Im working on a 2001 virago thats been sitting for about 4 years i cleaned the gas tank put new plugs in i started it afew times but it would stop like it wasnt getting gas the tank is full maybe a gas filter?

BATTERY DEAD MORE LIKELY.CAR BEEN SITTING FOR 2 YEARS GAS IN FUEL TANK WEAK FULL OF WATER, YOU NEED TO REMOVE DRAIN OUT OLD FUEL IN THE FUEL TANK. YOU NEED ADD NEW FUEL IN FUEL TANK,CHANGE FUEL FILTER, IF CAR BEEN SITTING FOR TWO YEARS.I WOULD REMOVE SPARK PLUGS ONE AT A TIME REMOVE EACH SPARK PLUG SQUIRT FEW DROPS OF OIL INTO CYLINDER THEN REINSTALL SPARK PLUG, REASON I SAY TO DO THIS PROCEDURE IT HELP PISTON RINGS SEAL UP ENOUGH TO BUILD UP COMPRESSION SO YOU CAN START THE ENGINE WHERE IT BEEN SITTING TOO LONG.YOU NEED CHANGE ANTIFREEZE AND THERMOSTAT.REPLACE RADIATOR HOSES TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE,REPLACE AIR FILTER.

if it is posible for you to drain the the old gasoline out and refill the tank with fresh gasoline that would be great, but if you only have a1/4 tank and draining the tank is not posible fill your tank up with supreme gas not regular the better grade gas with the high octane will dilute the old gas and help burn off the gas when the car starts.if you have more then 1/2 a tank try to pump out the gas with a driil pump, you can buy these a your local hardware store insert hose in filler neck of the tank.you should also remove the spark plugs and with and oil can add 8 good pumps of the can of motor oil in the cylinders do not replace plugs **** with a freshly charged battery turn the engine over few time in 2 or 3 second intervals this will kleen any rust that would have built up on the cylinder walls and also lube up the cylinder wall so that at start up the cylinder wont be dry ,add a few more sqirts of oil between turnovers.Replace spark plug if old ones look bad put spark plug in and start her up its going to smoke a bit at firts **** it will stop after the oil that was put in the cylinders burns off,let the engine idle for 10-15 minutes before putting any strain on motor give it a chance to clean out cylinders burn a few tanks of gas and change gas filter it should be fine.

The Virago's have a tendency to clog up the carb. quickly due to sitting for a short amount of time, say a month or 2. Try and run some SEAFOAM in the carb. Remove the fuel line from the tank and force the seafoam into the carb with a turkey baster. Run the carb.s dry as best you can, force the seafoam into the carb. and let it sit for a day or so.Then try and start the bike off the seafoam, it will run and make a lot of smoke. Then hook the tank back up and see if that did the trick. Sometimes it will sometimes not, you may have to pull the carb.'s and clean them by removing the bowls and soaking them in a pan of the seafoam or something similar.

It sounds like you still have dirt floating around. What did you coat the tank with? I used POR-15 with great results. Install a gas filter that you can see through and see if you are still getting dirt from the tank. Check the new carb for dirt. It sounds like something is somewhat plugged which allows gas to slowly fill your carb after it sits. But this clog is what causes your bike to stop after 5 miles. Does your tank have a shutoff valve? Run a line from the valve to a jar and see how well the gas flows. The shutoff valves usually have a screen....check it for dirt.

If it has set for 2 years, you did the right thing by draining the old gas, and you would be smart to
change fuel filters as well. if you can pull your spark plugs and clean real good , better yet just
replace them, so you will not have to wonder . have While you have everything apart look at your
plug wires, bend them and look to see if you see small cracks in the boot or wires, is so replace
being that it is an 1985 your coil could be weak , but take your spark plug put back in the wire
and rest the other end of the plug up against the head and turn your motor over a few times looking
at the end of the plug you should be seeing a good blue spark, if not replace it. look at carbs to
see if everything looks free of rust and any vacum lines have cracks, if so replace. put 1 bottle
of heet in your gas tank and then use your new gas, spray carbs with WD-40 put everything back
together and crank it up. You will be very proud of your self. Good luck

You do have fuel in the tank? Pull fuel line from carburetor--turn fuel tap ON--fuel should run from line (into clean can or bottle). If none, the brass screen inside the tap body may be plugged. Remove screen and hold with pliers. Clean with carburetor cleaner from auto parts store. When you set choke, can you see anything happening? May have water in bottom of float bowl. Remove bowl to check (and clean).

could be the jets clogged if it sat all yr taake off carbs use a paper clip to clean the jets out

It could just be the fuel injection tips have black tar build up. But, this sounds like the typical, 1980's problem with people who used to put cheap gas in their mercedes. You get gunk buildup in your gas pump. When the car is hot, the gunk expands and you get no gas flow. First try about 4 applications of puting a bottle of good fuel injection cleaning fluids in only half tank gas and let it run almost dry. If you don't see a substantial change, don't even waste your time playing with it trying to clean anything, those are only agrivating band aids on a broken leg. Change the fuel pump! your car should be as good as new.

How long has it been sitting? After several months the gas breaks down and goes bad. I have let a car sit for a year, and start w/out a problem, but any longer than that, and you will probably have to drop the gas tank and clean it out, along w/ the fuel lines, and check the fuel pump, as it may be plugged up. Last, change the fuel filter.