Hello,

I’m at my wits end trying to troubleshoot this on my own.  I’m ready to throw in the towel (take it to a shop or got rid of it because it’s taking up room in my garage), but I thought I would give it one last try by posting here.

I have a 2013 with about 12,000 miles.  It has always run great. I have about a 100 mile commute to work everyday, so I had a great habit of filling up with fuel on my way home so I didn’t have to stop in the morning.   I unexpectedly got really (really) sick about a year ago and it was left will a full tank of gas.  Now it won’t start…

I drained the fuel tank and carburetor fuel bowl.  Put in a fresh tank of gas. It wouldn’t start.  I checked the fuel bowl and it’s empty.

I verified that the fuel line is good to the carburetor by disconnecting it from the carburetor and it drains correctly.

Its not the petcock because I have had a raptor petcock installed for the last 3,000 miles with no issues.  I double checked that the line that has to be plugged is still plugged.

Spark and battery are good because it will start for a few seconds with starter fluid (or a teaspoon of gas).

I think this narrows it down to carburetor issue but I’m not a great mechanic, and beyond that I’m especially lost.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

TlNEMpU wrote on 10/26/22 at 19:49:23:


I would guess it's the carb too.  Probably the float stuck or the float valve.

Easiest way to unstick it, rap it with a plastic handle of a screw driver with the gas on.

Now if your carb has a drain with a nipple, put a clear line on it and run it upwards along the high side of the carb and open the drain.  If the float unsticks gas will flow and should fill the line up to the gasket of the float bowl.
If it doesn't stop there either start it immediately and keep monitoring the level, hopefully the float will start to work and the level will come down.
If it doesn't then you need to clean the carb.

verslagen1 wrote on 10/26/22 at 21:10:11:


Thanks.  I have already been smacking the sh#% out of carb but nothing is getting unstuck.  I do have a nipple on the bowl.  So if I understand you correctly, run a clear fuel line from my petcock out to the float bowl nipple.
That should slow the fuel bowl to fill and bypass whatever the issue is within the carb that is preventing fuel from getting to the bowl.  Then I’m watching to see if the float starts working and monitor it. Correct?

TlNEMpU wrote on 10/26/22 at 22:07:39:


Well if you've already tried percussive adjustment...
Do not pass go, go straight to carb clean.

The clear line on the drain doesn't bypass anything, it only confirms if you've freed the float.

BTW, cleaning the carb is really simple, take everything apart, drop it in carb dip, and then try to put everything back together in the original place as it was... take lots of pics.

Just wanted to follow up about this because it has been a while.  I had some health issues that put this on the back burner until the last couple weeks.  It’s now running great after a “major” carb cleaning.  The fuel residue in the carb was so bad that it was almost a solid rock.  It took a while to even get the pieces apart but after a good cleaning it’s up and running.  Thank you to everyone for all the helpful suggestion.  For anyone with a similar issue, just take the carb off the bike and clean or rebuild the carb.  If you don’t feel confident or have the time to do it yourself, you can remove it easily and there are places that will rebuild it for you locally or by mail for cheap.  The bottom line is I spent way more time and effort trying things to avoid a full carb cleaning and rebuild then it took to do it.  The entire cleaning (removal through reinstall) only took about two hours.  Thanks everyone and be safe.