VLX not running after carbs rebuild

[steed2death]

hi all.. i have honda steed(shadow)VLX 400cc 2002.. everything is stock but the straight open pipes.. backfire and poping problems.. need to rejet coz the A/F screw didnt solve the problem.. so i have to remove the carbs to know the jet size.. i did remove the carbs, cleaned them and the slow jet was blocked.. i replaced the carbs and made sure that everything was in the right place.. i hit the starter and the engine was running.. the next day when i hit the starter again , the engin didnt work.. so i thought the battery is weak,, i connected a car battery and tryd again but nothing.. i tryed to do one thing, i removed the stock air filter and i put my hand on the air intake, hit the starter and the engine start working but when i remove my hand it will stop again.. i notice also that the rear exhaust was hot but the front one was cold.. can anyone tell what is the problem here.. its not an ignition problem.. something wrong with the carbs or the air.. excuse my bad english mates.. thanx in advance..

[John Hopkins]

I'm not familier with your bike, but it sounds like you either have left the cover off the air filter or you have a hose loose or off..when you stripped the carbs did you check the vacuum diaphragms for splits or pinholes, did you fit new carb repair kits and did you make sure that both floats were the same height and working smoothly.

If one of the jets was blocked did you think about what it was blocked with and check the fuel filter, and if that was clogged, the tank..

John.

[steed2death]

its a copy paste of the vlx 600.. just smaller engine.. its the one in my sig pic.. and yes i check the vacuum diaphragms.. everything was fine.. but i didnt fit any carb repair kit.. coz all rubbers and o rings are in good condition.. thanx for ur answer mate.. well appreciated!!

[steed2death]

Originally Posted by John Hopkins

you have a hose loose or off..

John.

i have to check the hoses.. i think one is off..

[Ratrodcycle]

Yeah I don't know much but it does sound like a vacuum line or fuel hose. If you cover air intake and starts but doesn't when uncovered sounds like not enough gas to air or lean mixture. Check that everything is connected properly and your getting gas to carb.

[steed2death]

i removerd the carbs again and re-checked everything in and out of the carbs and i didnt find the washer in on of the pilot screws.. seems that i lost it and i didnt notice that when i replaced it.. so guys do u think that the washer whose qausing this problem?? i will buy new pilot screws but just wanna know if my issue lies here.. thanx

[John Hopkins]

without the washer the spring will dig into the small o'ring, that will cause the pilot jet to change it's setting, the small o'ring is easy to miss because it gets bedded in and needs digging out of the blind hole..I have posted a few of these instructions on how I repair my carbs so one of them should be easy to find, unfortunately they were all replies to other questions so maybe not..but for the basics..

Buy the repair kits..

don't split the carbs if you don't want to rebalance them.

make sure the butterfly valves open and close at the same time.

check the diaphragms by gentle stretching for pin holes and splits and replace them if they are damaged.

when you replace the diaphragms use a small amount of silicon gasket gel to seat them properly in the grooves..

take photographs of each step so that you know how they go back together and you don't lose small parts..

use all the parts in the repair kits except the round o'rings that you would have used if you split the carbs.

clean all the jets and nooks and crannies with carb cleaner spray..

and don't forget the air cutoff valve..that's where the oval o'rings go..

John.

[steed2death]

thanx for the reply.. the problem fixed already.. it was an air leak.. one of the blastic pipes moved out of his place.. so i just fixed it and that solved the problem.. i still have to find a washer for the pilot screw.. thanx a lot again!!