Alright, as you know, I have an 05 KFX 400. The darn thing will not start cold. I have to roll it off and as soon as it warms up, no problems starting. I was directed to clean the carb. Removed it, disassembled it, cleaned all the jets and every other square inch of the thing. Float not sticking. Put it back on, same friggin thing. Will not start. I can pull the plug and tell that gas is getting to the plug (a new plug, by the way). I removed the plug to verify spark. Looks to be sparking fine. I poured a little gas on the plug outside the block and turned it over. It continued to spark but thats it. I guess I was expecting it to ignite the small amount of fuel on the plug. With the plug pulled, I squirted a little starter fluid on it (more flammable than gas) and it went poof and burned. What do you guys think???

 

try a compression test, could be it needs valves adjusted

 

What should the compression reading be?

 

if i remember right it should be around 140

 

oh yes valves for sure

 

Alright guys, I have removed the valve cover and am ready to see if, in fact, it is in need of a valve adjustment. I have a set of feeler gauges and according to my shop manual, the specs for intake are .1-.2 mm and exhaust are .2-.3. Also according to my shop manual, those measurements are to be taken between the cam contact (the arm from the cam that spins and opens and closes valve) and valve itself. I turned the crank to the compression stroke (lining the "T" in the middle of the timing hole) and could not fit the smallest feeler gauge (.10mm) in between contact (cam arm???) and valve. Seemed to already be in full contact with the valve. My question is this: Is the valve clearance taken between the cam arm and the valve? Just want to be sure that Im measuring at the correct spot before I proceed.

Thanks,

Don

 

The feeler goes directly under the cam lobe, and on top of the 'bucket'

 

Thanks. After I read a little more, beginning to understand terminology instead of referring to things as "the arm thingy" or "the jiggamajoo". The smallest feeler I have will not slide between the bucket and the arm lobe. Too tight I assume???

 

yup to tight, valve cant close and you lose compression

 

Alright guys, I have the valve clearance set to spec. I did run into a wierd situation though. The cam timing per specs according to my shop manual were different than the cam timing it was running on before I took it apart. Keep in mind, it ran great, just had to roll it off once. I notated all the timing marks and positions on the cam sprocket before I broke it down. Once I finished setting the valve clearance and timing (per shop manual specs, not back to what it was) put everything back together and gave her a try. Nothing. Just turns over. I could tell I was burning fuel because exhaust was coming out of the pipe. Only problem was, it was coming out of the air intake box under the seat as well. Is it out of timing? Could my manual have been wrong?? I have given myself a Friday deadline before I break down and let someone else fix it. Im in a hare scramble race May 10th and must have it going before then. Thanks for all the help guys.