Yamaha Triple??

[Powder Pro]

I have a buddy that tried to start his 97 vmax sx 700 today and couldnt get anything to start. We checked to see if the spark plugs were sparking and they were. So we tried checking for any loose electrical connections and for the fuel line...

we sprayed a little ether in the cylinders but nothing happened....
were all polaris guys (except my buddy) and dont know much about yamaha...

any help would be greatly appreciated

Powder Pro

 

[Batz]

Was this the first attempted start of the season ?

 

[JamesS]

With ether and a spark anything should fire to life... you have a strange problem my friend! lol

 

[Givemeaboost]

I've got two mountain max's and if they sit very long they are hard to start too. I think that the fuel in the fuel pump drys up and it just sucks air. We have gotten them running by blowing in the tank while pinching off the vent hose. Have someone pull the starting rope while you're doing this and see if it will start, Ken.

 

[Beels]

If you have spark, dump a bit of gas in each cylinder and it should fire immediately. I've had a couple of those triples and I used to do that every time I had the carbs apart or if they hadn't run in a while.

 

[vancejohnson88]

Has the sled been sitting a while. if so drain the gas, and clean the carbs out. i hate taking off the carbs on my mountain cat to find out its something stupid, but spark, fuel and air causes ignition. at that points its just do you have a constant supply of the 3 to keep it running.

 

[Beels]

Has the sled been sitting a while. if so drain the gas, and clean the carbs out. i hate taking off the carbs on my mountain cat to find out its something stupid, but spark, fuel and air causes ignition. at that points its just do you have a constant supply of the 3 to keep it running.

I'm from the other school of sled storage. From what I've seen, you're better off leaving fuel in the carbs, etc. treated with Sta-bil. The only reason I say this is once the fuel is drained, the hoses, gaskets, seals, etc. in the fuel system tend to dry out and crack and cause more problems. For my own piece of mind, I disassemble the carbs before each season starts and give them a complete cleaning. The only gas that has given me storage problems in the past is Federated Co-ops in Western Canada. For some reason, it leaves a green residue on everything. Any of the gas I've bought from any other outlet, US or Canada hasn't done that. I've been told it's something in their additive package that drops out.

 

[mmaxcarver]

If you're getting spark and fuel to the cylinders, swap out all 3 plugs with brand new ones!! (even though you have spark when you pull the plugs does not mean you have spark under compression) Last year I had TWO sets of fouled plugs... The original set in the machine and the spare set I stored on the machine were both fouled... Third times the charm!!

 

[Rooter]

As a previous 2000 MMax owner, I can vouch that they are a bi@tch to start after sitting and also that a little gas in the cylinders works to get them going (as long is that's what the problem is).

Rooter