engine not turning over

longjon wrote: I got it started, the start switch is bad and low batteries, the bike battery and my jumper battery. I got a $5.00 push button switch from Canadian tire and plugged it into the harness and it started instantly.

Oh!!! Cat outa the bag. He's a Canuck and shop at Canuck tire. GMT -7:00 put him somewhere in Alberta.

Now on to the important stuff. It's the starter button. Nice!! Should be able to repair that.

its running but I went to put the centre stand on and the RH tangs were bent out about 1/4 '' out. I was tapping or hitting them with a metal hammer and punch when water started dripping right there just forward of the tangs. I can't see anything because of the exhaust. What did I damage?

Water ? was it coolant ? if so there is a pipe in that area that goes to the top of the expansion bottle. depends on which way the pipe is routed..

yes it has to be coolant, The exhaust pipe will have to be removed to see it, I feared I broke the water jacket ton the engine case but if its a pipe then phewww, thanks for the reply.

The bike is running, I took the start switch apart, filed the points and cleaned it up and when together it started the bike 3 times but has failed again so back on with the $5 push button switch.

I hope to insure it and ride it the next few days, When running in the garage choke off and using throttle to increase RPM it chortles or backfires slightly through one or 2 carbs. Is this from the bike sitting a long time and not run. I hope to ride it for the rest of the Alberta summer and clean the carbs later, is there something I should look for with this symptom .

thanks

that coolant leak has stopped, I've run the bike several times since it dripped and no more leakage. strange.

Sounds like you have the typical issues with the carbs that require a good cleaning/overhaul. Scotch's carb rebuild post is the best to follow. You can find it in the Builblog section at the top of the page.

Re your coolant leak stopped. - I suspect the mechanical seal on the water pump shaft had a slight leak from sitting still for so long and it was leaking out of the tell tail hole on the water pump housing and running down the engine casing and then leaking onto the floor at a convenient spot. Possibly just running it briefly settled in the sealing faces. If so, lucky you !! Just to be on the safe side, keep an eye on the engine oil and make sure it doesn't go milky on you. That seal is the interface between the coolant and the and the engine casing via the pump shaft. Also watch the coolant tank level. Always check when cold and if it's dropping it's got to be going somewhere.