scroll down the page to find it.

Thanks Rob, I have the one with the T-handle, excellent grip but the metal's quite thick and it jams before engaging. I'll be on the lookout for your type.

JBrough7, I really guess I AM like you, else I would have thrown everything back together before dinner, rather than postponing it all until tomorrow!

Maurizio
PS This could be the one chance to fit a power outlet to the battery so that I can recharge it with a cigarette plug.