[marko138]

Alright guys. Much like itgirl from a few days ago. Mine wouldn't start yesterday. I was pretty pissed about this too. It was 80 degrees here yesterday and all I wanted to do was ride.

I did all my preride checks...tire pressure, put fairings back on, wiped her down, threw the batter back in, checked all the lights. Put the choke on, put the petcock on "prime" and hit the starter.

As is expected when she's been sitting for a few months...it turned over but didn't fire the first couple times. Then it would start to catch and not ever start running. So after draining the battery I hooked her up to the charger and repeated this process every 15-20 minutes for roughly 3 hours.

Still no start. I'd say it's fair to assume I flooded that bastard eventually.


Now...where do I go from here. The batter was on a trickle charger every few weeks this winter. The batt is 2 years old...what is standard life of these? And it would kick out some smoke every once in a while when cranked the starter.

:help:

 

[ebbs15]

did you check your plugs? that's about all I can think of:scratch: ... but then again... I don't know much:lol:

 

[marko138]

I haven't checked them...I know I should...at least to verify if I flooded it. But they were new last July.:scratch:

 

[ebbs15]

I haven't checked them...I know I should...at least to verify if I flooded it. But they were new last July.:scratch:

do you have a spark tester? my buddy had a problem with his jeep (other than the fact that it's a jeep) basicly the same problem... though his came up right after doing a tune up. turned out one of the "new" wires he just bought was faulty... and didn't pass the signal to the plug.

I've also seen a problem like this fixed by just pulling the wire off the plug... wiping off the end... then reattaching it...

I'm assuming bikes have the same type of plug wires that cars do... but I've never actually had my fairings off and looked... :sorry: if I make no sence then:lol:

 

[DLIT]

Try jump starting it with your car.

 

[marko138]

Try jump starting it with your car.

I'll give that a shot.

 

[No Worries]

Get new spark plugs and a tube of anti-sieze. Put a little dab on the threads and don't over-tighten them.

 

[Gas Man]

Marko... when ever I've had problems starting a bike... I always try to start it while hooked up to a running car. That way you can rule that option out.

But plugs are always a good idea. I have always changed mine every year!!

 

[Captain Morgan]

Have you tried spraying a bit of starting fluid in it? Our ATV loves to not start, but just a bit of starting fluid and it fires right up.

 

[itgirl25]

:yikes: oh no marko, not you too! i know my battery was only 2 years old. guess they don't last much more than that, huh? i hope that is the problem for you, because a battery is a pretty easy fix. it sux when the weather is warm and you can't ride. at least i got one in yesterday, finally.

 

[marko138]

Yeah I guess new plugs maybe in order. I'll yank them when the weather gets a little nicer again. And I guess I better buy a battery too. This anti-sieze...whats the deal with that stuff?

 

[jappysRR]

here's my :2cents: Even if you only have a 2 yr old battery and you had it on a trickle, it shouldn't of died while you were trying to start it. That's draining WAY to fast! 2 yrs isn't an long time for a battery. I agree with the rest, you may check your plugs. See if they are black in color, and make sure to smell um. If they have a real gassy smell, you may be running rich and need to adjust your jets.

Secondly, if your bike is the one in your avatar, it's looks like it might be a 92-94 model? If so, one thing older bikes need sometimes after 15+ miles is a new stator. The only way you can really check to see if you do need one is to take off the cover (AFTER you drain the oil or you'll have a mess from hell!) and pull it out. If there is no longer a magnetic pull, and I mean a strong magnetic pull, then it may need to be replaced. Also one thing to check for since you mentioned that the battery took a poo on you, is the regulator rectifier. With out this little black piece working correctly, it'll drain your battery in a heartbeat! It's a little black thing that looks like a deck of cards on the upper right side tucked up under your plastic against your seat. It's bolted to the sub-frame. The problem with this is that you'll have to purchase a new regulator rectifier or stator to see if this the problem and also these parts are "electronic" pieces so even if this isn't the problem, you'll be stuck with them since most places won't let you return these types of items. Both will run you about $150 each.

Good luck man. I hope it's just the plugs....

 

[marko138]

Thanks for the input Jappy! I'm hoping it's not that. I'm not down with spending that kind of jack. I'll get her started one way or another.

 

[Mojo]

You can check the stator by measuring the output with a multimeter. It should read roughly 14v while running.

 

[Gas Man]

You can check the stator by measuring the output with a multimeter. It should read roughly 14v while running.

At that at least at 3k or higher RPM...

Marko.. once you get all that fixed up... there's nothing like the piece of mind it will give ya!

 

[No Worries]

This anti-sieze...whats the deal with that stuff?

Worth it's weight in gold, but only cost about $2. Spark plug threads are steel and the cylinder head is aluminum. Heat and acids build up a reaction where the steel and aluminum chemically bond together. You go to pull a spark plug and the aluminum threads come with it. A little dab of the anti-sieze on the threads prevents that disaster.

 

[Gas Man]

NW is right... I use that stuff at work and home! A garage MUST!

 

[DLIT]

It's in a gray bottle and can get messy if you're not careful w/ it.

 

[Gas Man]

messy....nah.. I make sandwichs with it!!

 

[jeeps84]

messy....nah.. I make sandwichs with it!!

uke: