Always Broken VT500 won't start. Again. No fuel?

[Stretch9301]

Hey guys...

So, a little while back my VT500 started having starting issues... A buddy of mine figured it wasnt getting fuel, and so we took the carbs off and cleaned them.

It ran a lot better that night, but...

IT STILL WONT FREAKING START.

Gaaaa... WHY must this bike always be broken? Probably because the last owner phuckered with everything and I for some reason felt the need to buy a bastardized VT500 because it was cheap and had a lot of new parts. Yeahhhh, im an idiot. Thats probably why.

Ive learned it WILL eventually start after a metric sh*tload of starting fluid (literally 6+ tries of me spraying it in the intake, it running for a few seconds, dying, and me spraying some more in there) at which point it runs great.

Until it boggs down and dies under load shortly after I leave my driveway.

*sigh*

What do y'all think? The gas tank is clean, checked that. It has a brand new, OEM honda petcock that works as it should. The fuel line is also new and clean and it leads to a cleaned set of carburetors. I thought maybe it was the tank vent. I couldnt find said tank vent so I took the gasket off the filler cap. It rattled like hell and still wanted to die. Not that... It always starts right up once its warm.

Im guessing it isnt getting enough fuel, but (once its started) it runs great without any load on it.

Im clueless here... Any guesses? What makes a bike behave like that?

More info:
At long last ive gotten it to stop spewing gas from the tank/petcock/fuel line connections. Thanks for the help on that.
Ive tried cleaning the plugs, doesnt help.
We gave it an ultra dose of sea foam when we cleaned the carbs. Made the bike run better except for teh dying and not starting problems.
I have NO clue when the last time the carbs were synced was. I dont have a fancy whatchamacall it nor do I know how to use one. Im sure it doesnt help these issues, but could that REALLY cause all these problems?
This bike does NOT have a fuel pump (someone always suggests that)...

[gat803]

Have you checked the compression in the cylinders?
Just because you've cleaned the carbs, that doesn't mean they're clean.

I've had carbs apart several times before they'd run right, and I've had others never run...had to replace them to get the machine running right.

[honeys money]

Starting fluid really drys out the rings and pistons, a little is not too bad, but 6 times is very bad.

[Geaux Ride]

It doesn't have a fuel pump but it does have a vacuum assist tube, make sure that is connected and the carbs have gas and floats are set right.

Off the top of my head I'd say you are running on one cylinder, check your exhaust to see if one is warm and the other cold. I had a similar problem when i had a bad cdi, i could start it with a lot start fluid and if i went down the street it would bog down and not go faster then ~45 mph, you can test the cdi by switching connections and seeing if the other exhaust gets warm.

[Stretch9301]

Originally Posted by Geaux Ride

It doesn't have a fuel pump but it does have a vacuum assist tube, make sure that is connected and the carbs have gas and floats are set right.

This is good, this is very good!! What is this thing? Where is it? Sounds like the first thing I'd check...

[corvin]

The vacuum port is on rear cyl,leftside.Little brass nipple,on the petcock ,the petcock left side a little nipple pointing down.These two ports should be connected with tube.

[Stretch9301]

Its not that... The carbs are getting fuel.

Im running an OEM petcock intended for an Ascot, this thing wouldnt prime itself with the Shadow petcock...

What else ya got?

[Stretch9301]

bump...

[Geaux Ride]

I really think you are running on one cylinder, next time you start it check to see if both exhaust pipes get warm? You have two cdi and two coils, one of those could be bad. I'm assuming you have changed all four spark plugs, and put new spark plug wires on. if not do that first.

There are only four thing you need to run; fuel, fire, compression and air. If you have cleaned the carburetors and it looks good and nothing suspect then you can check compression. Air is not normally a problem but make sure the carburetor is connected to the air intake properly. Finally check to make sure the spark plugs are firing a bright blue spark. Sometime they can give off a weak yellow spark which won't ignite the fuel normally. That's why sometimes starter fluid helps; it atomizes better and easier to ignite.

My thoughts are that one of your cdi boxes is bad and you are trying to start and run on one cylinder.