Any ideas?

[Assassin]

I bought a 94 Magna back in January and got it running about 2 months ago. The previous owner said he let the bike set in his garage for 4 years with little to no running the entire time.

To get it started I had to pull the tank off, clean all the rust and crap out from it and coat it. Replaced the fuel lines from the tank to the carbs. Cleaned the carbs 3 times and am pretty sure everything inside them is working correctly.

I'm still having a problem with atleast one cylinder not firing all the time. At idle it seems that one keeps cutting out, but at higher RPMs it seems to do fine.

Another problem is after I shut off the engine, I have to clamp the fuel line shut, and let the engine run to get some fuel out of the lines or else one cylinder will fill with fuel and let it run out of the exhaust pipe. If it does this, the engine hydro-locks and I can't start it before getting the fuel out of the cylinder.

All the people I've talked to so far says its not a carb problem, but possibly an engine problem since the bike sat for so long.

If I have to take it to a garage I will, but that might take some time. Any ideas would help since I could possibly do it easier/cheaper than a garage.

[ReconRat]

One carb float is sticking open. That's what I would say. It will be the one with the plug fouled rich at idle.

edit: and where the heck is your fuel shutoff valve? A gravity feed tank should have one to prevent fuel from leaking down into the cylinders and on into the crankcase...

Edited May 6, 2009 by ReconRat

[Assassin]

The petcock was 'damaged' while I was cleaning the tank. It was completely clogged up. After I got it cleaned out, I found out that it continues to allow fuel to flow through, just at a slower rate.

I need a new one of those, and will get one soon.

[Tpoppa]

Sounds like a stuck or 'sunk' float valve. That is a pretty easy/cheap fix. I would also double check the battery and spark to the bad cylinder.