after 11 years,my 350x let me sitting!

[Ddw350]

yep,its true..the impossible has happened,after 11 years of owning this machine,it left me at my neighbors house,sitting there with a sore foot and all out of breath and stuff.it fired right up an hour earlier,rode to his house[1/2 mile away] fooled around there for an hour,then it woulnt start.it popped a little,then nothing.after tinkering,it popped a few times again.i had gas in the bowl,and spark...it was like 17 degrees with a 15-20mph wind,maybe something froze? he towed me up the road and it eventually ran.popped and sputtered like crazy then suddenly it smoothed out.it started right up 2 hrs later when i tried.could it had some moisture in the carb that froze?maybe i flooded it trying to start it at my neighbors,why did it sputter and pop then suddenly clear up?maybe dirt or ice build-up.....the nerve! a 18 year old bike acting like this!!!

[Howdy]

What it seems like to me is this: When a motor gets real cold the fuel will not mix with the air properly. This can lead to hard starting, and fowled plugs. Once the motor warms up the fuel will mix better thus it starts easier, burns more efficient and runs smoother.

Another good example: Older Carbureted car/truck motors will act up the same way. They can be a pain to get fired up when cold. But once started or warmed up they run fine. Fuel injected motors mix the fuel better ( IMO ) and thus they start easier.

Too bad there isn't a fuel injector add on kit for the 350x. I think it would be a good addition ( probably be costly though ). ;)
Howdy

[hrc200x]

Were you riding through snow? Maybe the air filter was plugged?

[jenndnn3]

What the trike was thinking.......

I give this guy 11 years of solid pleasure and the jerk leaves me sittin the cold for an hour....THE NERVE!!!!!I will show him..... :evil:

I am sorry Ddw350 I could not resist....

[Wickedfinger]

Unfortunately, I think the further you get from "11 years new" the more problems like this will crop up.

[roofinggun]

I am not sure about the cold weather effect. I had my trike sitting in an unheated building for at least 2 months without starting it and on Saturday when I moved it to my new house she fired up in about 7 kicks. It was like -20 raw temp and -40 with the wind chill. Don't get me wrong, she ran rough for a spell, but it ran. I had fresh fuel though, maybe it was water in the gas.

[atckowalski]

Try taking a fuel sample out of the tank by using a pop bottle and a piece of hose.Squeeze the bottle than hook it to the hose while letting the bottle spring back to it's natural form.You should now have enough gas in the bottle to pour into a clear color glass bottle.After that check the color of it and compare it to gas that you know is good.I did this to one of my snowmobiles yesterday and the gas was almost white, which means that there is a lot of water in the gas,After I changed that gas, it no longer fouled out, but I got it stuck and I couldn't get out so I loaded up one of my 225dx's on the truck and went to my friend to ride. :-D What a riot it was until some arse came out of his house yelling at us :evil: I guess he was upset that we were having FUN and he was not!!The loser.

[Tri-Z Pilot]

Yeah, the water will come to rest at the bottom of the fuel tank,(fuel is lighter than water), so it could be a contaminated fuel problem.

[Ddw350]

no,iwasnt in the snow.it just wouldnt start! and today after sitting for a day,it did it again!i took a sample of fuel,it looked great.looked undre the carb with the bowl plug out[with a mirror] nothing appeared frozen[everything was all wet with gas anyway] blew through every line i could with the air compresser.looked in the tank,it is damn near full,even took the little bowl off the petcock valve...still nothing.the plug was wet and had spark,BUT i put another plug i had in it,kicked it twice[everything was already put back together by this time,and i kicked it alot more],kicked it a 3rd time and it fired right up!! i guess the plug was all but fouled out?i did do some carb tinkering with larger mains about 3 weeks before this,maybe the richness of these jets affected the plug[its back to factory now]..i also put some "nox-ice" in like a week ago and havent run it since the trip to my neighbors.im gonna drain it out and refill with diesel....i mean gas[maybe i filled it with diesel in the first place!!!!!!!! just kidding....]i,ll keep you posted

[HemiChallenger71]

Maybe your coil is going. A friend of mine's 350X's coil is going so in order to start it they heat up the plug with a torch, then throw it in fast and the thing starts on the first kick!

[Ddw350]

i dont know if its going or not,its started every time ive tried the last 2 days ever since i put the new plug in.i even tried to flood it on purpose,gased it wide open with the swith off,tipped it over and stuff,it fires right up.hey roofinggun,i agree with the cold weather story.its started all other times in the freezing cold,usally in a couple kicks.im gonna get a new plug,maybe a hotter one?

[Wickedfinger]

Maybe your coil is going. A friend of mine's 350X's coil is going so in order to start it they heat up the plug with a torch, then throw it in fast and the thing starts on the first kick!

MAN!. Now that sounds like alot of work!!!, but I gotta admire his "all consuming" "stop at nothing" desire to ride. A+ for effort but for Petes sakes.