Newbie needs help starting a Buddy 50

[CountChocula]

Hi.

I've read as much as I think I can...please feel free to point me where to read if I've overlooked it.

So....2006 Buddy 50...Bone stock. About 7,500 miles.

Picked it up secondhand and had a full tuneup done late fall and it ran fine.

Oil change, valves adjusted...the works.

New CDI, New battery.

Gas was full in October. Was garaged all winter. Started every couple of weeks and even ran a few times in nice weather.

Cranks but doesn't fire at all now. Tried with Kick start as well.


WHERE SHOULD I START??

I'm trying to see if I can get it going myself.

Thanks,

The Count

[skully93]

I would take a wild, unprofessional guess that the gas turned to lacquer during that time.

A good start would be emptying the tank and cleaning the carb, according to everyone that has done such things.

Nice score by the way, esp if it's in good condition!

What color is it?

[TVB]

I'm no mechanical expert, but a couple ideas:

Cranking but still not starting could be a not-fully-charged battery. Short runs over the winter might not have maintained the charge on it, so hooking it up to a charger might fix that. You should still be able to kickstart it, but I found that kickstarting my Buddy 50 was quite impossible unless I simultaneously held open the throttle a little.

You don't specifically mention whether the spark plug is new, which is another possible culprit. They're cheap and easy enough to replace (using the tool that's hopefully still stashed under the seat). The plug is located at the very front and center of the engine assembly, under the seat, and the easiest way to get at it is by taking off the crescent-shaped piece of plastic on the front of the seat.