125cc IAME Leopard Problems

MarcusIrwin

MarcusIrwin

Member
Hi i’ve got a 125cc “cook racing engines” built iame leopard that I bought off of a guy at the track in Portland. He claimed that it ran when he took it off of his kart but for some reason I just can’t get it going. Things I’ve checked so far include 1
1). Correct spark plug gap
2). has spark, new spark plug
3). Reeds are not broken
4). carburetor it was just rebuilt a day ago and double checked
5). Using an external starter
6). Gas is getting to the carburetor
7). 120lb of compression
8). Motul Grand Prix 2T oil
9). Starter works on kart

I’m honestly very out of options, I have no idea why it won’t start, could it be an electrical issue inside the shrink tubes wires?
Any help would be very great, also located around Eugene Oregon’s area, if anyone knows a good shop etc. unless we can figure it out on here first
 

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120 lbs of compression is really low for a leopard, although I would think it might start like that. We always refresh the top end when it gets down to 165 lbs. Does it pop or try to fire at all? If it has fuel, and its getting spark at the right time it should fire. They start easily with a remote starter. Set your carb 2 turns out on the low speed needle, 1 turn out on the high speed, cover the air inlet with your hand to choke it when you are spinning it over and it should fire. Is your plug wet now when you remove it after trying to start it? if so you have a spark issue or compression problem. If the plug is dry its not getting fuel.
 
I did notice you have the late model black coil and the earlier push button 2 lead stator. The coil that goes with that stator is blue and has a separate ground wire as well as the lead that hooks to the stator. I have never tried to convert a late coil to the earlier harness, it may work . I have both styles in my shop, I will look at them tomorrow and check the connections and let you know .
 
Dan Brown said:
I agree, they do look burnt. I believe the hot wire from the stator harness is connected to the coil ground.
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So I connected the ground to the actual frame of the kart this time, would that have been a huge problem? And are you taking about the wire that clips onto the coil? It's just wrapped in electrcal tape kind of badly, not burnt. The engine looks rough right now honestly, just trying to get it started before I "restore it" I have the old stator that is blue, do those ever go bad because it didn't start even when that one was on it. I was looking at the leopard manuel last night and saw that the ground was intact attached to the kart chassis is that the problem? And I checked again last night the cylinder is definetly getting fuel, it only will pop very very loud every once in a while, don't worry the reeds are fine. so we have fuel, we have spark and obviously air(choked with hand sometimes), nice clear gas with good oil, I'm still out of luck. did you check if the black one worked because i can't actually find a blue one to buy the black one is brand new.
flattop1 said:
That obsevation there .
The second picture the coil wires look burnt ?
Click to expand...
 
Also if this does become a coil issue after fixing everything else that is wrong, I am not able to find anything besides the black newer coil for sale unless anyone knows where to get a blue coil?
 
I got busy, forgot to check, I will look in the shop today, I believe I have a blue coil and a push button start box, but I don't have the early style stator. We do not hook a ground to the chassis of the kart, the grounds hook directly on the leopard itself.
 
If you took the carb off for a rebuild make sure you line up the holes that are in the carb flange, then the gasket, then reed cage all the way to the motor. If they aren't all line up it will barely start or run correctly.

Otherwise if it isn't starting with the external starter it is some kind of electrical problem.
 
Electrical issue seems most likely .
Why cant you just eliminate the start button affair ,
if your using a outboard starter ?
 
The electrical system on the leopard will not work without the start stop box connected. To eliminate it all he would have to change the stator , rotor and coil too. I looked I did not see that blue coil in my shop, my son said it’s in our race trailer which is buried in 6 feet on NY snow.
 
If the outboard starter doesn’t do it and everything checks out in the carb setup, it’s electrical. The leopard is notorious for the onboard starter brushes getting weak and not spinning the motor enough to fire, but if the handheld isn’t getting it done and the carb is good, it’s time check the the coil and stator for continuity.
 
I pulled a good pushbutton starter box and coil out today. In the first pic the red wire and single connector goes to the starter lead, the other two plug into the stator, they can only go one place so I am sure you have all that hooked up properly. In the second pic the lead with the eyelet is the ground, that has to be connected to the engine. I noticed in your pics you have a second ground wire attached with the main ground. Is that going into the harness? It looks like somebody has been splicing wires, they may have it hooked up improperly. The third pic is the blue coil, it uses a spade connector instead of a bullet style, but I believe a black coil will work fine if the connector is changed. There is also a braided ground strap that hooks the coil to the clutch cover, the rubber vibration mounts that the coil is attached to do not let it ground properly. I think I can see that strap in your pics. If your wiring is hooked up this way, and it has good spark , fuel and compression it should start right up.
 
Dan Brown said:
I pulled a good pushbutton starter box and coil out today. In the first pic the red wire and single connector goes to the starter lead, the other two plug into the stator, they can only go one place so I am sure you have all that hooked up properly. In the second pic the lead with the eyelet is the ground, that has to be connected to the engine. I noticed in your pics you have a second ground wire attached with the main ground. Is that going into the harness? It looks like somebody has been splicing wires, they may have it hooked up improperly. The third pic is the blue coil, it uses a spade connector instead of a bullet style, but I believe a black coil will work fine if the connector is changed. There is also a braided ground strap that hooks the coil to the clutch cover, the rubber vibration mounts that the coil is attached to do not let it ground properly. I think I can see that strap in your pics. If your wiring is hooked up this way, and it has good spark , fuel and compression it should start right up.
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I'm gone for the week I'll try everything this weekend and let you guys know whether or not it works, I do have the blue coil, I replaced it with the black one thinking that that was what was bad in the first place, so ill hook that back up first just to narrow down the possible problems.
 
MarcusIrwin said:
I'm gone for the week I'll try everything this weekend and let you guys know whether or not it works, I do have the blue coil, I replaced it with the black one thinking that that was what was bad in the first place, so ill hook that back up first just to narrow down the possible problems.
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Good luck! Hope we helped a little. I would check the compression again, make sure the throttle is wide open when you test it so it gets in enough air. If you truly only have 120lbs , you need a to pull the head and check the ring /piston and cylinder wall as that is just too low.
 
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