SCOUT SORT OUT
Leigh Butler has a typical back-on-theroad problem. His Indian 101 Scout was running fine when he put it away, but now after starting, it runs for a few seconds then pops and bangs and stops. “It will fire up again, but the same happens; does it sound like the magneto or fuel?”
I’d say it’s fuel, Leigh. Contact breakers can tarnish when standing – but that will prevent the bike starting and when magnetos fail, problems are more likely when hot.
The Indian may only need a carb drain; fuel goes stale easily nowadays and some bikes are more sensitive to this than others. Stale fuel can go gummy and block carb jets. Indians don’t really have jets – just fairly large holes metered by screw-in adjustable tapered needles – so they’re not prone to blockage. The choke automatically lifts the low-speed needle anyway, which would probably dislodge a blockage.
My first step would be to remove the carb bowl drain screw and drain the old fuel out. Catch it in a glass jar to see if anything comes out with it; if the fuel has picked up any water you’ll see it rolling about in the bottom like a glass ball. Water in a carb can cause problems like Leigh’s; it lies under the jet until you open the throttle when it gets drawn up, chokes the jet, makes the engine splutter and drops back down again.
Before replacing the drain screw, I’d turn on the fuel and let some run through to make sure the flow isn’t blocked anywhere. If it still won’t start, it may be necessary to get fresh fuel or strip and clean the carb.