Hornet F4 Not Starting After 6 Months

Craig321

Craig321

Craig321

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Joined
2 May 2004
Posts
19,950
Hi,

I've just come back from 6 months of travelling, put the battery back in which has been on an Optimate. Third try and the engine runs but only at about 1-2k revs with the choke fully open but then cut out.

Tried again a good few times, you can hear the starter trying but no luck, it doesn't want to know anymore. Every time I try it stinks of petrol and just does nothing. A few times when I pressed the starter the battery seemed to cut out - the mileage display and neutral light etc. went off, it would then be fine when I released and pressed again.

Before I owned the bike it stood for a year inside unused. I bought it cheap and it started and worked for months to commute to work absolutely no problems.

I realise the carbs could be blocked and I'm really not sure about doing them myself. How difficult is it? What kind of tools would I need? Anything special? I do have a Haynes manual but it makes it look awfully complicated.

Is there anything I can try before I either give it to a garage to fix or try clean the carbs myself? I'm not sure it would be carbs if I smell fuel? Surely I wouldn't smell anything if nothing was getting through the carbs?

Thanks.
 
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Sounds flooded, close the choke, open the throttle and try to start it. If not leave it for 24 hours then try again. It could also be contaminated fuel, drain it as much as you can and try new fuel.

Andi.
 
yep,flooded,just leave it 30 mins-hour and try again with no choke

give it a roughly 30 seconds rest inbetween thumbing the starter as the rectifier wires tend to get hot and melt if you thumb the starter for long periods
 
Tried the throttle open & start with choke closed just after andicole0 posted, no luck. Just left it an hour and tried with no choke and still no luck. It's not doing that strange turning off thing sometimes when I press the starter now so hopefully that was just a one off thing.

Going to leave it until tomorrow and try again.
 
no they should be fine,you could take them out and clean them though,its a hassle on some bikes but atleast you know you've cleaned them and let the cylinders dry out a bit
 
Just as a test, are you able to pull the HT lead off the plug and test with a known plug? Or just unscrew the plug.

To make sure you are certainly getting a spark... Careful, it hurts if you get zapped. I learnt the hard way.
 
Ok, done. Both are sparking.

I did notice when I took #1 out that the tip was covered in, and smelt of, petrol.

Also tried starting again after re-seating the spark plugs and letting it stand for about 24 hours and no luck.
 
should start if you keep trying,ive left mine stored for years n its started

fresh fuel might help and plugs even if they are sparking,wont cost you much if you only need two
 
What's the best way to keep trying? Choke on or off? Anything else I can check or try?

Surely the fuel would be OK after 6 months? Would be a shame to drain it - I left it full so the tank didn't rust!
 
yeah it should still start

try with choke off till it coughs n splutters then add a bit of choke n try n start it,i can be difficult at times though to start them but they do eventually fire up
 
My advice? - Drain the fuel and refill with fresh stuff. Something like Shell Nitro if possible. Then remove the plugs, check the gap on them and clean them up again. Then try it.

The above is based on my tales of woe (I'd link you to the thread I started over on the RSVR.net forums but the server is busted just now so we are 'sans' message boards at the mo') trying to get my Aprilia RSV to start after 14 months stood still with a full tank of fuel in it (I did post about it here if you have a search in this thread somewhere, few pages back). Fitted a brand new battery, new starter relay (uprated Yamaha one) and brand new properly gapped plugs. Still wouldn't start.

Eventually bit the bullet and disconnected the tank QD fuel line, emptied nearly 18 litres of fuel from it and refilled with fresh Shell Nitro. Took the plugs out again, cleaned them and tried starting it. Fired up within a few seconds and burst violently into life.

It'll take 20 mins or so to properly drain the fuel out of it and give it a go. Even if it doesn't work you will have discounted a possible problem and can eliminate it from your list of things to check. But I bet it starts. ;)
 
What's the best way to drain the tank?

Haynes says attach fuel hose to the tap and 'draw vacuum' into the hose. Would just sucking on the end until it starts to come out do the trick?
 
Just attach a pipe to the tap and turn tap on,it'll just flow out normally

Or open the filler cap and stick a pipe in and syphon it off that way through the tap would be easier though
 
It's alive!!!

Cleaned the spark plugs with wire brush, compressed air machine on air filter and freshly charged battery (I had tried so many times previously that I thought it best to charge it over night on the Optimate again) also sprayed the side stand cut off switch area with WD40 for good measure to move any moisture, not sure if that could cause problems but I did it anyway.

5-6 tries fairly long on the starter and it turned over a few times. Eventually it was turning over consistently, gave it some petrol and it started (choke off).

Only problems:
- Tried to turn choke on to let it idle for a bit. It cut out.
- I have to give it petrol to keep it going. It'll idle at about 1300 but then drop and cut out
- Feeling very unresponsive on the throttle

Should a good ride sort out the above and maybe some fuel stabilizer?
 
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did you let it run for 30 minutes and fully warm up? should let you throttle it then

or give it part choke as its running,then see if you can throttle it up

atleast it fired up so your not far off now
 
Seems to be running absolutely fine now. Still not starting quite like it should, I have to give a little petrol when I press the starter to get it going even after a few mile run. Throttle response is all there, gearing nicely, power's there so all good. I'll get it through a couple of tanks of petrol and if it's still not starting like it should I'll look into it a bit more.

I need to get a new chain & sprocket on there in the next few hundred miles. I have the choice of x-ring or o-ring. Current one is o-ring and my lubes/cleaners are all o-ring compatible stuff but will happily go x-ring if it's better?

Also wouldn't mind changing out the coolant before we get into winter. Is it just a case of:
- Drain
- Stick hose pipe in the reservoir for a few minutes or use funnel + tap water with drainage thing open to get everything out
- Put new coolant in (Halfords stuff OK?: link) (I can never remember this one, do you put the new stuff in through the reservoir tank under the seat or directly into the radiator?)

The above is just what I've read. Is it the right way to do things?

I have my bike back!! :D

Thanks for the help all :)
 
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I think you take off radiator cap and fill through the res till water trickles out of the rad (this bleeds the rad of air)put rad cap on and continue to fill the res up to within the filler markings

don't forget to add some antifreeze to the mix

x ring chains tend to last longer imo
 
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