R6 wont start, gasoline smell?

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elton_t

Well-known member
I have a 99 R6, it would crank but wont start and i smell the gasoline too, what does that means?
is it the carbs? the spark plugs were new

The bike started today and i rode 50km already, when i got home I let it sat for like 15mins and now it wont start, too warm?

[video=youtube;xwel2xD2Aa0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwel2xD2Aa0&feature=related[/video]
 
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Is the gasoline smell coming from the exhaust?

If so I would say you have an issue more related to spark... maybe weak battery, maybe spark plugs have been fouled due to running rich for a while, which may also explain the noticeable gasoline smell.
 
Has the bike been sitting for a while with the carbs not drained? Sounds like you had a flooding condition. The 50 KM ride should have totally cleared the flooding condition. Does the battery sound weak? Is it laboring to turn over? Hold the throttle wide open and turn it over, it should start if your battery is good. Sounds like the carbs need work (sticking needle and seat) and re-synced. Try this:

Hold it WOT
Turn it over
If bike starts, let run a few mins
While bike is running, turn petcock to "off"
Let bike bog to a stall
Re-open the petcock

(the sudden rush of fuel will unstick a stuck needle & seat)

Start the bike normally.

Also, the obvious, make sure there's gas left in the tank after all the flooding and riding with a stuck needle and seat.

Stick your pinky into the engine oil. Does it smell like gas? If so, change the oil as you've gas-washed the cylinders, and you could smoke the engine as the oil is now full of gas.
 
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This is really great, yes the bike has been sitting in a while. I think the engine might have flooded as well. The battery doesnt sound weak, its a new one in fact. I never work on a bike before, if some gas has gotten into the engine oil, should i still be trying to start the bike or just let the bike shop to tow it? My guess is if i let the bike sit for a bit it will start and i can try the petcock method. BTW where is the petcock switch on the R6?
 
I was able to start it while the bike has cooled down, but with the throttle wide open and during second attempt. I took it for a short slow ride to test the first and second gear it was fine. So the problem here is i have to hold the throttle wide open to start the bike, usually on the second/third attempt. Choke is fine, when the bike started up i can turn the choke off no problems with idle. However when the bike is warm say after a ride, it gets really hard to start it up, and flooded the engine. Have i brought up any new problems?
 
If it's old gasoline, like a few months old, that may be the issue. Put in some fresh gas and try again before you start tearing things apart.
 
When you play with the choke you mess with the air/fuel mixture. Adding gas (throttle) also messes with the fuel/air mixture. If you are doing both you may be rendering the choke useless.

Choke could be malfuctioning, on a 12 year old bike I may be inclined to have it checked.

Gummed carbs would be my second, and third would be plugs
 
The choke actually works like if i have my bike on, i turn the choke all the way the rpm would go up vise versa when i turn it off the rpm goes down. Not sure if that proves the choke is working but you are right! you brought up a good point! I will get three of them checked, actually i m heading down to Ted's after the long weekend.
 
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Just one question if I take the fuel tank out do I need to drain the fuel first? For the spark plug do I need a tool to take the spark plug out to replace it?
 
No, you don't need to take the fuel out of a tank (assuming you have a fully functional fuel inlet valve; many times it's just easy to drain the fuel. Takes a minute or two ....) and yes you do need a correct size spark plug socket. Usually you need extension piece as well because the sockets are pretty deep in the head.
 
if anyone know this, what kind of tools (size) would i need to remove and replace the spark plugs as well as cleaning the carbs? I have all the philips screwdriver and allen keys, spanner, what else do i neeD?
 
A typical multi-hundred piece socket set comes with the 2 most common size of spark plug sockets.
My first bike (that I never rode) needed a size of spark plug socket in between the 2 basic ones so I had to buy that seperately.

Also, deep sockets work fine too to take out spark plugs, but it's putting them back in that's dangerous because you can't cross-thread it, or else you could be in a bigger mess.
That's why I take a piece of rubber hose on the end of the spark plug and I lightly screw it back in by hand and I can feel if i'm threading it properly. If there's any kind of tightness that occurs, the rubber hose just falls off the plug and I try again.
To avoid cross-threading, just make sure you start screwing the plug back in straight.

As mxs said, it can be tricky because for most bikes the plugs are deep in the head of the engine.
I had to take down the radiator of my gf's bike to get to the spark plugs and replace them.
 
jeero said:
A typical multi-hundred piece socket set comes with the 2 most common size of spark plug sockets.
My first bike (that I never rode) needed a size of spark plug socket in between the 2 basic ones so I had to buy that seperately.

Also, deep sockets work fine too to take out spark plugs, but it's putting them back in that's dangerous because you can't cross-thread it, or else you could be in a bigger mess.
That's why I take a piece of rubber hose on the end of the spark plug and I lightly screw it back in by hand and I can feel if i'm threading it properly. If there's any kind of tightness that occurs, the rubber hose just falls off the plug and I try again.
To avoid cross-threading, just make sure you start screwing the plug back in straight.

As mxs said, it can be tricky because for most bikes the plugs are deep in the head of the engine.
I had to take down the radiator of my gf's bike to get to the spark plugs and replace them.
Click to expand...

Thanks!!! I ened to get the tools ready!
 
I put a couple pieces of electrical tape on the inside edges of the socket so it grabs the plug.
 
dricked said:
I put a couple pieces of electrical tape on the inside edges of the socket so it grabs the plug.
Click to expand...

Interesting trick.
My issue was that the large socket was too thick to fit down the shaft to get to the plugs (on a Katana 1100).
I had to buy a 17mm thinwall deep socket.
Effing socket set goes 15mm, 16mm, 18mm, 19mm, etc... I was so mad!
It's cool now. I needed that 17mm on the gf's bike for the exact same reason and this time I was happy that I bought it. :D
 
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