Commander starting problem

[David Brown]

Hi all,My cafe racer Commander has done 70,000 miles and is un-molyd.The compression is pretty good and I have replaced coils, plugs, leads and electronics. Carbs have been cleaned and all the carb o rings have been replaced except the choke o rings.I have the dual gel batteries which are 12V 16AH so fully charged they should be man enough to start it. The batteries always go flat before it starts. I resorted to jump starting it from my car, which is ok, but I can't always guarantee a car and don't want to have to carry jump leads. Once the bike is running its fine. Once it is warm or hot it starts first time. It runs really well and sounds great. But if I leave it standing for a week or so then it just won't start.I did try squirting petrol down the plug holes last week and it started first time.Any clues anyone?Has anyone had a similar problem?I would prefer a solution that doesn't involve an engine rebuild. David

[dave perry]

Hi David, I am no expert, ( proven several times !) but I have had three engines that would not start, and after doing all the checks that you have carried out, it came down to poor compression every time. Your mileage is most impressive, the seals are bound to be pretty worn by now.When you say the compression is OK, what figures have you you got ? and how - there is not much room in front of the motor.Once fettled, the engines start almost instantly. They only need fuel, a spark and some compression and they should run with no bother.Graham once told me, once you have the engine running and warm, stop it, pull off a HT lead and earth it with a spare plug, and see if it will restart. Then try the other side, this could tell you which side is worse, but may tell you nowt !. But at the end of the day it will require a rebuild. Dont leave it too long, or the blow by will damage things and make it worse. Dont take my word for it, but I speak from bitter experience, not any technical know-how !! Good Luck, dp