WTH? Running last week beautifully.

[Tor-King]

Last week had the '86 up and running beautifully!  Everything is clean and new in carbs and were rebuilt correctly.  Today, tried to start and will only sputter.  It is like it is trying but will not catch.  Tried choke, no choke, everything in between...  WTH?

Dean

[T Legg]

Maybe no fuel another pinched fuel hose or disconnected vacume line.

[red]

Last week had the '86 up and running beautifully!  Everything is clean and new in carbs and were rebuilt correctly.  Today, tried to start and will only sputter.  It is like it is trying but will not catch.  Tried choke, no choke, everything in between...  WTH?
Dean

Dean,

Is the battery fully charged?  Battery terminals clean?  Give the air filter(s) a gentle spray of starting fluid (ether).  Then try to start the engine (no choke).

If the engine starts briefly and then dies, all of the electricals are okay, and you have a fuel problem.  So far, that seems likely, from here.  Catch what comes out of the tank in a cup, and see if it is good gasoline, with no water or contamination.  Is there a fuel filter, aftermarket or stock?  Does the petcock operate as it should?  Does the bike run with the petcock switched to the PRIME setting?  Can you disconnect all fuel lines entirely, and blow compressed air through them?

If you get no start with ether, then you have an electrical problem.  If you have a spare set of spark plugs, you do not need to remove the spark plugs from the engine.  Pull each spark plug cap off, and put an old plug into it.  Ground each plug against the engine.  See if all the plugs are firing as they should.  If not, check the wiring to the coils, and read the Ohms across each coil.  Readings should be very similar, from one coil to the next.  The manual can tell you what the good readings will be.

Step by step . . .
Good luck.

[chiz]

WTH  you doing riding around over there -23 over here this morning..Try blasting it with starting fluid sounds like mine on the shitty battery she once had.
Lez

[Tor-King]

I think I may have found the issue. 

Red and T Legg: I currently do not have the tank on the bike.  I have an "IV" type system currently set up. After a thorough examination, I noticed that the valve on the portable tank is a reduced size.  Also, my valve was screwed up and restricted the flow.  Probably not an issue if there was a fuel pump but a big problem on gravity fed.  Obviously, when everything was set up, I could not tell if it was a fuel issue...

Chiz:  I feel your pain. It is just too friggin' cold outside to work! It is -25 C this morning, with wind chill, -33 C.  For those South of the border that is -27 F.  The bike is nowhere near road worthy.  All the work I am doing is in the garage!  With the amount of snow on the ground, I probably will not see asphalt until March sometime.

Thanks for your help.
Dean