Will not start

[chiz]

Hello to all on the forum.. My name is Lez and I live in Grimsby Ont Canada Ok. I hope someone can solve a mystry.
I just bought an 84 FJ1100 with 33k claimed and on the clock... the BIKE  started fine when I picked it up and sounded good, after about 5 hours on arriving home in the back of a truck it started and ran fine and I rode it very briefly...
I spent a few days covered on my driveway the cover was not that good so after a few heavy rains I tried to start it after I got my insurance, she will not start and only splutters occasionally.
  Decided that water may have entered the dreaded keyhole on the gas cap so I drained the tank and the carbs..
Today I hooked up a temporary lawn mower tank with good clean gas instead of the bike tank three carbs flow well from their drain plugs while the inner right does not flow so far.
  I keep swapping batteries as soon a they get weak it, still will not start, I get spark from all plugs they are not wet......BIKE WILL START AND RUN FINE ON EATHER STARTING FLUID but will die after I stop administering the eather the choke is no help although I have hardly used it the throttle has no effect when useing gas when I open it and the engine changes tone when I do so.

Does anyone out have an idea... Does the tank need to be on and the fuel pump hooked up? I cant think it would matter if the pump was in the system or not, surly all of the carbs did not decide not to work at the same time would it not still start and run on a dirty carb or two??   What is the generally accepted starting procedure for this bike ....no hand book or manual.
Thanks in advance Lez   

[rktmanfj]

Your '84 has a fuel pump?   

[chiz]

Your '84 has a fuel pump?   

Ok this is why I need the forum your question immediatly clued me in not pump it has a guage ok I have answered my own question.... inboard right carb flowing freely from drain plug now...Still wont start HELP
Help

[Dan Filetti]

BIKE WILL START AND RUN FINE ON ETHER STARTING FLUID but will die after I stop administering the ether

This means it's fuel related.  Check the fuel line routing, make sure your petcock will flow, with vacuum to the petcock.  Make sure the vacuum line to the petcock is good and attached. Try running it on PRI.  You NEED to figure out why one of the carbs will not feed gas, this could easily be the issue. 

Oh, and don't 'run the bike' on ether it'll wash the oil from the cylinder walls and do damage pretty quickly.... 

Others more knowledgeable will chime in, be patient. 

Dan

[chiz]

Very baffling indeed I am going to find a way to get gas into the throats of the carbs, perhaps down the vacuum ports on each carb, just a bit. I believe it will start if I do this but will not run. I this happens then as suspected there is no fuel being sucked into the air stream. Why? perhaps fuel level in carbs is to low?? why when it ran fine before??
Does the vacuum fuel shut off gas tap need to be in the system for the bike to run?? does the gas gauge wire need to be connected..? HELP
Lez   

[FJ_Hooligan]

Does the vacuum fuel shut off gas tap need to be in the system for the bike to run??

What does this statement mean? 
The vacuum activated petcock must have vacuum in order for fuel to flow when in the ON position.  On the PRIME position, it should flow gas without a vacuum.  But you've got gas flowing from 3 carb drain vents so you're obviously getting flow from the tank. 

Sounds like you've got one or more clogged up carbs.  The fuel is not getting from the fuel bowl into the airstream.

Hooligan

[chiz]

Yes totally agree what I don't understand is... HOW can a working machine just go into this situation from just sitting for a few days as in my original post... Something is incredibly fishy... and bloody hell I don't want to be pulling carbs if there is something moronic I am oblivious to.
Lez