[twinstars]

Hello all!

I am new to this forum and also just bought my first bike: a non running 1980 honda twinstar cm200t. I don't have a lot of experience with fixing a bike, but have been trying to diagnose the issues with my bike.

It is in amazing condition for the year. It is perfectly clean, no rust, etc. It has good compression, turns over, fires, but will not actually run. I had the right side running for about 2 seconds using starter fluid.

What I have done:
-made sure the battery is fully charged
-has brand new spark plugs
-took apart the carborator and cleaned it (it was already pretty clean)
-the fuel is not old
-there is not rust in the tank

I am not sure what to look at next. Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be wrong?

 

[twinstars]

Aaaaannnddd... before anyone has to tell me, I have realized that I spelled carburetor wrong. If at first you don't succeed...

 

[murphyshuman]

Check points, condenser and timing. If the timing isn't right it's a no go. As I recall they can be a real Bi*** to get right, at least my old Bultaco was.

 

[Critter]

are you getting fuel to the carb? if not why not

 

[MikeWithTheEvilBlackHat]

are you getting fuel to the carb? if not why not

Fuel line might be old stuff, not compatible with ethanol blends.

 

[slumlord]

The fact that the engine actually ran for a bit with starting fluid suggests to me that your carb cleaning is not complete.

The small Honda engines have extremely tiny passageways for the fuel,and they do get plugged. You actually have to remove the slow speed jet ,'air screw' and main jet and clean them by soaking in carb cleaner. Also you need to take the carb cleaner straw and make certain that the little drilled passages in the carb body are clear. Also,if the float valve sticks,no gas is able to enter the carb.

Your description of "I cleaned the carb" does not really tell us the extent of the cleaning that you performed. I usually replace the float valve [float needle] on the carb any time that I encounter a bike that has sat around for any length of time because they fail so easily. As a minimum,I would recommend the float needle and o-ring/gasket set from this link. http://www.partsnmore.com/parts/honda/cm200t/?filters[fitting]=custom
Good luck

 

[twinstars]

Well, I took the carb apart of course and it looked so clean that I didn't soak it- I just sprayed the carb cleaner on everything/in everything and let it sit for a while and then scrubbed with a wire brush. I also have a tiny wire pipe cleaner that I used to scrub inside of both jets. I did not replace the float needle or any of the gaskets because they didn't look old, grimy, or worn, but I guess I could do it if you think it would help. Oh and fuel is definitely getting to the carb. Maybe I will buy those parts and replace them... Honestly though, from my limited knowledge it seems super super clean...

 

[Critter]

okay so lets go back to basics. Takes 3 things for combustion:

fuel
air
fire



You have fuel to the carb, is it getting in the engine? Are the plugs wet?

Check for air leaks

Make sure you are getting spark

 

[hogcowboy]

If the jets are just throwing out a stream and not a mist it will be very hard to start though. If at all. Make sure they are good. At this point new might be in order.

 

[twinstars]

Thanks guys, I am going to work on it today. I will check out all of the above suggestions and see if I can get it going!