[BuckeyeButch]

My 2006 Electra AVL has been sitting for a few months at my son's house. I now have it in my garage. I've charged the battery, changed the gasoline, and changed the sparkplug. The engine turns over but doesn't appear to be firing. You can smell the gasoline odor coming from the exhaust as the engine cranks. What could be causing it not to fire?

[enfield freddy]

umm , bikes are slightly different over here in the UK

kill switch
side stand
clutch lever (not sure about that one)
duff/wet spark plug , thu being wetted

go back and check the above , and try a new plug , don,t always trust new plugs

[EnfieldJake]

try to disable the side stand cutoff switch. replace the plug with a new one. i've had new plugs fail to work after being wet with gas. if you could smell the gas out the exhaust it was most likely flooded. I've removed the plug and checked for spark as I crank. just make sure you have no gas nearby

[singhg5]

After I had written this post to check if there is spark between the electrodes of the spark plug - but then I read that EnfieldJake has already mentioned that very nicely.  So never mind this post - it is the same idea from two different people  .

[UncleErnie]

What's the fluid level in the battery?  Unless it's sealed, fluid can evaporate past the plugs.  If lead plates are exposed, no amount of charging is going to bring the battery back.
You can check for spark by taking the plug out, putting it back in the wire and laying the plug on top of the jug.  If you see a blue spark when you kick it over- it's not the plug.
Could be a blocked jet- just replacing the gas after that amount of time isn't going to open a plugged hole.  Todays gas turns to varnish fast.  Despite the controversy regarding effectiveness, Sta-bil seems to work for me.
And yeah- I've spent a long time kicking only to glance over at the kill switch to notice I was wasting my time (and leg).

[Tiny Tim]

Keep it simple, after all, it's only an Enfield.

You need only 3 things for sucess.

1. Fuel
2. Spark
3. Compression

It sounds like you have fuel as you can smell it at the exhaust.

Check the spark by removing the plug and laying it on the pot , as mentioned above, and hitting the starter

Put your thumb over the empty plug hole and hit the starter. You should not be able to keep your thumb on there if you have compression. You should also be able to feel the compression with the kick start with the plug in place.

Also, while the plug is out, you should be able to smell the petrol if it's there.

All that being said, the Electra does not like a low battery but you say you've charged it. I assume it cranks the engine well?

Don't be embarassed if it's the side stand down; we've all doen that once!

[Rosetap]

Semi-related:

http://www.google.com/search?q=will+wet+ammeter+cause+broken+motorcycle

[Bullet Whisperer]

Are you using the electric hoof? If so, try the kickstart, you won't take power away from the ignition circuit this way.
 B.W.

[boggy]

Probably because my battery is crap, but I always kill the lights if I'm gonna attempt an E-start.

[clamp]

Only amercan imports have clutch sw or stand sw.

    Same with other makes of bikes,-- its your regs.

     I dont know why, maybe your gonernment  thinks you would start the bike with it in gear and with the side stand down or run over yourself.   

[Ice]

Safety features help sell a product.

[Tiny Tim]

Only amercan imports have clutch sw or stand sw.

 

Not wishing to seem pedantic but UK versions also have clutch and side stand switches.

I have re-jigged mine so that the bike will start and run on the side stand but will cut-out if a gear is selected with the side stand down.

[Ice]

Could you please post a schematic and or instructions on how you made the mod for others interested?

Cheers mate.

[UncleErnie]

Safety features help sell a product.

Most of the crap on motorcycloes today is a result of lawsuits or the attempt to prevent them.   If a 13 year old kid with no experience or license steals a friends bike and crashes it; instead of making him pay for everything before they saw his arms off, they make him the victim and sue everyone else- including the legal owner of the motorcycle because it's now an "attractive nuisance"

[r80rt]

I took that stuff off and put it on a shelf,  two potential problems avoided.