bike running like $h!p

[colesdaddy02]

my quad is all stock except for the sparks key and it wont hardly stay running. The plug seems to have a lot of build up on it.Its only two years old with not that many hours on it. Should i try to adjust the air fuel or could it be something with the sparks key? I thought i heard on here that they come from the factory rich. Any advice would be appreciated.

[tri5ron]

How's your air filter look ? is it clean ?
Is the boot from the airbox to the carb good and secure, with no cracks or tears ?

Has the carb ever been cleaned ?
How old is the fuel ? do you drain it when you store it ?

How long has it sat without running? ( 2 years and low hours means it sits alot)

How old is the battery, and is it fully charged ?

How old is the oil and oil filter ? Is it clean ?

[fishnfergie]

When you say build up what exactly do you mean. Like metal build up or carbon or what.

[slightlybent47]

Originally posted by tri5ron
How's your air filter look ? is it clean ?
Is the boot from the airbox to the carb good and secure, with no cracks or tears ?

Has the carb ever been cleaned ?
How old is the fuel ? do you drain it when you store it ?

How long has it sat without running? ( 2 years and low hours means it sits alot)

How old is the battery, and is it fully charged ?

How old is the oil and oil filter ? Is it clean ?

Yep check all the above.;) ;) ;)

[colesdaddy02]

ok thanks i will check all that this morning when i get outside. Thanks i will let you know what i find. btw its carbon buildup.

[bigbad400]

do you have an outerwears on your filter? those things save motors but you have to make sure they are clean. and you may need to get a new one cuz sometimes they look clean but they wont breathe. your filter sounds dirty to me. they are setup to run slightly rich, not to the point were you would have excessive build up like that. you could have a fouled plug too they do go bad eventually. just get a new plug. there like 3 bucks.

[colesdaddy02]

thanks for the help. got it fixed this afternoon. cleaned the carb and emptied the dirty gas out of the tank. i think the on posistion on the fuel valve is clogged,runs excellent in the reserve posistion now. clean the plug also. thanks again for the help.

[tri5ron]

Glad we could be of help to you.
Good to hear it was nothing serious.
(I figured it was just spoiled fuel),
it's pretty hard to kill a stock 400ex, and the Sparks key does not cause them to run any richer, or warrant any changes in jetting.

The gasoline that is produced these days is highly oxygenated and does not store very well for long periods of time.
The fuel "spoils" and turns to a thickened varnish very quickly.

It is a good idea to put some fuel stabilizer , like Sta-Bil, in the fuel tank, and run the quad for 5 minutes or so, any time the quad is going to sit more than a few weeks.

If you remove the petcock from the fuel tank, you will find a fine screen that is probably gummed up from the old gas. that is most probably causing the quad to not wanting to run with the valve in the on position. remove and clean that screen, and also use a thin piece of wire to scrape the inside of the petcock. Spray it all out real good with some carb cleaner,
(don't squirt it, and let it splash in you eyes),
reinstall the screen, and you should be good to go.

Merry Christmas, and have a safe and happy holiday season.

[colesdaddy02]

yeah i will have to try that with the pet cock. come to thank of it the wifes 96 300ex does the same thing but still runs like a champ on original motor with no major work ever done. merry christmas to all.