waking up from the summer, sled wont start

[rtxtovector]

I bought this sled used in March and immediately went into a bumper to bumper search for condition of all wear items
and the entire machine in general.
I pumped out the fuel (preventive measure) and replaced with 2.5 gals of High Octane non ethanol with techron cleaner and ran it several
times then add another gallon for storage.
I recently completed my rehab, ( many bearings, wheels, secondary , fluid changes and hyfax) and now it wont start.
Turns over fine but got a new AGM battery because the old one couldnt hold a charge overnight dropping to 12.2 volts
I have not changed plugs yet. I do have spark, it seems like a fuel issue but I am not taking anything for granted.
I have read old threads referring to loss of prime during the layup period which seems odd.
Any thoughts ?
This is my first sleds since the early 80's Skiroule kick

 

[Brotherdan]

I bought this sled used in March and immediately went into a bumper to bumper search for condition of all wear items
and the entire machine in general.
I pumped out the fuel (preventive measure) and replaced with 2.5 gals of High Octane non ethanol with techron cleaner and ran it several
times then add another gallon for storage.
I recently completed my rehab, ( many bearings, wheels, secondary , fluid changes and hyfax) and now it wont start.
Turns over fine but got a new AGM battery because the old one couldnt hold a charge overnight dropping to 12.2 volts
I have not changed plugs yet. I do have spark, it seems like a fuel issue but I am not taking anything for granted.
I have read old threads referring to loss of prime during the layup period which seems odd.
Any thoughts ?
This is my first sleds since the early 80's Skiroule kick

Year& model sled I assume its a vector,

 

[rtxtovector]

Year& model sled I assume its a vector,

Hi Brother Dan
indeed it is a 2005 Vector ER with 6400 miles
what are you thinking?

 

[Brotherdan]

Hi Brother Dan
indeed it is a 2005 Vector ER with 6400 miles
what are you thinking?

Easiest thing ive found is to put some fresh non ethanol in a windex type spray bottle, remove the airbox lid& spray a couple sprays into each carb boot& try starting, these sleds do tend to have start issues especially if the carbs are dirty, if it starts & quits on the spray bottle & will only stay running while spraying fuel in& never picks it up then its carb cleaning time

 

[maim]

the carb rs sleds are bad for the gas evaporaiting out of the float bowls during storage.

you can do like brotherdan to get it started or you can pressurize the gas tank through the vent line while cranking to help it fill the bowls faster. if started and ran every 30-45 days up to operating temp, they have way less issues come start of the season in my experiance.

 

[rtxtovector]

Easiest thing ive found is to put some fresh non ethanol in a windex type spray bottle, remove the airbox lid& spray a couple sprays into each carb boot& try starting, these sleds do tend to have start issues especially if the carbs are dirty, if it starts & quits on the spray bottle & will only stay running while spraying fuel in& never picks it up then its carb cleaning time

Thanks Dan
sounds reasonable
My brothers and I are going on a 4 day ride home basing in Rangeley in February, its our first time to Maine on sleds
best

 

[rtxtovector]

the carb rs sleds are bad for the gas evaporaiting out of the float bowls during storage.

you can do like brotherdan to get it started or you can pressurize the gas tank through the vent line while cranking to help it fill the bowls faster. if started and ran every 30-45 days up to operating temp, they have way less issues come start of the season in my experiance.

Thanks so much,
it all makes sense, I meant to ask both of you about transporting.
I am getting conflicting information about about how much if any fuel should be left in the tank when trailering
in order to prevent draining fuel into the combustion chamber ?
is there something to this ?

 

[STAIN]

On my Carbureted 4stroke sleds I added fuel shut offs by the pump. I have seen sled with full tanks push fuel by the needle and seats during transport, especially rough roads.

 

[rtxtovector]

thanks again so much, cheers to a good winter
I will go out and get a couple of shutoffs today, sounds like good cheap insurance

 

[maim]

on my sleds, i usually transport them full on highway as we usually drop less than 15 min off of the highway with no issues. i do pay attention when starting them and try without choke 1st before i add it while cranking until it starts.

 

[RobX-1]

you can pressurize the gas tank through the vent line while cranking to help it fill the bowls faster.

Find this and remove the hose that connects to it and with the gas cap on, blow into the hose as it will pressure your gas tank:

 

[RobX-1]

Here is where I located my fuel shutoffs on my RX-1; right at the corner where the hoses go from the tank to the fuel pumps. This is a 4 cylinder so am not sure if your 3 cylinder has one or two fuel lines but give you an idea for placement:

 

[rtxtovector]

to every one who pitched in, the culprit was in fact the carbs lost their prime after all, i used a SMALL amount of compressed air and clamped the end of the vent hose off and after a couple of attempts to start and allowing a little time for the fuel to make its way to the carbs, Voila !
It started and awakened from it deep sleep, good lesson learned
fuel shut offs being installed tomorrow for transport purposes and it will be started frequently from this point forward