Well, not to be too simplistic, but since you've established that fuel is getting from the tank to the bowls that eliminates a kinked fuel line and the first thing that came to my mind - a vacuum actuated petcock that you forgot to hook up.
So, you have spark, you have fuel going to the bowls - the bike runs when you manually feed it fuel - but the fuel in the bowls isn't getting into the airstream.
Carbs work on Bernoulli's Principle, so when you prime the engine with fuel, and the engine starts, the fuel in the bowls should be drawn into the airstream.
I guess my question at this point is -- When the engine starts by your priming it, does it use just the fuel you poured in or does it also use the fuel in the bowls?
If the former, then you have some stoppage of fuel from the bowls to the airstream.
If the latter than I'd go back to the petcock.
Do you have a vacuum line that doesn't seem to have a home??
See, that's exactly the same thing I'm wondering...
When I prime it as so, the fuel remains in the bowls. It will run until the gas used to prime it runs out. Then if I check the bowls, they leak fuel, so there's still fuel in there.
I'm assuming the vacuum problem as well, but all my damn hoses have a home. When it starts, even when it's primed, the carb don't suck much at all.
I ordered a service manual for the thing last week, but it's still not here yet. I hope it gets here soon. I got it for situations just like this. Now I want to look at the schematics and see if maybe I have a hose crossed somewhere, or neglected to do something with the carbs when I put them back together? I guess the thing to do is take the damn carbs off and make sure I didn't neglect a hose or something. I usually have a very good memory for stuff like that though....
Agh!
Thanks, Aughtsix. I really appreciate your thinking on this...got anything further?....
Jason
