More problems

I did the valve adjustments today on my SR650 and all the spacings were just right, now I think the timing may be off. It tried starting before i did the valve adjustments but the compression was way down especially when it warmed up so it would die. Did the adjustments today and tried starting it and nothing, even after all the kickstarts. I tried starter fluid and guess what happened........ the bloody thing somehow ignited in the air box and there was a nice fire burning in my airbox. I blew at it like that would work, then grabbed some carwash soap and put it out. So what would cause the started fluid to ignite in my airbox? Bad timing? could you be one tooth off and the bike still can turnover without hitting a piston?Plus could the gas be just really old and not ignite and why would the starter fluid not at least start the engine?. Did I mention that I did check for spark and its there, new coils too! O and my air filter survived the fire,not one char on it!

One possibility might be a too tight intake valve not quite closing and allowing flame from combustion chamber to go back out through carb.

Glad there was no personal injury or bike damage.

2 questions ,
How long has it been sitting that you think it has "bad" gas in it ?

Did you wire the coils in right ?

the only thing I can think of is valve too tight, you said they were good, cam timing off, intake valve not seated, or bent, timing WAY off, like the coils are wired backwards or miss wired to the engine.
You msy hsve to start over with the basics, and check everything to insure its right then try to start

Well the gas has been in that tank for about 6 months or more. I will have to check those valves again, but I am sure that they all close seeing that I checked the spacing before I closed it up and I turned the engine over with a wrench to make sure the valves dont touch the pistons, but I think I will have to check my timing again.

Why would the timing be off if you did not remove the cams. My bike when cold will sometimes pop back through the carbs.
Also did you check the valve clearances cold? You said you started the bike prior to checking clearances. That would warm up the engine and give you a false reading on the clearances. The valves must be checked when cold.
Did the bike run prior before storing it? If so then it probably is bad gas.

The bike is finally running. I will get down to the prob later. the bike ran fine before storing, but it never ran quite as good. Its top speed dropped from 90 to 70 gradually till it struggled going up a hill, so I parked it. Now I come back to it, its carbs have been off for about 45 or five months, as long as the bike has been parked so I can clean them so the carbs are clean and not gummed up. I put the carbs on and try to start it but it started and once it got warm it died and never started again. So I check valve clearances and have some pretty small spaces 032 etc. Redid the valve clearances, got compression of 125 cold, no oil in the cylinders to boost compression, so thats real good. I did remove the camshafts to redo valve clearances on a 650 and I was off one tooth when I did a turn over to check it and a valve met a piston. Its good to check first people! Fixed the timing and yesterday I tried to start it and nothing. So I decided to go on the stale gas theory, so I drained all the gas, put that in the jeep, and went and got me some fresh gas, put it in the tank, put the bike on prime and kicked 3 times and vrooooom. I couldn't have been happier unless my girlfriend had came back to surprise me from New York. I took it for a ride and found the tires to be under pressure....waaaaay under pressure. Stale gas who woulda thought!

cool, gald it was a simple fix, check the air in them tires dude, if not you will not be a happy camper

Not one char on the air filter, AND its now nice and clean !!!

The air filter might still be in one piece with not a sign of fire on it but I am now in the market for a new one. I can almost call the one I have a Phoenix Filter

Hey guys! New problem! How do I stop myself from starting the bike?

The first step is admitting that you have a problem.