Tech issues

[New oregon goldwing owner]

Thxs for having me in this gromp. Have a 1978 gl goldwing that will not start. It turns over strong battery is fully charged and spark plugs good. I just bought it. It’s very clean but wasn’t ridden much in last ten years. Have ridden it 200 miles or so but this just happened. Any ideals? Smell a little gas when trying to start it. I sure it’s not being flooded. Thxs

 

[Dusterdude]

Welcome,have you checked for spark?

 

[julimike54]

Welcome to The Forum and enjoy!

 

[pidjones]

If the float bowls ran empty, it takes almost a minute of cranking to fill them (no more than 15 seconds at a time with ten minutes of cooling the starter between).

 

[spoiledsaskhunter]

if its been sitting for a couple weeks or more, it will be a beast to start. the gas tank is lower than the carbs, so it takes a lot of cranking to get the gas to the carbs.......as mentioned, be aware of over cranking. i've been day dreaming of a fix, but so far haven't come up with one. maybe a primer setup and drill holes in the intake tubes so you could prime it?

 

[GLCox]

I found a simple way to prime my carbs after a long sit. I had a sports ball inflator, took the needle out, found a round rubber gasket from somewhere (I don't even remember what it was from) to roughly seal between the inflator and the tank opening, and it works great. Place the inflator on the seal over the tank opening keeping some downward pressure on it to keep the seal, pump 3-4 times, and wait about 20-30 seconds. Even after that long when I remove the inflator I can still hear the hiss of escaping pressurized air. It doesn't take much pressure at all, just some time to let the gas flow into the carbs.
See picture of the inflator in place and the rubber seal I use. A short section of rubber hose large enough to cover and loosely seal around the gas filler should work also

.
Saves a lot of wear and tear on the battery and starter.

 

[pidjones]

Good idea! I think the check valves in the pump impede gravity flow, even with a full tank.