1997 ER5, poor running, failing to start, black smoke etc

[ncrn]

I'm a bit stuck so I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

On friday my bike started up fine after work, I made it about 5 miles and I hit the reserve line, so I flicked it over and kept going. After about a minute or two the bike started to bog down a little bit like it had hit the reserve line again, it was fine again shortly after. So I pulled over and got some fuel.

Then the bike wouldn't start, it would turn over fine but it wouldn't fire. I left it for a few minutes to cool off. I got it to start after a while, but a lot of black smoke came out the back of the exhaust and it wouldn't idle properly I had to keep revving it to keep it going. Fuel started pissing out of the air box so I stopped it again. I eventually managed to limp it the rest of the journey home.

Initially I felt I may have a blocked carb or something, so I took the carbs out stripped out the floats and the valves cleaned them all up, re assembled the carbs and put the bike back together.

It still won't start however the starter stopped turning which was caused by a flat battery so I am charging it at the moment. However I'm not convinced I've found the problem.

I can't find the spark plug spanner for my bike so I'm unable to check the plugs till I can get to town tomorrow.

Sorry for the essay but does anyone have any idea what the problem might be?
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Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[MaybeGuy]

all i can think of is the following:

your fuel tank had loads of shit floating around the bottom of it, and you have a perished fuel filter.

as soon as you switched to reserve, all the shit went into your carb, cacking up your float valve and causing a leak.

solution:
clean out your carbs and tank, and get an inline fuel filter.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[ncrn]

I cleaned out the carbs though and they weren't too dirty, it wasn't perfect but it wasn't horrible. Will the fuel filter be in the fuel tap or will it be part of the fuel tank?
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[MaybeGuy]

not sure as ive never owned one. usually on bikes with a reserve tap its on the inside of the tank, attached to the fuel tap.

did you take out the float and check the valve and jets?
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[ncrn]

Cool, cheers I'll take a look and see.
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[ncrn]

I've been out and tried firing it up with the battery charged. It still isn't going, its cranking over fine but its not going. If I try twisting the throttle a bit as I start it the sound changes a bit but it doesn't sound like its firing. Looks like I won't be able to get to work tomorrow so I guess I'll try get hold of a spark plug spanner and get them out to see if they are sparking or not.
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[tshort2007]

black smoke is oil. Head gasket or rings i'm afraid. run a compression test, and check for white cack in your water

[ncrn]

I always thought black smoke was petrol, blue smoke was oil and white smoke was water?
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[MaybeGuy]

fuelling can also cause black smoke.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[ncrn]

That sounds about right, there were some small dirt deposits in the carb so I guess that could have been it.

I can't get the plugs out with the spanners I have so I'm going to get a new set tomorrow, I might have to do some angle grinding but hopefully I can get them out and look. I will post back when I know what has happened.
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[Stelmer]

Check the oil for petrol contamination too.

On my old ER5 I had a bit of rust jammed inside the needle valve. Was only a tiny bit but as the fuel tap stayed on when the engine was off, it kept filling up the carb and then into the cylinder.

It has a habbit of seeping into the oil. You will smell petrol in the oil if it's contaminated. However, mine was an extreme case as it was stood for a week like this till I fixed it.

[ncrn]

I've got the plugs out, they were definitely fouled. I managed to clean them up but they aren't perfect still. However there is a white spark if I hold the plug up against the frame. I'm not sure they might need replacing still but there is definitely a spark on each plug.

The bike won't start still however, I'm really not sure what is wrong now, I'm sure there is fuel getting through but how can I check to be sure? I am really in need of getting this bike work before the start of sept so if anyone has any ideas that'd be great .
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[nowhere.elysium]

This sounds identical to what was happening with my Bandit. I'd say that it *could* be to do with it not getting enough air, since it's burning too much fuel, and has fouled plugs.

The answer in my case was to take the airbox off, and once I'd made sure there wasn't a huge amount of crap being blown about, I just kept trying to start the bike, until it finally fired up.
It turned out that the airbox was gummed up to buggery, so I've put some temporary K&N knockoffs on, and it's working again.

No guarantees that it'll solve your problem, but it might be worth looking at the airbox again. Try disconnecting it, hooking the battery up to a jump starter, and just keep your thumb on the starter button for a minute or two. Sounds horrible, but it worked for me.
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'10 SV650SF, '83 GS650GT (it lives!), Questionable DIY dash project, 3D Printer project, Lasercutter project

[ncrn]

I got hold of some new spark plugs, should I still try heating them before I put them in?

Also I will pull the air filter out the box is clear but the filter is shagged I think.
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[ncrn]

The bike lives its a bit smokey on the exhaust but I think it might just need a decent run in again, I'll keep an eye on it.

Also I found out why it got clogged so easily, my fuel filter isn't there at all, fuck knows why but they are just missing .
____________________
Past: 55 Sym Jet, 91 ZZR250, 03 NSR125R. Present: 97 ER-5.
https://www.nsr125.co.uk - NSR Owners forum.

[Stelmer]

I'm sure the filter is built into the fuel tap on them bikes. Was on mine as I dismantled it to repair the vaccum side of it.

[ncrn]