About ready to disown this trike..

[BiGDawG]

i bought it off the neighbor, i seen them ride it maybe twice in 2 months to i went over and ended up buying it off them, got it home wont start, talked to him he came down and helped me try to get ti running, only way we could get it to fire was to dump gas down the carb threw the choke, so i dropped off the carb had it cleaned, just reinstalled it and same thing it wont fire endless you dump gas down the carb threw the choke and only runs till that gas burns off.. any ideas? before i just part it out

its a 1978 atc 90

[Chazz of Blades]

Here's an idea. Check the tank for rust. Take the petcock off the tank and make sure it's not stopped up, not getting gas to the carb MIGHT be a bit of an issue. Or take a flathead and unscrew the overflow screw and see if gas is going through the carb, it has to be kinda steady, a few drops means the petcock or tank.



Also, make sure the idle is turned up, too low of an idle will also cause starting problems.

[Vealmonkey]

On the 90, the petcock is built into the carb. But check for a rusty tank. Run a couple cheap plastic inline fuel filter and if you don't trust the tank. Take a metal coffee can, put a nice little bung fitting in it and rig up a temporary fuel tank and hang it above the trike while runing. 2 rubber washers and a nice flat washer and nut on the inside of the coffee can and it should be relatively fuel tight. I had the bits laying around and the cost was nothing. Punhed a hole in oppisite sides of the coffee can right under the lip and added a length of copper wire to have something to hang the can by. And I never fill the can up above half way. Well, I filled it up higher once, but I won't be doing that again! LOL Unless you have one of those fancy motion pro temporary plastic fuel containers.

[Vealmonkey]

And behind the petcock in the stock carb, there should be a little filter screen, you can check there for rust and junk particles as well.

[BiGDawG]

forgot to mention it has a weed whacker gas tank mounter to the handle bars, but jay came over and we ended up getting it to run, i didn't think to half choke it lol

[fabiodriven]

I'm behaving myself here.

In the future, take a deep breath, have a little patience, do some thinking, smoke a butt or something, fire down a beer, grab the tools, exercise your mind a little bit (think), and don't run off after 7 minutes worth of work to the computer.

Just look at your original post and then the last one. C'mon guy...

[BiGDawG]

lol at 7 mins worth of work.. i had been pulling on it for about a half hr and couldn't get it to start, and if the forums ant here for help then what are they here for? i just though maybe some 1 else had the same issue and maybe figured a way around it, and i'll admit my brain don't work that good.. well just leave it at that


and to the guys that posted trying to help thanks i appreciate it.


Nephew was happy we finally got it running

[Vealmonkey]

Well, I'm glad to hear it worked out for the best and that I didn't get reamed out either! LOL

[tri again]

I posted about a 90 runthru, carb, tank, rear bearings, brakes etc
Started with 1/2 pull, idled like a dream.
would NOT start the next day and after a couple wasted hours rechecking EVERYthing.....
(gas cap wasn't venting)

Hopefully the fuel selector on your carb isn't riveted together.
They just love to hold that mucky rust dust.

[YoungJay]

Lmao @ 7 mins of work! just because some people have patience and some don't, An for someone to get on the computer looking for work and u get a reply like that? wow what great help he is!!! come on GUY! don't take everything so serious!!! No worries mark don't listen to morons on the site that want to be a dick.

[Tri-Z Pilot]

Sounds like me trying to start my tri-zinger the other day. Ran fine day before, but 20 min of pullin and nothin. Had spark and would fire when gas was put in cylinder. Sat down to clear my head and looked over and saw the petcock was off!! Switched to on and one pull, bing ba ba bing.
I still swear my mother dropped me on my head as a baby, lol

[fabiodriven]

I don't think they take too kindly to name calling on this site boys.

The problem with the younger generation is their lack of patience and expectations of instant gratification. It's not their fault. It's mommy and daddy's fault. Ritalin only makes things worse once the pills are gone.

Here's a hint for ya- If you've been pulling it over for a half hour and it still hasn't started, there may be something wrong. Personally, I would have stopped after 10 or 15 pulls to see what the issue is. Just keep pulling though! Then you can rebuild your pull starter while you're fixing the initial issue.

[YoungJay]

mommy and daddy's fault? really mate your going to sit on here and make smart ass remarks but were the younger generation with lack of expectations? come on now mate its ok don't be an old grumpy man getting mad, looking for help is what this site is for am i right? guess its a site to get some mad and some not so mad thank you to the people that helped!

[fabiodriven]

Any meat head can change parts. That doesn't make you a mechanic. I fully understand the need to start somewhere. The key to becoming a true mechanic is diagnosis. Give a kid a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. A guy who can change parts is good for about $15 an hour. A guy who can listen to a sound and say off the top of his head what it is or at least have an educated guess is good for double that. I watched the mechanics from across the street driving a pickup around for two days outside my shop listening to a wheel making noise. They were certain it was a wheel bearing but it was making a noise that nobody had ever heard a wheel bearing make. The guy came over to my shop, did one circle in my lot, and I told him it was an ABS sensor contacting the reluctor ring. I was right. It was contacting the ring because of a failed wheel bearing. Why am I telling you this? Two reasons- I want you to know how awesome I am, and you learn things like this from years of experience. Hands-on experience. Use your head, dig in, diagnose, and be patient. If the machine throws you for a loop, walk away. Come back in a couple of hours, or even the next day. I can't count how many times I've solved problems by sleeping on it.

All I did was tell the boy to stand back, take a deep breath, and look at the situation. Take it all in, think about why there is a problem, what is and is definitely not causing it, and take steps from there. You boys are the ones that got butt hurt. There are many members on here who have many years of experience with many things on here, not just trikes. I've traveled the world, been there, done that, will do it again. You don't want my advice, fine. I can guarantee I've forgotten more than you will ever know about trikes and many other things for that matter. My friends who were handed everything still live in their parent's basement at 30 years old. I've owned my own house for six years and I've never had anything handed to me. I figure things out. It's a good skill to have, and one that's not as common in the younger generations. You're handed everything and feel as though everything has to come in a candy coating. I'd suggest joining the military but even that has gone soft.

Yes, I spoke to you sternly. You boys are on a forum for trike enthusiasts who save fallen and otherwise discarded machines, and occasionally revive them from the dead. To give up on one after a half hour and suggest parting it out is not going to make an enthusiast happy.

[atc350xer]

Very well put Fabio!