Help!!! Can't figure out why it won't run

[Johnathangrantj]

Hey guys, I've been reading for a while and a few months ago I got my very first venox 250.  It was a steal for 450 bucks from a dealer, only problem was, it didn't run.  No problem I thought, I'm a car guy i should have this thing up and running in no time right....wrong.  Let's start from day one, when the bike was finally delivered it was dead, battery was a done deal so I bought a new one and the motor turns over nicely, sprayed some starting fluid in the intake and it started right up and ran for a few seconds.  looking at the vacuum diagram on the rear fender it looks like there were three canisters on this bike and the diagram only showed two, so I thought it was a problem with the vacuum hoses.  I disconnected all the hoses from the canisters and ran them all together to the fuel tank so that there was vacuum to operated the fuel valve.  The valve was bad and had to be replaced so I did that, now with all the vacuums hooked up it still wouldn't start on it's own but when I sprayed starter fluid it started and ran under it's own idle for like 30 minutes so I shut it off thinking I've solved the problem.  The next day I rehooked up the vacuums like the diagram shows and it wouldn't start, disconnected them and rehooked them up like they were before, still wouldn't start, pulled the spark plugs cleaned them with a torch and put them in hot, still wouldn't start, went to pull the tank off with the ignition still on and gas leaked into the plug for the fuel sending unit and kinda burned both sides of the wire up and I think it may have fried more than that because since then the spark to one of the plugs has been extra week and even when I put starter fluid in it still will not run or run really bad for a few seconds and then die and will not restart.  When turning the engine over I don't smell any kind of gas like it's even getting close.  Can anybody help or do I need a new bike.  I already pulled the carbs off and cleaned them up pretty good as well as blew compressed air through all the openings, at this point I'm just lost.  Somebody help please.  Oh and it seems to take up to three weeks to order any new parts either through the dealer or online so that hasn't helped me do this quickly either.

[max oradea]

ok from the information i can gather, it seems like you are not getting fuel to the carbs. have you tried the carb bowl drains to see if your fuel tap is working correctly that the vacuum tubes are corretly put in the right place. and that sufficient fuel is getting into the carb and into the engine.
are the plugs wet when the bike turns over but no combustion? car is easy compared to a bike. half the amount of cylinders with more power to weight ratio comes at a price of perfection. now carbs... can you tell me which pilot jet goes in which carb... yes they are different size for front and rear.
as for the automated vacuum fuel paddock it hooks up directly to the rear manifold vacuum port, make sure that is correct.
let me know about the plugs and float bowls, suck the vacuum pipe for the fuel paddock and see if fuel flows through the main fuel line going to the carb.

[max oradea]

oh and how are the compression? when i buy a use bike i listen to the turn over and measure the cylinder compression. cylinder compression is very very important and also valve gap, if one cylinder is off from the other i would run away... because its gonna be a top end rebuild... and who knows... with the cylinders in good nick meaning at least we will have a rock solid base to work with and from there tuning can help and make the bike run better if it was DOA. thats why i try to stay way from injection... because more stuff can go wrong. which can not be repaired with tools or mechanics.

[Johnathangrantj]

 The model year is a 2009 and it's not fuel injected,  the float bowls are filling up on both sides, plugs are dry.  I will check cylinder compression tomorrow.   Vacuum lines are connected to the right ports I think.   How many vacuum canisters am I supposed to have?  This bike has 3.

[Johnathangrantj]

Oh, and I already replaced the auto fuel paddack, the other one was bad.  And I checked it with a vacuum pump to make sure it's working.  I also replaced the air filter the oil filter and the solenoid.

[max oradea]

ok so now we have narrowed it down, the fuel is not getting from the float chamber into the engine, so you could have ultra low compression which i dot think so, or the valves are really off. hey what about your idle mixture screw setting? are they ok?
i am trying to figure out what other causes for fuel not reaching the combustion chamber from the float valve.

[max oradea]

about vacuum canister i remember i had one in the front left and one in the rear behind the battery.

[Johnathangrantj]

did a compression test and the front and rear cylinders are both within tolerance and I tested the spark both cylinders were firing.  I also pulled the carbs again and took out all the jets and blew compressed air through again, turned the idle mixture screw til it was all the way tight marked that position with a sharpie and loosened it 2 and a half turns.  I'm to put it back together tomorrow and hopefully it will start.  I'm going to try to attach the pictures that I took along the way, here you can see how it arrived with the three canisters, and if you have any input it's greatly appreciated.

[max oradea]

how many turns were the idle mixture screw before? i cant help you out with the canisters because i do not remember that i had those. but hopefully someone who does have the same model will be along shortly.
oh by the way your previous starts did you try with the choke or not?

[Johnathangrantj]

Okay I finally had time today to get it back together, I by passed the canister situation and just connected all the vacuum lines together and to the auto fuel assembly cranked it over a few times with the drain on the bowl open to make sure it was getting gas, and it still didn't start, even after I sprayed starter fluid in it.  Here's where it gets strange,  I unplugged the electronic connection attached to it and it started right up.  Here's a clip to hear it runWatch "Venox running" on YouTube
Venox running: http://youtu.be/U8ItCLLUQGM. My question now, does it need the canister setup?  And what does the electronic connector control?

[max oradea]

what connectors are you talking about?  the white smoke coming out of the exhaust is a little alarming i hope that is just the starting fluid burning off. were you bleeping the engine or was it over raving in neutral on its own? are both cylinders firing? like is there a good healthy pulse coming from both exhaust pipe.
it also sound like there is a air leak of some sorts, your engine will not sit back to idle quickly after being raved.
and watch your paint job, your seat has already scrapped a bit off.