[fletch123]

Hi All,

I come looking for help. My bike doesn't want to wake up after its winter nap.

For the life of me, I can't get it to idle, or even start at all.

So far I have..
-New gas. I am turning the gas on and using the choke when trying to start.
-New spark plug. I've seen it create a good blue spark when I press it against the valve cover.
-Kill switch isn't engaged. I see a spark without pushing the kill switch, but when I push it, I don't get a spark.
-The spark plug is getting wet with gas after I try to start it for a little while so fuel is getting through the carb.
-Valves are all in spec
-Intake both 0.006in
-Exhaust, Lefthand 0.011in and Righthand 0.010in
-Decomp adjusted to 0.025 without any shim under the exhaust valve.

Am I missing anything obvious?
I'm stumped so far...
I appreciate any help.

[JimDirt]

Welcome to the site !!

The only things you did not mention is whether you used Ethanol , or Non Ethanol gas in it before storage , and/or if you drained the gas completely before storage .......... If you used Ethanol gas and you did not drain it , I would suspect the Pilot Jet is clogged ..... That would be my first guess , or if you put fresh gas in but failed to drain the old gas , in which case the gas will be great for your lawn mower , but not for these bikes , if the gas is older than 2 months , it gets iffy , if its 3 months old , the system needs to be flushed and cleaned ............

If you drain the bowl by the little set screw on the bottom side of the bowl (see picture below) and then remove the 17mm nut on the bottom (if your carb does not have the drain screw as shown in the pic below then just undo the 17mm nut and put a rag under the carb to catch the gas .... don't forget to shut of the fuel valve before draining) , loosen both clamps for the carb (intake side and airbox side) you can twist the carb enough to get at the pilot jet without removing the carb , which is a major process if you have not done it before ..... use a long thin flat screwdriver to unscrew the Pilot , (it will be the skinny one with the slot closest to the front of the carb , not the hexed one in the middle of the opening) , pull it out and spray it with carb cleaner , once the cleaner flows thru it good , then replace it and see if it will start and idle .......

[fletch123]

Thanks for the reply Jim.
I am willing to be that our unleaded gasoline has a % ethanol in it. I havent paid that much attention to it.
I did drain out the old gas before adding new gas and itll be put to work elsewhere.

I'll try to get that carb rotated and drained tomorrow. Have you had to disconnect anything from the carb to free It up to rotate at all on your 450x?

[JimDirt]

No , all you have to do is loosen the 2 clamps and rotate it , at the worst the drain tube at the bottom of the bowl might need to come off ....it will only go about 35 to 45 degrees twisted , not 90 degrees ......

[fletch123]

Jim, you're a hero.

I drained the float bowl and removed the pilot jet, It didn't seemed gummed up at all, still I blew it out with carb cleaner. The float bowl cap, the big 17mm, was just coated in residue. White in color and thick. I cleaned it up as best as I could. Buttoned it all up and performed a regular startup with the choke on. Sure enough, It sputtered and came up to idle but immediately bogged and shut off. Couldn't get it to idle tonight without immediately bogging.

Progress, but not out of the woods yet!

[Leardriver]

If you can get the bike on a hill, gas on, choke on, and bump start it in second gear, you will bypass the pilot circuit and get on the needle, and it may run for a minute. Sometimes that even cleans the pilot out. It's worth a try.

[fletch123]

If you can get the bike on a hill, gas on, choke on, and bump start it in second gear, you will bypass the pilot circuit and get on the needle, and it may run for a minute. Sometimes that even cleans the pilot out. It's worth a try.

I have a Rekluse Auto Clutch so I can't bump start it. Thanks for the thought though.

[JimDirt]

No hero .... , just trying to help ...

I would next check to see if the Accelerator Pump is squirting , this may be part of the bog , if the diaphragm is bad , it won't squirt , and the bike will definitely bog ......... Leardriver is our carb expert , maybe he has some more suggestions I missed ...

[fletch123]

No hero .... , just trying to help ...

I would next check to see if the Accelerator Pump is squirting , this may be part of the bog , if the diaphragm is bad , it won't squirt , and the bike will definitely bog ......... Leardriver is our carb expert , maybe he has some more suggestions I missed ...

The last think I want to do it take the carb off the bike and start digging into it. With my luck it'd never get back on.

[JimDirt]

It is not that difficult a job , the Owners Manual will tell you how to remove it

Go to this link , select 2012 for Year (its the lowest year it goes to show the 450X , but from 05-17 they are pretty much the same except size of gas tank , and the radiator shrouds , other than that , everything else is exactly the same) select off road for Segment , select Trail for Category , and 450X for Model , it should have everything you need to check the bike over better , and do pretty much any service on it , including rebuild the engine ...

https://powersports.honda.com/downloads/owners-manuals

[fletch123]

Here are a few pictures of the float bowl access cap. I'm willing to be this film is on more than just this surface in the carb and may have gotten into the pilot jet again after I took it out and blew it out. I see diagrams showing this component being named the slow jet.
Maybe I'll try taking out the pilot screw and cleaning it out too, mine has a T-handle and is currently 2 1/2 turns out. Previous owner said the carb has been updated with 2008 plunger rod, diaphragm, Merge racing accelerator pump spring, running 172 main, NCVS needle, stock pilot and slow jet.

I'll try to get a video of the bike firing this afternoon.

[fletch123]

Back to square one. Went back out today and it wouldn't fire. Repeated the steps of rotating the carb to get at the slow jet, sprayed it out. Took out the pilot screw, It is now set at 1 1/2 turns out. Reassembled and still wont fire. I'm scratching my head.

[fletch123]

Tonight I took out the main jet and the slow jet. Cleaned them both out. The main jet was way gunky I thought that blasting out the middle with carb cleaner would be the ticket. Reassembled and the bike still wouldn't fire.

I know the carb is getting plenty of gas, the bowl is full each time I open it up. The gas cap hose isn't plugged.

I plan on taking the needle jet out, cleaning it up, and spraying carb cleaner up where sits in the carburetor to see if theres anything stuck up there. Then I plan on taking out the slow jet again and spraying up where it sits.

[JimDirt]

Wow , that is pretty bad looking ..... lots of gunk .... What I am starting to think is you have a internal blockage ....... What I would do is take the carb apart (completely apart , EVERYTHING !) , remove all rubber items (AP Diaphragm , O-rings , Fuel screw , slide plate , etc.) , and buy a can (1 gallon) of carb cleaner/dip , and soak that thing overnight , , replace the Pilot jet (yes that pic is the Pilot jet) , but I am betting you have a internal passage blocked ...

[fletch123]

Wow , that is pretty bad looking ..... lots of gunk .... What I am starting to think is you have a internal blockage ....... What I would do is take the carb apart (completely apart , EVERYTHING !) , remove all rubber items (AP Diaphragm , O-rings , Fuel screw , slide plate , etc.) , and buy a can (1 gallon) of carb cleaner/dip , and soak that thing overnight , , replace the Pilot jet (yes that pic is the Pilot jet) , but I am betting you have a internal passage blocked ...

If I do end up having to do a full disassembly, should I buy a brand new gasket set? Have you had success reusing all the rubber pieces in the past?
Just trying to be prepared.