A few days ago I broke the throttle housing on my brand new Husaberg. We did a lot of twisting, and pulling on the throttle cable when working on it. I believe this flooded the engine. It ran afterwards, but two days later I can't get it to start. I changed the spark plug because it looked like it needed it, and still it won't start. The dealer I bought it from is two hours away, so I want to fix it at home. I am new to four strokes, so I am hoping that there is just something I don't know to do.

Tommy:
fear not, doesnt sound like you could have done anything major....big thing is you dont have a pumper carb...so you didnt like squirt an entire float bowl of fuel into the motor. (this is a bad thing)
Did you get the guts of the slide/replacement throttle cable back together properly...Could be something (slide?) isnt dropping back/shutting down all the way into the carb and the motor is flooded. Make sure that with all the twisting etc...that everything is shutting down all the way in the bing...also...make sure the choke is shut down while you are poking around down there.......

What I am going to type next is not intended to insult you....just what I would do if this happened to me.....(hey I am in the Army, give me a break) so if it is a done there, been that....well....go figure.!

I have done this......uh did you turn on the key....I kicked my foot off....then my friend laughed and turned the key on for me!...no comments it started after that.....

Remove the plug and see if it is wet.

If so....either clean it (fine emery or if you cant burn the fuel off with a lighter...or ?) Works for me.....or drop a new one in (later after the other things I am going to recommend)

Second ...with the key off...pull the plug and open the throttle all the way, keep it there....and run the kick start through and clear out any fuel that may be in the cylinder.

3d. Once you do that...plug the "plug" back into the plug boot, ground it out against the side of the head....turn the key and kick it (or touch the happy button and and make sure you have a good hot spark. (if you havent done this or if you have a friend that isnt much of one....have him hold the plug....honest....in fact if it is dark in the garage and his lips are just the right distance apart when you do it...you can see the spark arc across them.....pretty kewl....(Burgs have really hot spark) just get ready to run...he will have the ass. it kind of stings.....

4. Just double check to make sure everything is all connected under the tank (electric wise etc....

5. Question....have you had a significant temp drop in the last few days?....just curious...I was still running stock jetting on mine (650) and it got cold up here...and was a bugggger to get lit.....things really do have a tendency to lean out if it gets cold....may need to go fatter on the pilot.....main should be okay unless you are talking severe changes with the Burgs....

I gots other things rattling around in my brain.....but will leave it at that....hope that helps...and I didnt insult....if that doesnt work....hop over to Husaberg.org and post it there....lots of very smart burg owners there....they will fix it quick!

HR


[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: Hawaii-Rider ]

Good stuff HR.I don't see how the bike doesn't hicup without a pumper carb.If the plug is wet after numous kicks then its flooded and if its dry and getting fire it may be that the float is stuck shutting off gas trying to enter the carb.You can loosen the large nut on the bottom about 1/4 to 1/2 turn and see if you get gas flow.It has drain holes so no need to take it all the way out.Its easy for the killbutton to short on its self also.Hope you get it fired up.

I finally got the bike to start on Friday night, and it runs problem free now. I hope I don't ever flood that thing again, it was a huge pain in the rear.

Tommy:
Glad she fired up......you might want to get some jetting info.....but I will let you know when they are new...they are tight.....but once hot...they start easy....

that said....how is she runnin?
suspension settling down?

Just curious (a polite way of saying a ride report is required for your fellow TTr;s)
you should have known!

HR

If it floods again, hold the throttle wide open then kick it through 8-10 times. (this helps clear the cylinder of gas) Then, let off the gas and hit the magic button.

This method always worked well with my 97 fe 400 berg. Haven't tried it with my 2002 fe501. It has never flooded and the electric start, fortunately, has never let me down!

I love the Berg! I raced it this weekend for the first time, and it never let me down. The power is awesome, and the suspension is great. I have a couple of seals leaking on the motor, but they are going to fix it for free. The e-start has been flawless, and if it does fail it is easy to kick-start. It is also my first bike with the juice clutch, and I love that. The brakes almost work too good, but no complaints here. Everyone told me I would notice the weight difference, but I didn't notice one bit. I would definately recommend one to anybody. I don't have the four-stroke down yet, but I can't wait till I figure it out. I can't imagine what it will do then!

Tommy:
yeppers...the 'Burgs are very sweet....if you really want an eye opener....like I did....ride the burg for a long while....say in the woods or what have you....then I jumped on to my '01 WR250f of mine that my son was riding....
OMG....what a night and day contrast....now the WR is sweeet sweeet...dont get me wrong, an awesome bike....but next to the suspension and handling etc of my 'Burg...wow....

Awesome you are getting some great track time on it now....just wait until that suspension is settled down for you and you get to mess with the settings even more!
BTW how are those Michelins holding and doing down there for you....up here they are sweet, in fact I am going to put em on the WRs when they need to be replaced....

Glad you got her runnin too.....flooded bikes can make a bald man pull hair!

HR

The tires seem to be holding up well. It has been pretty dry lately, and the ground is hard as a rock. The race I rode in was very rocky, and they held up well. I thought they handled great, as I am not used to brand new tires. I hopped on to my brother-in-laws 125 the other day, and I felt like I had never ridden a bike before. I know that is a drastic difference, but I used to be able to go from a 250 to a 125 farely easily. I don't think I will ever go back to a Jap bike.

HR

for tight woods racing what do you recommend? the WR or the FE?

Taffy

Taffy:
We have some serious serious tight snotty single track here in Western Washington State.
IN these conditions, the WR250f is incredible, but with my size and weight (230 pounds in my full battle rattle) there are occaisions (although very very few) that I wish I had some more ummmmph.
If I had the perfect choice for the Single track ....I would get the FE400 'Burg.

The difference between the WR and burg riding them at length and at speed side by side....while the 650 was a bit too much in the tight (wooooo boy!!!) the fit, finish, handling, suspension, smooth power, brakes etc etc and just over all feel of the Burg was so incredibly superior to the Yamaha it was almost scary.
My 15 year old son (beginner) jumped on my 'Burg and when he got off he could only say that he thought it was "going" to be a monster, and just couldnt believe the smoothness and the handling....the total difference in feel....and he is a beginner!
I wont bad mouth the Wr...its incredible...(sometimes frustrating to start...but...) but to choose....you honestly cant compare it to the 'Burg...
my $.02 (American, not sure how much that is "Over There" )

That Said...I havent ridden the Cannondale yet either.....

HR

I have ridden my 470 on some tight stuff, and have really been impressed with it. It feels light, and the power is incredibly manageable. I probably don't ride quite as much tight stuff as you do, but I would definately recommend the berg. It is also nice to be able to hit the magic button and have the bike fire before you even slow down. Especially on hills, and other uneven surfaces. The yamahas are just a pain to start.

tommy

the yamahas are easy to start when you set them up but unfortunately you need an engineering degree. by the time i'd done i couldn't stall my WR even if i tried and it started first kick bar the last fortnight as winter arrived.

the only husey for sale i can find at present is a FC470 and the c allegedly stands for competition. apparently the bikes aren't crossers or SM's but a cross in that they come with a electrical charge system so you can go the whole trail route or enduro or an overweight crosser. is that how you understand this to be lads?

the shop said that he'd bolted some non husey lights on it and welded on a sidestand. reckoned it was the perfect bike for me to race (of course!) hard (mx) sussies or compromised me wonders? it's a 2001 model which is the furthest i want to go back.

HR thanks for your opinion, i feel i can value it. sounds like the 400 would be better than what is becoming a highly regarded machine in the enduro scene.

someone has been winning some big races against the best over here so it really is a serious piece of kit. and you get yam reliability.

Taffy