Stalls at lights, now won't start. HELP.

[twofoldway]

Hey there Banditos!

I'm going to admit it. I'm a newbie. I got my motorcycle license recently and bought a Bandit 400 from a friend of mine. I rode it a few times and now I've got some problems.

This bike keeps dying on me at stops. I'll ride a little ways (less than a mile), then try to come to a stop somewhere and the engine cuts out. Try to start the bike and it's really rough, won't turn over. Did that a little bit and it finally caught. Rode it to work (another mile) and as I get into the parking lot, the engine cuts out again (as I'm coasting to a stop). I'm at work, so I just push it to a parking spot and go to work. After work, try to start the bike and again very rough. This time, engine doesn't catch, starter just trying to start this thing and eventually battery dies.

When I first bought this bike, it had problems starting. Very rough starting out, wouldn't turn over unless the starter was really run. I took it to a shop and the mechanic changed out the plugs and it seemed to run ok for a few days. But then it started dying at stops.

I'm not sure what's wrong. I'm relatively mechanically inclined and I've worked on my car a bit (bolt on and basic maintenance stuff), but I've never worked with carbs and never worked on a bike. This is my first bike and I've been riding for less than a few months.

I've put premium fuel (91 octane) in the tank, but I haven't even run through a full tank of gas yet.

Any thoughts on what to do?

Thanks in advance,
Eddy

[TJS]

Get to know your carbs...inside and out! Also check for crud and rust on pet cock screen. If you don't have any idea where to start on re-building or cleaning your carbs; check youtube or then you can find directions in here or in the faq section.