I just spent the day cleaning the carbs. Complete tear-down, cleaning and back together. The carbs were definitely dirty, the left quite a bit worse with lots of gunk around the atomizer of the main jet.
Once back on the bike, with the battery back from a fresh charge, no joy.
Cranked with full choke, heard a tiny stumble, then lonely cranking with no fire.
Immediately checked the plugs and found them bone dry. Carb float bowls both full.
There is no question that the spark I'm seeing is pretty weak. I had to go out at 9 PM to see anything at all. A new coil is on the now urgent list.
But why am I getting no gas in the cylinders with full float bowls and clean carbs?
Ok, let's assume that the spark you have is enough to get the bike running. It may not be, but I cannot see the spark to pass judgment.
BUT
It was running, you laid hands on the carbs. now it doesn't run.
Carbs seem the place to start.
As I said yesterday, are you sure what is in the carb bowls is petrol?
If it is and the bowls are filling normally, then you are either not drawing enough fuel into the engine to fire, or alternatively you are getting so much petrol in there it can't fire.
You said the plugs were dry so let's go with no petrol.
Query, what did you lay hands on?
The smartest thing to do might be to simply take everything off that you took off before and put it all back together CAREFULLY.
Did you touch the enrichener valves? Dit you put the left one back on the left side? If you pulled the enrichener valves apart - did they go back togther EXACTLY as they came apart?
In the float bowls, locate the idle jet (in the bottom corner) Stick a straw attached to a can f something like CRC or WD40 down the hole in the sideo fth ebowl and see if whatever is in the can squirts everywhere our of the idle jet when you press the button.
It didn't? Why not? You were not in there with metal polish were you and neatly clogged up your idle jet did you?
If the idle jets are clogged do not succumb to the rumour that they are removable - I have tried to remove 3 in my lifetime - 1 came out, two jammed and broke off the head of the jet - I stopped ever tying again. A nice stiff bristle from a laundry scrubbing brush is sufficient to probe the jet hole and with the aid of some crb cleaner - get it going again.
Next, did you take the slide needles out to have a look at them? If so, when you put them back did you make sure that they were retained so that they would simply migrate to the interior of the slide thereby ensuring an impossibly rich mixture at every possible throttle opening?
Main jet and emulsion tubes - present and clear? Your brush bristle is about the hardest thing you should ever approach a carb jet or emulsion tube with. If some salesman once tricked you into buying a folder of devices called "jet cleaners" or something similar (and even more so if they have "knurled" ends) and you do not own a gas or kerosene welding/brazing/soldering kit - do yourself a favour and put them in the garbage - never, ever go near a carb jet or emulsion tube with anything made of metal.
when (if) you rmeoved th emainjets there would have been a silly looking big washer on the bottom, the sort of thing someone might put there if they lost the "proper" washer. Unfortunately it is actually the correct washer and it is important - if you removed it, put it back.
Moving back to the metal polish scenario - you may have to carefully check and clear every drilling in the carb body although frankly most of them would cause poor running if blocked and not actually prevent running at all, only a blocked jet or a wide open main jet (cause the needle is rattling around inside the slide) can do that.
When you find what you did, and "un-did" it, let us know please.
