CB400F has gas and spark, but won't run.

[Jore]

Hi all, it's been about 2 weeks since I last ran the bike, the holidays got in the way and you know the drill, I've tried starting it for a couple of days now but with no luck, today I took the plug connectors out and checked the coils, they both have about 15K in resistance, are getting power and if I connect the leads for a multimeter and place the ends close enough there is a spark between the leads, I've just reset the timing statically so both coils fire in the f mark. The carbs get good gas flow, I actually have to drop the bowl in carb 4 since it seems that the valve is sticking and there's gas coming out from the overflow tube.

Everything checks by the book, but the bike won't start, I've tried it with choke on, off, half way, tried blipping the throttle and nothing, usually the battery gets discharged from cranking, so what can I do?.

[mike the bike]

Did the bike run but now doesn't OR, has the bike never run after doing something to it?
One thing that is often overlooked is the petrol might have gone stale, it only lasts 2 months these days.

[Jore]

Did the bike run but now doesn't OR, has the bike never run after doing something to it?
One thing that is often overlooked is the petrol might have gone stale, it only lasts 2 months these days.

It ran before, the fuel is about 3 weeks old.

[mike the bike]

Have you cleaned the spark plugs?

[Jore]

The plugs are fairly clean but kinda damp and smell of fuel:

[mike the bike]

Check there's air getting in.  I once put my gloves under the seat and the engine stopped working.   Took me a while to suss out.