2000 2.5 Starting Probs - Newbie Pls Help

[gti5notrkt]

I just picked up a used 2000 2.5 for a reasonable price to get started in trialling. When I picked it up I could not store the bike veritically on the trip home as my trailer is not setup yet. As a result I had the fuel drained and the bike was laid down on the left side for approximately 8hrs. This morning I tried the start it for the first time and it would not fire. The person I bought from showed me the bike running and starting it, so I know there is unlikely be problems with ignition etc. I am wondering if I have in some way flooded the carb or some created some other fuel related issues by the bike being laid down? (the fuel was siphoned out the top and the carb floatbowl was not drained).

What is the correct starting procedure? weather is 90deg/humid, do I need any choke? Throttle closed, partially open, WOT?

Should I consider bump starting? what gear?

Also the seller mentioned that when cold the clutch drags for a short while until the trans oil warms up. Is this normal? What should I do to ensure the bike does not take off on me the first time I start it?

Thanks,

Jon Andrews.

[the addict]

gti, first, what petrol mix you put in it? if its your first bike make sure its right before starting it. Knock the fuel tap off and take the plug out,kick the bike over a few times to clear any excess fuel from the engine. Before putting the plug back in make sure its got a spark, if not its electrical rather than fuel. Stick the plug back in,turn the fuel on and give the float bowl a couple of taps encase the floats have stuck on the journey down. I usually put the bike in second gear, rock it back and fore in gear so it sucks some fuel,put back in neutral and with the choke on give it a good kick. It might not go first time but should after a 2-4.

The clutch on many bikes stick from cold and usually release within a couple of yards or so, be ready for it though so make sure your not pointing towards anything that will stop you once clicked into gear. Bike will be fine for the rest of the day once the clutch is hot....its nothing to worry about.

[scorpa3]

You may have flooded it.

Take the spark plug out, have a look at the plug to see if it is wet and give it a clean; turn off the fuel and kick it over a few times. Then check that there is a spark at the plug before replacing it and try starting again.

This time, leave the choke and fuel tap off and give it full throttle; this will help to clar out any excess fuel.

If this doesn't work, take the plug out again and see if it is now wet- if it is, repeat the procedure- if it's dry, you will need to tuen the fuel on and try to start as normal.

Let us know how you get on.

[gti5notrkt]

So, firstly thanks for all the help so far....

I got some fresh gas (petrol) 93 Oct, mixed 64:1 with Silkolene 2T premix. Checked the plug had a spark (yes) but the gap was 1mm. I changed this to Sherco's spec of 0.6mm. Incidentally the plug was dark brown on 3/4 of the insulator and tan brown on the other 1/4. Looks like the jetting is close, maybe a little rich top end (ok)? While the plug was out I kicked it over 3-5x WOT. Removed fuel line from petcock and checked that fuel flowed out.

Put the bike in 2nd with choke on and WOT, rocked the bike over a few times.

Neutral,

throttle closed, no start.

1/2 throttle no start,

WOT, no start

....mmm.....

Pulled the plug again...DRY!

OK, so it appears I have a fuel problem between the petcock and the combustion chamber. Any ideas? Should I drain the floatbowl? Remove the carb? Maybe I stuck the floats laying it down? Is the carb easy to take off?

Thanks,

Jon.

[the addict]

Jon, not familair with the 00 sherco but the carb should be easy enough to take off. Takes the tank off and remove the 2 bolts holding the air box on. Unscrew the jubilee clip holding the carb to the reed block and take off the carb slide. If the 00 is like the 06/07 the air box/carb should slide out together? Takes the carb off the air box and take the float bowl off...is there any fuel in it? be worth giving the carb a little shake or bike itself encase the floats have locked/stuck it might free them and save taking the carb off. If no go, take the carb off and float bowl and test the fuel flow buy re connecting to the tank line, you should be able to see fuel flow by moving the floats up and down. Possibly the fuel needle has stuck in place stopping the flow but a little rare. Whilst the carb is off you may as well give it a good clean, spray with carby cleaner once the jets are out and spray opposite to fuel flow where you can and blow out same way with an air line as well as the jets.

Plug seems a good colour, so it was running right before the no start, good luck

[gti5notrkt]

Rapp rapp rapp.....she runs!

Took the carb off last night. The process is well documented on Sherco's website under jetting changes. At the same time cleaned and re-oiled the airfilter. Checked that the float sealed off the fuel (inverting carb and blowing through fuel line). Everything seemed fine, but also took out the jets and cleaned with carb spray and compressed air. While disassembling I noticed that the choke lever is really tight around the petcock. Took the liberty of shortening the lever a little to get better clearance. Put it all back together and she started right up. Even in 90+ weather she still needs some choke. Really not sure what the root cause was however I'm thinking that I was not getting the choke more than 1/2 way on due to the lever clearance issues. Now that I can be sure I can get 100% choke no problems. Maybe a bit of wild goose chase for a simple choke issue, but it was a valuable exercise in basic maintenance.

Thanks to all that helped.

Jon.

[copemech]

A small hole in the choke lever with a ty-wrap through it may help in retracting the choke lever as it can be difficult to reach withthe fingers. Twisting the carb in the mounts prior to tightening the clamps should give just enough clearance for the choke lever to operate.