Tom Blum

hawk won't start.

Background:

Two weeks ago I crashed my hawk. The bike ended up upside sown, leaned against the guard rail that I was under. It sat that way for about 5 minutes, while I sorted through my pieces and parts for damage. I wound up with lots of bruises and a banged up shoulder.

Surprisingly, the bike ran after being turned right side up. A lot of oil drained past the pistons. We filled the oil and started it up It smoked like hell for a while, until the oil burned out of the exhaust. We straightened the forks in the triple clamps and I rode the bike 100 odd miles back to the cabin.

The next day, I rode some more. About 18 miles out, the motor began to cut out at 4000 rpm. Below 4000 it was fine. But, it got progressively worse until it wouldn't run. I could get it to crank with full choke, but it just died and finally wouldn't run at all.

I got a ride back to camp and loaded the bike up.

Back at home in Florida, with my shoulder on the mend, I have begun to troubleshoot.

So far. Vacuum shut off is okay (checked with MityVac) and bike has "suck on it's tube to the shutoff.


drained and refilled the carb bowls a few times. Bike still won't start, but will fire a few times and sometimes try to start (sounds like one cylinder, I think)

Next steps:

I will pull the spark plugs and inspect them and check the spark.

If no problems there, Does anyone have ideas about "upside down" and "not run" that fit together and make sense?

Otherwise, It's time to pull the carbs and get into the nitty gritty.

TIA

Tom

lazn

wild guess, but if you have pulled the carb bowls you would have noticed.. Perhaps the bike is pulling air somewhere it isn't supposed to. Either around the carbs somehow (is it a rubber boot on the SH?) or perhaps a large or several vacuum lines?

That it will run for a bit with full choke makes me think it is running lean for some reason... It could also not be getting gas somehow.. Did you do a PVLIR? If you pulled the tank the vacuum line to the petcock goes on the back, not the bottom.

Tom Blum

PVLIR?

no comprendo that acronym.

I know the float bowls have gas because I drained them, put vacuum on the shut off valve and they refilled.

I agree it seems like a no fuel problem

Tom

Tom

Thumper

Sounds like a charging problem to me or a bad battery,

Hawkrider

PVLIR = Petcock Vacuum Line Inadvertent Relocation

Translated - you put the vacuum line on the bottom nipple instead of the nipple on the back of the petcock.

I say try looking at the air filter. I bet it's oil soaked.

gboezio

The VTR have a huge pumping trough the crankcase because of both pistons going down at the same time, if the engine was turned down, the huge PCV pipes would dump a fair amount of oil in the airbox. Your lucky if you did not bend a rod from an hydro lock, is the bike starting at a normal speed or crank slower than normal, assuming you have a good power source.

Tom Blum

It cranks normally. It ran for prox. 120 miles normally.

I like the oil soaked air filter theory. I will check that out tomorrow.

There was no hydrolock upon the first start after the upside sown episode.

I'll report back tomorrow.

Tom

kai ju

This may sound like a stupid question but you rode the bike for about 120 miles and then it started running poorly, 120 miles is about normal range for a standard tank Hawk, are you out of gas ?
If you filled up on the way home did you maybe overfill and get gas in the emissions plumbing, if still so equipped ?

I don't think it would have run for that distance on an oil soaked stock paper filter but would have been allright on a K&N or BMC gauze type filter.

Just a couple of points to ponder.

Kai Ju

gboezio

If the engine is sound, I have to admit that it's weird that he rode 120 miles without too much problems and that it's going worse and worse.
I' think it's probably some stupid thing that got out of place, check both plug wires, wires or coil may be damaged and cause open or short circuiyt, if carbs seating good in it's boots, oh yeah carb vents, thay may have swallowed oil and clogged passages and make the oil soaked filter even worse.

Tom Blum

The tank was perhaps 40 miles into a new tank. I did fill up on the ride back.

Tell me more about gas clogging the emissions plumbing. I think the bike is stock. I've had it for three months and never had to work on it til now.

How would I check on this?

TIA

Tom

gboezio

For the carb vents, I'll check there, but better take them apart and clean everything, not sure where the oil could have gone. Better start by checking under the air filter.

Tom Blum

We have a winner.


Greg was right. It had an oil soaked air cleaner.

When I removed the top, oil POURED out!!

I started it up with the open airbox and it settled into a nice idle.

I'm washing the air filter now.

Thanks for all the ideas. This forum is a good resource!!!

Tom

gboezio

Niiice, one more superbird on the road, well as soon as you fixed this front fork.

Tom Blum

Actually, the front fork is fine. It is amazing that a bike could highside, flip once (270 degrees) and only break all the plastic.

The superbike bars I just installed were not bent. neither lever was broken. The windscreen, which was lying on the ground, wasn't broken. just scratched.

Two new questions:

1. I finally got the front plug out. A craftsman thinwall plug socket fit in the hole (I don't have the official tool set.)
What is the electrode from an iridium plug supposed to look like?

My bike has 17K miles. The remarks in the forum about plugs indicate they should look like new at 20K and 30k MILES. MINE IS A LITTLE SHARP POINT. it does have the correct gap though. (.032).

The plug was sooty due to running rich.

2. How does the rear plug come out? Do you have to remove the tank?

TIA

Tom

tommygdbr

Check your Owners Manual, It tells you how to remove your rear plug

gboezio

Should look like this, but with brown deposits, in doubt get new ones, if sooty heat it up with a propane torch. The rear plug is the easy one.

Hawkrider

Who's da man?