Carb issues. 2007 Honda CRF230F

[HoneyBadger]

I've got an old 2007 CRF 230F that is having carb flooding issues.

When it was new, obviously it ran great for years.
But it's been sitting in my father in law's barn in Texas for the past 15 years.
I'm trying to get it up and running again.

I took apart the carb and cleaned it in a ultrasonic cleaner for an hour and a half.
I reassembled everything, put in a new spark plug, turned the fuel on, and she fired right up. It ran great. I rode it around for about 10 minutes and got it hot.
Then I turned it off. It seems that as soon as I turned it off, it just kept filling the carb with fuel. We tried to crank it back up about a minute after turning it off and it was already flooded. Fuel was gushing out of the airbox drain. So obviously this means that the fuel is not getting shut off in the carb and it's just continuously filling the bowl and back filling through the carb into the air box.
So we thought it may have to do with the jets being optimized for the near sea level market the bike was originally sold in. So I bought new jets for 8k-10k elevation optimization. I also replaced the rubber tipped needle valve on the floats, thinking that it may have been worn out and letting in fuel. The adjustment screw is turned all the way in, letting in as little fuel as possible.

So last night I put it all back together and turned the fuel on. It fired right up. Ran great. Rode it around for about ten minutes and got it hot. Turned it off and waited for about 10 minutes. Wouldn't start. Flooded. Killed the battery AGAIN trying to get it to start.
So I let it sit all night. I came in this morning and tried it again. It wouldn't start. Flooded to the point of gushing fuel out the air box drain again. The battery died again.
So I hooked it up to a jumper box and cranked and cranked and cranked it until after about 5 minutes of continuous cranking it FINALLY started up. Fuel still pouring out of the air box.

It never behaved like this years ago, obviously. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.
Have any of you had this type of issue? Is there something I'm not checking that needs to be cleaned/checked/replaced? Do I need to just say f**k it and buy a new carbonator?

 

[VoodooBlue_Vixen]

Does the gas line have a shut-off valve? On all of my carbed motorcycles, I always shut off the gas at the pingle/petcock. It does sound like it's stuck open after you get it hot though. Did you fully take it apart when you put it in the ultrasonic? I just use a parts cleaner drench tank, or the gallon bucket parts cleaner with a tray for soaking carbs.

 

[RDub]

Could your float be bad? Maybe the float adjustment got knocked out of spec during the initial disassembly/reassembly?

 

[subzali]

It sounds like a float issue or the needle leaking. It may take a couple of carb cleans to get it all sorted.

 

[MDH33]

My vote would be varnish in the float needle hole. Ethanol not kind to small engines and carbs, especially if they sit.

 

[SteveH]

My carb'd Yamaha Grizzly 660 has an iffy float needle, but runs great. I regularly use the fuel shutoff, every time I shut off the engine. I also like to shut off the fuel and let the engine die (while burning the last of the fuel in the system), which proves the carburetor is now empty and can't flood the crankcase or air box. I don't ride it super often, so this isn't a huge pain.

It also tends to vapor lock on hot days, so anything I can do to reduce standing fuel in the fuel system is good. Part of the joys of motorsports stuff with carbs and modern gas.

So, be sure your fuel shutoff valve is rebuilt or not leaking, and using it every time will prevent your air box flooding issues.

 

[Cocarlisle]

Your float is probably stuck open, causing it to flood
I’m not familiar with the CRF 230
But I raced XR 200s and 250s exclusively back in the 80s and early 90s
When those bikes would flood You would need to kick four or five times with the throttle wide open to get anything to clear and usually they would start up. Not sure if this will help you.

Honestly, a carburetor that’s been sitting that long without any love could be difficult to get going again. Could be something very small and hard to find


Years ago I bought a XR 80 for my kids and had all sorts of issues with the carb

After about 5 rebuilds I couldn’t find the issue and finally got sick of rebuilds and bought a $50 eBay carb and had great luck for years with that

Always felt weird not running an OEM part but it worked great


Wouldn’t do that on a race bike but something like a CRF it would be fine and at least get you riding

Crazy question
Is the fuel line at all kinked
Is the air line plugged or kinked ( the hose coming from the top of the gas tank)

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