Bike won't start

[gallusgallus]

Went out to the garage this morning and my bike wouldn't start. It turns over very strongly but does not fire up. Almost like there's no fuel, but the tank is full. Is there an electrical problem of some sort that I have not heard of?
Any ideas would be helpful.

 

[DefyInertia]

Battery is likely just low. Even when it sounds to be cranking strong to the human ear, it's often just shy of enough juice. I've had this happen to me several times and I've seen people post up about the same issue a hundred times.

Push start it (a.k.a. pop or bump start) and ride it above 5K RPM for a while and you should be good depending on how old your battery is.

I'm assuming you know how to push start it? If not, just ask.
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[gallusgallus]

OK....that is the simplest answer. I did think of this, but the bike is only a year old and I live in such a mild climate, but sometimes the most obvious should be tried first. I have it on a trickle charger...will see if that does that job. Thanks for your input.

 

[Fred]

If charging the battery doesn't work, check all the fuses. And listen when you crank it. You should be able to hear the fuel pump running.

Fred

 

[gallusgallus]

Don't think it is the fuel pump. I can smell unburned fuel after 2-3 seconds of trying to start it.

 

[reiobard]

does it sputter at all or nothing? if you can smell fuel then it is getting fuel, try pulling a spark plug to see if it is wet to be sure, if it is you could have fouled plugs, had the gas gum up in the injectors....

 

[DefyInertia]

You try starting it again yet?
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[mikebike]

let us know once you solve this mystery... we want to know ...
sounds like an opportunity for the rest of us to learn something

thanks and good luck

 

[gallusgallus]

12 Hours Later....

Well it wasn't the battery....going to dive into the problem more deeply today. If I can't figure it out, which I would be very surprised if I did, I will take it to the dealer and have them look at it. It is still under warranty...but I still believe it has to be something simple.

So after having my morning coffee...I think I will have a look at the spark plugs and the air filter then go from there....seems like a good place to start.

Guess I won't be going for a Sunday ride today!!!

 

[Cali rider]

Wait a second: You mentioned the tank is full. Did you fill the tank to the top JUST BEFORE you brought it home and parked it? If so, the fuel may have expanded enough to saturate the charcoal vapor canister, and now it's sucking that vapor as you are trying to start it.

If this is the case drain some fuel from the tank, and disconnect the vapor hose going from the canister to the throttle bodies before trying to start it again.

 

[DefyInertia]

I would seriously attempt to push start the bike before bringing anywhere near a dealership. Just my $0.02. Good luck and be sure to let us know how it works out.
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[boliviasi]

time for a new bike

 

[tolgatt]

time for a new bike

lol...if everything was that simple


you definitely should try to push start it,,if it starts it will more likely start with the starter again too after that. if it doesnt start even with the push start,,then you should check the spark plugs and that being too full tank might be the problem too....i cant think of a fuse which would cause that..
good luck and dont forget to let us know

 

[gallusgallus]

Bike is started.....

OK everybody, thanks for the input. As it turns out the throttle cable has stretched over the last year. So that when the throttle is in a neutral position pressure was being placed on the cable in the opposite direction that it should. Not for sure about the correct terminology? Anyway I took out the small amount of play on the cable and the engine fired right up.

I put the slack back in the cable and the bike wouldn't start...retensioned the cable a second time and it started right up. So the bike starts right up like it did before this incident occurred.

Thanks everybody for the input, ride safely.....

 

[DefyInertia]

Nice! How did you figure it out? What is your idle set at?
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[bmccrary]

Wait a second: You mentioned the tank is full. Did you fill the tank to the top JUST BEFORE you brought it home and parked it? If so, the fuel may have expanded enough to saturate the charcoal vapor canister, and now it's sucking that vapor as you are trying to start it.

If this is the case drain some fuel from the tank, and disconnect the vapor hose going from the canister to the throttle bodies before trying to start it again.

To quote Keanu reeves in the Matrix, "Whoa..."

-bryan

 

[mikebike]

OK everybody, thanks for the input. As it turns out the throttle cable has stretched over the last year. So that when the throttle is in a neutral position pressure was being placed on the cable in the opposite direction that it should. Not for sure about the correct terminology? Anyway I took out the small amount of play on the cable and the engine fired right up.

I put the slack back in the cable and the bike wouldn't start...retensioned the cable a second time and it started right up. So the bike starts right up like it did before this incident occurred.

Thanks everybody for the input, ride safely.....

good lesson for us.... how did you figure that out????

 

[Nelly]

OK everybody, thanks for the input. As it turns out the throttle cable has stretched over the last year. So that when the throttle is in a neutral position pressure was being placed on the cable in the opposite direction that it should. Not for sure about the correct terminology? Anyway I took out the small amount of play on the cable and the engine fired right up.

I put the slack back in the cable and the bike wouldn't start...retensioned the cable a second time and it started right up. So the bike starts right up like it did before this incident occurred.

Thanks everybody for the input, ride safely.....

Well done, a very bizarre problem that had us all foxed.

 

[BigJETS]

Re: Bike is started.....

This post solved my problem THANK YOU! I thought I was going to buy a new ECU. My symptoms were identical; ride bike home, next morning not even a sputter. Ran the battery down twice during troubleshooting the entire electrical sys. for hours (at least I know the condition of all the switches.) I might add that I was getting ERROR 1 on the display during starter operation, hence I thought it was a computer failure. Good work gallugallus Thanks again.

 

[greenthumb]

one of our quads we have at work has setup in the throttle lever that if the cable sticks and you put reverse pressure on it, the engine is killed.
i wonder if out bike has something similar?
i would have thought not, as our bike has two cables and the quad only one.