I haven't been here in over a year. Between work and work haven't had much time to ride...I have let my 2000 magnum 500 sit. I did crank it monthly and even rode it around the neighborhood a couple of times. Last week I started it let it run for a few minutes and killed it. I tried to start it again and it never regained a pulse. I have good spark and compression, I think the fuel is good. It backfires when I try to start it. Timing would seem to be the only thing left. I don't have a timing light how can I check this without it and are there other possibilities that I am missing. Thanks in advance.

 

Drain the fuel and install a new plug. Just driving around the neighborhood every now and then won't stop the gas from loosing its octane. Especially if you haven't had any fuel stabilizer and sometimes even if you have! Gas goes bad now (ethanol) in as little as a couple months. OPT

 

Also a weak or fouled plug will sometimes spark outside the engine when you are testing for spark but it can have zero spark back in the engine under compression or it can spark at the wrong time causing a backfire.

ALWAY try a new plug.

 

thanks for the replies, no luck so far. I'll keep trying. may have to..... take it to the shop

 

Also did you clean the carb along with fresh gas and a new plug?? OPT

 

I didn't really clean it. I drained the old gas from the carb and put some seafoam in the new gas. My new plan when i get off in the morning.... take the carb off, spray it with cleaner inside and out, new plug and cross my fingers. Also I replaced the choke cable (the lever broke off the old one) with an identical cable. Is there any adjustment I need to do? the end that goes into the carb is the same length as the original and it always worked. Thanks again.

 

DON'T just spray carb cleaner! Remove the pilot and main jets and clean individually(make sure you can see light through the jets!),plus check/replace needle and seat (needle valve assembly) if needed. Seafoam or any other "cleaner" won't do the job in the fuel if its been sitting up and some cleaners such as Berrymans can actually do more damage than help if exposed to soft rubber or plastic parts!! If choke lever has a small amount of "slack" at the lever,then it good enough. If lever feels tight then adjustment is made at the carb,loosen small cable lock nut and turn cable in until you feel a little slack at lever and then tighten lock nut! If you get it up and running,put a little marine Stabil (best for ethanol fuel) in the tank to preserve the fuel so you wont have to go through this again! OPT

 

Thanks for the advice I'll give it a try and letcha know.

 

Well I've tried everything that was mentioned with no luck. I am beginning to think that this may be a timing issue. I'm sure I'm not going about this in the exact right way but through some observation with the cam cover and recoil housing removed, it looks like it may be off. It says 30 degrees before tdc it looks to me like the magnet on the flywheel is at about 45 degrees from the pulse coil when the piston is at tdc. is there a way to remedy this without completely removing the engine. Is my diagnosis way off? Thanks for all the replies.

 

Also have you looked at the cam lobes when you had the valve cover off??? Exhaust lobe in the center is prone to excessive wear,should be oblong like the intake lobes on each end of the cam! 2000 models fell into the years of cam problems also. They don't have a habit of jumping timing unless a flywheel key breaks or cam chain is very loose! OPT