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Fuel Problems

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Old Oct 4, 2011 | 08:45 PM
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Exclamation Fuel Problems

I have been trying to get my 05' 1200XL running for 4 weeks now and today I tried starting it on reserve instead of "on" and it ran went for a ride came home happy as a pig in ****! Then I noticed fuel leaking from the Carb overflow line. I shut off the fuel leaking stopped. Tried to restart the bike after investigating the cause of the leak and had to use starter fluid to get it going again. Let the bike run for awhile while I tried a few of my old mans tricks to see if the needle was sticking open to no avail and the bike died and wouldn't fire back up. Any ideas?
 
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 07:52 AM
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Originally Posted by DvlDogBkr
I have been trying to get my 05' 1200XL running for 4 weeks now and today I tried starting it on reserve instead of "on" and it ran went for a ride came home happy as a pig in ****! Then I noticed fuel leaking from the Carb overflow line. I shut off the fuel leaking stopped. Tried to restart the bike after investigating the cause of the leak and had to use starter fluid to get it going again. Let the bike run for awhile while I tried a few of my old mans tricks to see if the needle was sticking open to no avail and the bike died and wouldn't fire back up. Any ideas?
Hard to say how bad it is from here but you need to clean the fuel system up. Sounds like you have crap moving around in there gumming things up. It will only get worse the longer you try to just start it. May be as easy as changing inline filters, clean the screen in the fuel valve and running some Sea Foam through her or ( more likely IMO) a total system cleaning...take the carbs off clean rebuild them, drain and clean the tank, replace fuel lines and filters, clean or replace any screens ect..........How long had the bike been sitting? Is the fuel ethanol?

RAL
 
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 08:37 AM
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+1 Pull the carb and clean it all out. I would replace the float valve and seat too.
 
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 02:41 PM
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Originally Posted by RAL
Hard to say how bad it is from here but you need to clean the fuel system up. Sounds like you have crap moving around in there gumming things up. It will only get worse the longer you try to just start it. May be as easy as changing inline filters, clean the screen in the fuel valve and running some Sea Foam through her or ( more likely IMO) a total system cleaning...take the carbs off clean rebuild them, drain and clean the tank, replace fuel lines and filters, clean or replace any screens ect..........How long had the bike been sitting? Is the fuel ethanol?

RAL
The bike hadn't been sitting at all I was riding daily. Unfortunately, since the Marine Corps has sent me to D.C. I am running ethanol, all the octanes run it in this area.
 
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Old Oct 5, 2011 | 03:09 PM
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Originally Posted by DvlDogBkr
The bike hadn't been sitting at all I was riding daily. Unfortunately, since the Marine Corps has sent me to D.C. I am running ethanol, all the octanes run it in this area.
WOW sounds like you got a big dose of bad fuel. Let me guess...was running fine fueled up near home parked it and the next morning trouble. Thank your congressman for ethanol. Its pretty humid around DC and that ethanol will draw water out of the air like a sponge. Drain out all the bad fuel (including the carb bowl), change the filter clean the fuel valve screen and put in clean fuel with some sea foam and you may luck out. I suspect you will have to clean and rebuild the carb though. (if it was mine I would just do it all from the tank to the carb and be done with it)

RAL
 
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Old Oct 8, 2011 | 05:55 PM
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UPDATE!
Rebuilt the carb this morning, blew out the fuel lines, put a bottle of GUNK fuel treatment with moisture remover in and filled up tank with 93 and she turned right over. Shut down and restarted 4 times in the span of an hour and then took her for a ride an hour later I am home and all is well.
 
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Old Oct 8, 2011 | 09:43 PM
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Originally Posted by DvlDogBkr
UPDATE!
Rebuilt the carb this morning, blew out the fuel lines, put a bottle of GUNK fuel treatment with moisture remover in and filled up tank with 93 and she turned right over. Shut down and restarted 4 times in the span of an hour and then took her for a ride an hour later I am home and all is well.
Glad to hear it. Did you pin down where you got the crap fuel....or was it just the ethanol blues?

RAL
 
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Old Oct 10, 2011 | 01:27 PM
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Well I always get fuel from the gas station on base but I think it is an ethanol issue so I will add a little GUNK every now and then.
 
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