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fwi
10-23-2013, 01:22 PM
Hello everyone. I just became the owner of a very well preserved/rebuilt 1971 ATC90, it came as package deal with a race car I bought, it was used as a pit scooter at the drag races for the last 17 years! I was thinking of just selling it off but now that I have ridden it a bit, I may just hold on to it for a while.
Only problem with it is sometimes it starts and others it refuses to even attempt to start.......so yesterday I removed the carb and cleaned out about half a teaspoon of gunk from the filter, thinking this would solve the hard starting....wrong, it didn't help a bit! I took the (stator?) cover off and saw a bit of rust on the magnets so I cleaned those with a fine sand paper............still won't start, it has fresh fuel too. I did search this site and saw all the "another will not start" threads, no answers there. What am I doing wrong?
179362

King Trikester
10-23-2013, 02:06 PM
This is unlikely but I bought a 200 a while ago that was doing the same thing, the day i bought it the old owner changed the spark plug, so it was the last thing i worried about, it turned out to be the wrong one wich took me a few days to figure out, now that I have the proper spark plug it starts up first pull every time.

shortline10
10-23-2013, 03:32 PM
Very nice !!!! When your ready to make it fast look me up :lol:

Ghostv2
10-23-2013, 05:08 PM
Very nice bike, its a shame they replaced the rear tires. Them old balloon tires are worth more than the bike in some cases.

When i come across a bike that wont start i do a few things that usually can save you time and money. New gas, clean carb, fuel lines flowing freely, check if it has spark, replace spark plug because even if it shows spark out of the motor it could be weak or not spark in the engine, and if all else fails i push it down a hill in my yard and pop start it and sometimes that works even when i cant start it using the recoil. Just go through and check the little things before putting some money into it.

MNhondaguy
10-24-2013, 12:40 AM
i would definately get a new plug. I am not sure about the 90's but my friends have had a few 185's that needed a new plug each day we rode it because after a day of riding, then sittig overnight, the plug would spark to the side, not the electrode. No clue what made it do that, but plugs were cheap enough so we never looked into it.

shortline10
10-24-2013, 09:29 AM
Buy a new set of points.

fwi
10-24-2013, 10:00 AM
Buy a new set of points.

Where can I find points for it ?
btw, I did put a new plug in it too the othere day (NKG)

shortline10
10-24-2013, 11:46 AM
Your Honda dealer or dratv.com

fwi
10-27-2013, 08:30 PM
I am not getting any spark at all. Are the points located behind the little cover that has 2 phillips screws?

kb0nly
10-27-2013, 08:32 PM
Yup the points are behind that cover, chances are it needs a new set of points, pretty common on the 90. Might also need a new condenser.

tripowersport
10-29-2013, 12:58 AM
/\---x3..Points and condenser. Nice find!!

fwi
10-31-2013, 07:48 PM
/\---x3..Points and condenser. Nice find!!

I will report back as soon as I find these and install them, hopefully it will breathe fire again!

brian376
11-01-2013, 03:52 PM
That thing looks mint and is worth keeping around and preserved.

coolpool
11-01-2013, 07:10 PM
I'll be in Cape Coral in February, if you're still having issues I can try to help ;-)

fwi
11-08-2013, 06:50 PM
I'll be in Cape Coral in February, if you're still having issues I can try to help ;-)

Thanks.

I did get new points from DRATV today, installed and............ still nothing!!!

coolpool
11-09-2013, 12:55 PM
Have you tried unscrewing your spark plug cap, trimming the end and screwing it back on?

fwi
11-09-2013, 02:02 PM
No I haven't ......do you mean the actual tip of the spark plug that is screwed on or are you referring to the plug wire end?

coolpool
11-09-2013, 02:07 PM
The back 'L' shaped cap that fits over the porcelain end of the plug. You'll probably have to slide down a rubber sleeve then unscrew the that black cap. I don't suspect corrosion by the looks of your machine but who knows? You could also try disconnecting the kill switch on the handlebars; corrosion again who knows. It's a green wire and black wire near the steering head. I just thought of something, what position is the black switch in on your headlight? That is actually a shut off switch on these things. Place it in the 'I' or 'II' position and try again.

Hunter_2268
04-03-2015, 06:28 PM
The back 'L' shaped cap that fits over the porcelain end of the plug. You'll probably have to slide down a rubber sleeve then unscrew the that black cap. I don't suspect corrosion by the looks of your machine but who knows? You could also try disconnecting the kill switch on the handlebars; corrosion again who knows. It's a green wire and black wire near the steering head. I just thought of something, what position is the black switch in on your headlight? That is actually a shut off switch on these things. Place it in the 'I' or 'II' position and try again.
Coolpool what size is the shaft for the clutch diameter that is

SSLS1
04-03-2015, 08:58 PM
I was thinking the same thing about the headlight switch. The headlight does not have high and low settings like many think.
The first switch setting [0] is engine off and lights off
Second switch setting [I] is headlight off engine run
The third switch setting [II] is engine run and head light on.

Cool US90! I'd keep it for sure. Good luck!