Picture of the rubber washer I found in the engine compartment.

Well, I cleaned the entire fuel system and still have the same problem. I just ordered a needle and seat and fuel pump kit from New Breed Parts. I had a needle and seat that I thought would work, but it was for another style Mikuni. I moved the needle e-clip to the leanest setting and it made quite ...

There should be enough gas in the bowl of the carburator to get the engine started. I would start by checking the compression and making sure the enrichment valve is working. It would probably pay to pull the tank and clean the entire fuel system. I just learned this lesson on a 440 trailfire.

Although my repair is not yet complete I wanted to post an update. I decided to start by cleaning the fuel system (starting with the tank), and I was shocked at what I found. I pulled the tank off and drained it into a clear plastic container. The gas was fresh just the week before and it was black ...

If you aren't sure how to do the ohm test I'm sure there are some videos on you tube that would help you. Now I see you figured it out. I missed the second page of the thread. I ordered a cheap cdi box on-line last year and it worked ok. It was black plastic instead of metal, but it seemed to work o...

Thanks everyone for all the advice.
I'm going to start checking things out as I find time this week. I'm starting to get a little frustrated, but I'm sure I will eventually find the problem. Is there an easy way to check the exhaust pipe without cutting it open?

Not yet. I have cleaned the carb, but haven't replaced any parts.
I have a rebuild kit with a new needle and seat. Maybe I can clean it out and rebuild it this week.

Well, it was the flywheel key. I thought I was careful when installing the flywheel, but I still knocked the key out of its slot. I put it back together and it started right up. However, the new crank seals didn't fix my problem. The sled starts right up and idles fine but it won't build enough rpms...

Has anyone had trouble with their Kawasaki jerking the starter rope out of their hand? I just replaced both crank seals on my 1979 Trailfire 440, and now when I pull the starter it tries to jerk the starter handle out of my hand on every other pull. It almost acts like it's trying to run backwards.....

I would pull the plugs and squirt some oil into the cylinders. Let it sit a while and try turning it over to see if there is any improvement. You could then check the recoil starter by removing it from the engine and pulling it to see if it is stiff. If it seems ok try turning the engine over by han...

Thanks, I tried to dig around and find a similar thread, but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. Maybe I need to dig a little deeper. My coils should be here today, and I should have them installed by the weekend. We'll see what happens. I was glad to find this website. It's nice to see th...

Generally, your problem points to a weak cdi box but if you replsced it with a new aftermarket, change out the stator assembly. I also thought that the new CDI and external coil would have fixed the problem. I ordered a new set of stator coils from Dennis Kirk. We'll see if that fixes the problem. ...

Hello JD Sleds: I recently purchased a 79 Trailfire 440 with 1500 original miles showing on the odometer. The sled ran great on the first trip out, but soon began giving me a problems. The sled will start on the first couple pulls when cold and runs very well until the engine gets warm. After gettin...