Bike has been sitting for quite a long time and now won't start

[tasop7]

There's a long story behind this, but my bike has been sitting for about a year and a half. I needed new tires and a few other things and my bike sat at the dealer for quite a while (due to several reasons and problems), and it has been sitting in my garage as well. There have been several things that came up in life preventing me from doing anything with the bike.

So I finally freed up some time today and wanted to go give the bike an oil change since it's been sitting so long. I tried to start it up and it's a no go. I've read through other posts of people saying their bikes won't start, but didn't really find one where they said their bike sat for too long. I'm pretty handy and have worked on the bike several times in the past, but have never worked with the fuel system so some terms and parts might need to be explained to me.

I always keep my bike on a tender so I'm pretty sure the battery is ok (but anything is possible so I can't say the battery is perfect). When I turn the key, I hear the normal whine sound (which I guess is the fuel pump from what I've read). If I try to start it, it keeps turning over as long as I have the button pushed, but it doesn't start. I tried a few times for about 5 seconds or so, but then stopped thinking it might be good to ask for some advice.

I've read a lot about people mentioning water / condensation in the tank. I stopped trying to start it thinking that I could cause issues with other parts of the bike if the gas was bad. I would say the tank is about 9/10th full, but has the same gas it did from over a year ago. Several veterans here have ridden quite a long time on their original spark plugs, but I am due for a change according to the manual (the bike has 11,000 miles on it on I'm on the original set).

So if this was your bike, how would you go about this? What are the things you would definitely do first (like empty the tank and put new gas in, etc), and what are the things you would start checking? The bike ran perfectly before it sat and always fired right up.

Thanks guys! :thumbup:

 

[ChevyFazer]

If it ran before you parked it then it sounds like the fuel system is just dry or possibly gummed up, try this first put some fuel treatment like seafoam in it and turn the key on and then turn the kill switch on and off 5-10 times to try and let it reprime the system, after doing that hold the throttle half way open and try to start it, if it don't start after about 10 sec, let it sit for about 10 min try again. Still no go it might be gummed up

 

[Motogiro]

What are your temps? Is the bike below 32 deg F? If there's water anywhere it'll freeze. So if this is a possibility get it warm. Next some ether in it's gullet.
You should be able to give it a shot in the air box snorkel and if it fires and then sputters out you know you're not getting fuel. You may then have to start with cleaning the injector. It could be stale bad fuel and might take a few tries.
Good luck!

 

[SweaterDude]

just noticed this. you said you kept it on the battery tender... well a battery tender or any other trickle charge system will dry out the cells in your battery if it is just left to sit while plugged in. this same thing destroyed two of my batteries. but if your getting power then its not the battery. even if its plugged in, if the bat's dead, it wont turn.

 

[Motogiro]

just noticed this. you said you kept it on the battery tender... well a battery tender or any other trickle charge system will dry out the cells in your battery if it is just left to sit while plugged in. this same thing destroyed two of my batteries. but if your getting power then its not the battery. even if its plugged in, if the bat's dead, it wont turn.

Most of the tenders I see look at the battery voltage and completely stop charging the battery so that there is not even a trickle charge. When the tender sees the voltage drop it trickle charges and keeps it topped off with out any harm to the battery.
Most of the batteries are sealed and I think you'd have to pump some current through them to get them dried out...
I think he's having a problem with the engine starting with no complaint about the battery or cranking..

 

[Evitzee]

Siphon that old fuel out, it's stale. You can get a siphon at Walmart for a few bucks. Then put a couple of gallons of fresh fuel in, add some fuel injection cleaner and see if you can get it to start. By recycling the key on and off you might be able to force enough of the fresh fuel and cleaner through the injectors.

 

[tasop7]

What are your temps? Is the bike below 32 deg F? If there's water anywhere it'll freeze. So if this is a possibility get it warm. Next some ether in it's gullet.
You should be able to give it a shot in the air box snorkel and if it fires and then sputters out you know you're not getting fuel. You may then have to start with cleaning the injector. It could be stale bad fuel and might take a few tries.
Good luck!

Well it's been over 35 the past few days but the next couple days it's going to drop under 30 and get really cold here.

What do you guys think about 1 year old gas? If it's not a big deal, I'd rather not go through the hassle of emptying the tank and refilling with new. But at the same time, I'd rather do things right and spend more time instead of taking shortcuts. I do plan on keeping this bike for quite a while.

I have a brand new can of Seafoam that I've had for a while now. I also have fresh Stabil that I used to winterize my other bike with. I just didn't want to start adding stuff since I've never dealt with a fuel problem like I mentioned before.

 

[Dartanubis]

I had the same problem you are having twice once was when my ground cable to my battery was loose and the second time was my battery didn't have just enough juice to start it would just try until i let it go so i put a bat charger on it and not a trickle charger and after about 2 hours it started up fine.

That may not be it for you since it sat so long but t6hats what caused mine.

 

[SovietRobot]

It seems like a lot of people have been posting lately about problems with their bikes after sitting for a long time. In most of the cases the fuel system is clogged up and the tank is rusted over inside.

Condensation can also form in the motor and exhaust and make it difficult to start.

After letting my bike sit for months it would crank over a while and then sputter to a start, and condensation would come out of the exhaust for a while.

 

[Motogiro]

Well it's been over 35 the past few days but the next couple days it's going to drop under 30 and get really cold here.

What do you guys think about 1 year old gas? If it's not a big deal, I'd rather not go through the hassle of emptying the tank and refilling with new. But at the same time, I'd rather do things right and spend more time instead of taking shortcuts. I do plan on keeping this bike for quite a while.

I have a brand new can of Seafoam that I've had for a while now. I also have fresh Stabil that I used to winterize my other bike with. I just didn't want to start adding stuff since I've never dealt with a fuel problem like I mentioned before.

A quick way to tell since you do have a cranking engine is to shoot some ether in the snorkal and see if it fires. If it fires you no doubt have a fuel problem. That means you've got spark and if fuel is getting to the cubustion chambers you'll no doubt have a running engine. So confirm this first then if no fuel is getting to injectors you can start to trouble shoot fuel delivery.

I would get rid of old gas.

 

[Kazza]

One way to stop downtime problems....


MOVE TO AUSTRALIA :aus:

We ride all year

 

[Cali rider]

Read this post:
My suggestion...

 

[Downs]

Well it's been over 35 the past few days but the next couple days it's going to drop under 30 and get really cold here.

What do you guys think about 1 year old gas? If it's not a big deal, I'd rather not go through the hassle of emptying the tank and refilling with new. But at the same time, I'd rather do things right and spend more time instead of taking shortcuts. I do plan on keeping this bike for quite a while.

I have a brand new can of Seafoam that I've had for a while now. I also have fresh Stabil that I used to winterize my other bike with. I just didn't want to start adding stuff since I've never dealt with a fuel problem like I mentioned before.

Most gas today has Ethanol which makes the gas "spoil" even quicker than before it had that **** in it. 1 year old gas isn't gonna be great but would probably still fire as long as you are getting fuel air and spark. If you can drain the fuel and refill with new though that'd be good. Modern bikes that have Fuel Injection are a lot less prone to getting clogged up with junk unlike carbs.

Trying to clean out the fuel system is going to be more difficult and time consuming than checking if you have spark first. Not sure if you've done that yet. But it would suck to spend all that time trying to clean injectors and whatnot to find out you had an ignition problem.

Next time you have to store that bike for more than a month at a time hook up a Battery Tender (Jr. model is great for this application) and throw a quarter bottle of stabil into the tank when you put the last of the fuel in there then go ride for 20 miles or so then top off again. Stabil is great for keeping gas on it's feet for extended periods of time:thumbup:

 

[04fizzer]

Like said, get rid of all the old gas. Fill it up with fresh gas and sea foam and try again. It may take a bit. You may have to "run it" (turn it over) to get the rest of the old fuel out of the system, and new treated fuel in. You may have to let it sit to let the seafoam soak in and do it's thing a bit. Give it a try.

Also, how does the inside of the tank look? Was the tank full when you put it away? If not, you may have a serious buildup of rust going on and it'll plug the system.

 

[tasop7]

Also, how does the inside of the tank look? Was the tank full when you put it away? If not, you may have a serious buildup of rust going on and it'll plug the system.

Thanks guys for the responses so far. I'm going to re-read through them all and start trying to work on the bike.

To answer the question above, I'm guessing I'll only be able to see the very top of the inside of the tank correct? As in when I open the gas cap at the top of the tank and look straight down? If so, it looks perfect, no signs of rust at all.

What are some other ways I can check for spark? I just looked up ether and it looks like there's a lot of people in the US saying it is hard to get. Or if you guys know of a good post you can point me to that gives me some detailed instructions that would be great. Thanks for the info Motogiro, but again, I have no experience in this area. When you mention giving a shot of ether in the air box snorkel, I would need a little more instruction. I obviously know what the airbox is, but that's about it. I'm not sure where I would shoot the ether. When I do shoot some ether (or whatever else I could use), would I then just try starting to bike to see if it fires? If it does fire, how big or small are we talking about here? Just not sure what to expect. Sorry for my ignorance here. Again, I'm handy with stuff if I know what I'm doing or if I have some good direction. I just want to make sure I know exactly what I'm doing so I'm not guessing and do something stupid to make the bike worse.

 

[04fizzer]

Thanks guys for the responses so far. I'm going to re-read through them all and start trying to work on the bike.

To answer the question above, I'm guessing I'll only be able to see the very top of the inside of the tank correct? As in when I open the gas cap at the top of the tank and look straight down? If so, it looks perfect, no signs of rust at all.

What are some other ways I can check for spark? I just looked up ether and it looks like there's a lot of people in the US saying it is hard to get. Or if you guys know of a good post you can point me to that gives me some detailed instructions that would be great. Thanks for the info Motogiro, but again, I have no experience in this area. When you mention giving a shot of ether in the air box snorkel, I would need a little more instruction. I obviously know what the airbox is, but that's about it. I'm not sure where I would shoot the ether. When I do shoot some ether (or whatever else I could use), would I then just try starting to bike to see if it fires? If it does fire, how big or small are we talking about here? Just not sure what to expect. Sorry for my ignorance here. Again, I'm handy with stuff if I know what I'm doing or if I have some good direction. I just want to make sure I know exactly what I'm doing so I'm not guessing and do something stupid to make the bike worse.

If the tank looks perfect, consider yourself lucky, and that's most likely ok (ie. no rust in the tank).

Ether is starting fluid. It's incredibly easy to get. With the tank up, give a generous shot into the intake (the hole in the top of the air box), and try to start it a couple times. Since you have to lift the tank, you'd be farther ahead opening up the air box and just spraying the ether directly into the intake tubes. If it stumbles, it's most likely bad gas.

If it doesn't do much of anything, pull the plugs and see what they look like. You can test them by plugging them into the boots and letting them rest against the block. This might take 2 people, and a dark/dim garage. While watching the gaps of the plugs, hit the starter. You SHOULD see spark. If you see spark, it's most likely a fuel issue. If there's no spark, first make sure that the plugs are grounded against the motor. If they are, and still no spark, then you may have an electrical issue.

I'm willing to bet it's bad fuel, though.

 

[rsw81]

Cliff (Motogiro) and John (Cali Rider) to the rescue!

As previously mentioned, if you stored the bike for this long without putting fuel stabilizer in it, I'd put my money on the fueling issue either because the lines are a bit gummed up or the vapor lock issue that John eluded to. Either way, I'm sure it's a very fixable issue.:thumbup:

 

[tasop7]

Well I'm going to run to Walmart and grab a siphon to empty the old gas and put new in. While I'm there, can I just pick up a standard can of staring fluid, anything special needed?

As a side note, when winterizing the bike, how far up do you fill the tank with gas? When I typically fill up at the gas station, I stop when the gas reaches here:

When you winterize it, do you guys fill all the way to the top where the gas is almost touching the cap when you close it? Is that necessary?

Also from the picture above, when I look down, where #1 is pointing is about as far as you can see in the tank. If there's no rust anywhere around there, I'm good right?

 

[rsw81]

I generally fill it at the picture describes, ie when the fuel just touches the bottom of the filler nozzle. When storing the bike with stabilizer in it for the winter, I generally will try to top it off even higher than that if possible.

Just FYI, the best way to get the fuel stabilizer into the system for your next time is to start with an empty tank, ride to your local gas station with your fuel stabilizer handy, pour that into the empty tank, THEN fill it to the top with gas, then run the bike for a few minutes to circulate this mixture into the fuel lines. The reason to put the stabilizer in first is that this will make a homogenous mixture when you fill the tank up with gas.

 

[SweaterDude]

Most of the tenders I see look at the battery voltage and completely stop charging the battery so that there is not even a trickle charge. When the tender sees the voltage drop it trickle charges and keeps it topped off with out any harm to the battery.
Most of the batteries are sealed and I think you'd have to pump some current through them to get them dried out...
I think he's having a problem with the engine starting with no complaint about the battery or cranking..

all im saying about the battery tender is that its good to charge for a while then take it off for a while. ive heard multiple times that this will help the battery last longer than if just left on the tender all the time. of course the major factor is that the bike needs to be started often just because.