Spray fuel through air intake?

OK, I have a question. I have read several people say "try spraying fuel through the air intake" when trying to start a bike. I know that my carbs are dirty; got a guy coming to clean them Wed (yeah I know I wimped out but its $100 and I will learn instead of messing it up). I'd love to start it just to see how it runs now but the fuel does not get completely sucked in. Gets to just before the fuel filter I installed and stops. Now for the question. Where do you get "spray fuel"? Is it those cans of quick start I've seen??

PS I did a replacement of the old fuse panel and will post the step by step photos for others attacking that. Rick was right; its alot cleaner and not have as finicky!

 

Yep, that's it.

 

So do I just remove the air boots and spray it in?

 

Great idea on the learning part, BUT let me throw a warning out there....for $100 I'm not sure how much of a "cleaning" you're going to get. Unless this guy is a REALLY close friend of yours, $100 isn't going to get you much. A "true" cleaning is going to take a good 8-10 hours of labor time, AT LEAST, I don't care what anyone else says....and will go so far as to say that those who claim less time is involved is skipping steps or doing only a 30-40% job. It's slow, meticulous, work, that puts a premium on being thorough rather than rushing and skipping steps, and there will be problems involved along the way (stuck fasteners, etc.). The parts alone that should be replaced (bowl gaskets, needle seats and needles, shaft seals, mixture screw washers and o-rings, etc.) are almost $100 or more.

Gosh, as long as I'm dragging you down, just remember that to really "tune up" these bikes---which really means "tuning the carbs" since there are no ignition adjustment possible---you not only have to clean the carbs thoroughly (meaning: completely), but the valves have to be checked and adjusted properly, the carbs synchronized, and the idle mixture adjusted, preferrably via a colortune plug.

All the above translates into Time and thus Money. You can save some of the Money if you can do-it-yourself, but the Time issue is much harder to save.....UNLESS YOU SKIP STEPS.

I have a friend who is a certified Viper Technician---only a couple 100 of those guys worldwide----at a Dodge dealership, and his comment is always along the lines of "it costs just as much to correctly tune up a 1993 Dodge Voyager Van as it does a Dodge Viper".....you see the point. The low initial cost of these XJ bikes (which, by the way, still qualify as the bargains of the century!) seduces people into thinking that the maintenance costs will be cheap, also, and that is a big, key mistake in thinking, in my opinion!

 

Chacal thanks for the tip. I know this guy may not be perfect and may not do the best tuning job but there are a few reasons I went this route. First, this is my first bike and I'm literally learning at each step. Getting more and more confident but not sure I can just do carbs on my own yet. Second, I've been tinkering with this bike for almost 2 years now (as I had time and money) and its just that one step from actually RIDING!!! whooooohooo!!! It needs the inspection and plates so that is on the agenda for this coming week. Third, I hope at some point this summer to get to a local carb clinic and do a really good job myself.

You didn't bring me down; I'm actually loving working on this thing even though it has not yet even started. It's close just won't quite turn over.

 

BTW do I just spray that stuff in where the air boots are or from the air box?

 

Remove the air filter and spray in through there....that's the easiest way!

 

Wow that stuff really works! Good news is that it started right up and actually sounded decent. Bad news is that it died once that ran out. Fuel comes down the line and does not get to and fill the fuel filter. I can see the gas in the line but it just doesn't seem to get sucked in. Is this just dirty carbs?

 

Sounds to me like the filters on the float's are blocked.... which requires at least the removal of the float bowls, floats and float valves.

Once you get the fuel issue sorted I'd say you're in for a good run

 

That is great news. I can't wait to get out there on it!

 

Keep us updated as to what solution worked for you.