Brand new FZ6 won't start...

[CodeMonkey]

Here's my intro and problem with my new FZ6.

I bought my first motorcycle when I was 18, a 1982 Yamaha 920 Virago (XV920J). Anyone familiar with these bikes know the bike was known for starter issues and would clunk and grind whenever you try to start them. Since then I've had two other '82 XV920J bikes but after getting married and having kids I didn't have much time to ride so I sold it about 15 years ago.

Kids are older and we bought our youngest son a small 250 ATV. My wife and I felt we needed our own ATV so we could ride with him so I bought myself a Yamaha 350 Raptor and my wife a 350 Wolverine. After riding the ATVs for a while and watching the gas prices go up (plus with my kids being older) I felt it was time to buy another road bike.

I looked at buying a Hyosung GT 250 but when I brought my wife with me to look at it she felt I would regret it months down the road. The Hyosung was okay for someone who's never ridden, but for me who has owned a larger bike for years would have been disappointed. My wife spotted the black 2008 FZ6 and fell in love with it. So Thursday I purchased the FZ6 and took it home.

The day I bought it I noticed it had difficulty starting when cold. I thought maybe it was because the bike had not been broken in just yet. Friday I parked the bike in my garage and went out of town to ride my ATV with friends. Sunday night (yesterday) I arrived home and tried to ride the FZ6 around for a bit but the bike would not start. The solenoid would buzz but the engine would not turn over. I thought it was odd the battery would be dead for such a short time so I push-started it and rode around for 15 miles to charge the battery up. After shutting it off the bike still wouldn't start, making the same buzzing noise. I parked the bike in the garage and put the battery charger on it overnight.

This morning I turned the key on with the charger on the battery and the fuel pump had a strong sound to it, but when I turned the key with the charger off the bike the fuel pump sound was a bit weak and the lights were somewhat dim. I tried to start the bike and it buzzed the first time I hit the starter button. After that it would slowly crank the engine but not fire. I push-started the bike and rode it to work (12 miles) and when I parked it at work I tried to start it and again, same solenoid buzzing noise.

Why would a brand new bike have trouble starting like this? Is this common? I'm pretty disappointed that I'm having problems so soon after purchasing the motorcycle.

 

[danfree]

You will want to get a battery tender or optimate charger. My brand new 08FZ6 took nearly 15 hours for the battery to take a full charge. If I don't ride for more than a week (rare), I will put it on the charger over night. I have the optimate charger and I like it alot. Take the time to install the pigtail charging cord and then it is really simple to charge. After that, I never had any starting troubles (at least for the 3 months I've had it). If it is something more, then it should be checked out by the dealer while under full warranty.

 

[ZRXINLA]

Take it back to the dealer immediately, sounds like the battery is no good, but who knows, the warranty will take care of it. Bummer that this happened to you with a new bike, oh and welcome to the site :welcome:

 

[FooFazer]

Here's my intro and problem with my new FZ6.

I bought my first motorcycle when I was 18, a 1982 Yamaha 920 Virago (XV920J). Anyone familiar with these bikes know the bike was known for starter issues and would clunk and grind whenever you try to start them. Since then I've had two other '82 XV920J bikes but after getting married and having kids I didn't have much time to ride so I sold it about 15 years ago.

Kids are older and we bought our youngest son a small 250 ATV. My wife and I felt we needed our own ATV so we could ride with him so I bought myself a Yamaha 350 Raptor and my wife a 350 Wolverine. After riding the ATVs for a while and watching the gas prices go up (plus with my kids being older) I felt it was time to buy another road bike.

I looked at buying a Hyosung GT 250 but when I brought my wife with me to look at it she felt I would regret it months down the road. The Hyosung was okay for someone who's never ridden, but for me who has owned a larger bike for years would have been disappointed. My wife spotted the black 2008 FZ6 and fell in love with it. So Thursday I purchased the FZ6 and took it home.

The day I bought it I noticed it had difficulty starting when cold. I thought maybe it was because the bike had not been broken in just yet. Friday I parked the bike in my garage and went out of town to ride my ATV with friends. Sunday night (yesterday) I arrived home and tried to ride the FZ6 around for a bit but the bike would not start. The solenoid would buzz but the engine would not turn over. I thought it was odd the battery would be dead for such a short time so I push-started it and rode around for 15 miles to charge the battery up. After shutting it off the bike still wouldn't start, making the same buzzing noise. I parked the bike in the garage and put the battery charger on it overnight.

This morning I turned the key on with the charger on the battery and the fuel pump had a strong sound to it, but when I turned the key with the charger off the bike the fuel pump sound was a bit weak and the lights were somewhat dim. I tried to start the bike and it buzzed the first time I hit the starter button. After that it would slowly crank the engine but not fire. I push-started the bike and rode it to work (12 miles) and when I parked it at work I tried to start it and again, same solenoid buzzing noise.

Why would a brand new bike have trouble starting like this? Is this common? I'm pretty disappointed that I'm having problems so soon after purchasing the motorcycle.

Wow, sorry to hear that, If you bought it from a dealer I would give them a call and get them to give it a check over.
If you bought it privatly, check the battery terminals are tight, if they are and it rode ok for 12 miles after a bump start its probably the battery, sometimes they fail from new or if its 2nd hand and the bike has not been used for a while they can build up a resistance to charging.
A battery optimizer might rescue it,

 

[necrotimus]

The problem is definetly a battery... Oddly enough I had the same problem today on my 06. Wouldn't start... got it running and then it wouldn't restart. My battery was old though so probably wasn't holding a charge. I went ahead and bought a new one and it came to life immediately.

 

[04fizzer]

Definitely the battery at this point.

Did you buy it brand new from the dealer? If it's an 08, and you got it from a dealer, it's probably been sitting, and the battery discharged itself over time. Either way, take it back to the dealership, as it should be covered under warranty (it's possible the battery's not getting recharged while riding due to a fault in the charging system).

 

[Fred]

Sounds like a bad battery to me too.

FYI, 15 miles is not enough to charge the battery.

Two hours is about right.

 

[CodeMonkey]

Thanks for all the replies. The bike has sat at the dealer since May, is that really long enough for the battery to go bad? The dealer didn't have the battery hooked up until after I signed the dotted line. I couldn't test ride the bike due to insurance reasons and they don't hook the battery up until it is sold. The last bike I bought from a dealer I was able to take it for a quick ride so I didn't expect not being able to at least hear it run. Is it this way for all motorcycle dealers? The dealer is closed today so I'll have to take it back tomorrow. Hopefully they can change the battery quick during my lunch hour.

I wonder what people do during the winter to keep their battery charged while being stored? I'd hate to get a new battery and in March/April go through this again.

 

[DefyInertia]

It was probably never charged properly the first time and then sat and died....like others said, get them to give you a new one for free.

I wonder what people do during the winter to keep their battery charged while being stored? I'd hate to get a new battery and in March/April go through this again.

battery tender or simply unplug the battery.

FWIW, I'm still on the original battery in my 2004 and it's been abused and never put on a trickle charger.

 

[necrotimus]

I wonder what people do during the winter to keep their battery charged while being stored? I'd hate to get a new battery and in March/April go through this again.

Buy a battery tender/trickle charger... You can either pull the battery and hook it up or hook leads to the battery and charge while its in the bike. I bought one today when I replaced my battery and it was 29.99 with leads. Mine also came with inline fuses so your battery is protected if there is a surge. I think others on the site have gotten cheaper ones. The dealer should be willing to hook it up for you when they put in a new battery. I'd ask them not to charge you for it (its simple).

 

[04fizzer]

It was probably never charged properly the first time and then sat and died....like others said, get them to give you a new one for free.



battery tender or simply unplug the battery.

FWIW, I'm still on the original battery in my 2004 and it's been abused and never put on a trickle charger.

My battery finally gave up the ghost earlier this year.

 

[Oscar54]

Thanks for all the replies. The bike has sat at the dealer since May, is that really long enough for the battery to go bad? The dealer didn't have the battery hooked up until after I signed the dotted line. I couldn't test ride the bike due to insurance reasons and they don't hook the battery up until it is sold. The last bike I bought from a dealer I was able to take it for a quick ride so I didn't expect not being able to at least hear it run. Is it this way for all motorcycle dealers? The dealer is closed today so I'll have to take it back tomorrow. Hopefully they can change the battery quick during my lunch hour.

I wonder what people do during the winter to keep their battery charged while being stored? I'd hate to get a new battery and in March/April go through this again.

First Codemonkey, Welcome to the Forum! You made a wise choice in buying the FZ regardless of the battery issue.

And it is most likely a battery issue. Batteries go bad, sometimes quickly.

I'm confident that when you put a new battery in your bike will be fine and you will enjoy your decision to buy it.

Oh, and get a battery tender, like the previous post say, if you shop you can get a nice one for around $20 - $30. You'll pay too much at the dealer.

Happy and safe riding.

Lew:rockon:

 

[MarinaFazer]

I'd take it back to the dealer you bought it from and get a brand new battery. Then get a battery tender, but I ride everyday to work and thus don't need one...

 

[Andz]

I'm still on the original battery in my 2004 and it's been abused and never put on a trickle charger.

Me too, and I sometimes go for weeks in winter without starting it. I push it out, hit the starter and off we go.

Just let the dealer have a look before you go fitting any charger adaptors or such like, they may void the warranty.

 

[thealiasofMarc]

Take it back to the dealer immediately, sounds like the battery is no good, but who knows, the warranty will take care of it. Bummer that this happened to you with a new bike, oh and welcome to the site :welcome:

+1 on all that

 

[aussiejules]

Definately the battery, it needs a good charge as everyone has said, 4 months sitting and then a couple of hours on charge-no good, get it charged properly, or go back to the dealer and firmly say your not happy with this and want a new battery put in. I personally wouldnt worry abouot a battery tender this early unless you are going to leave it for ages. My battery is 4 years old, i left the lights on in the first week totally flattening it, had i properly charged over a day, all good. My bike has sat for months at a time and only once had problems, did another charge and hasnt been a issue since. As i said this is a 4 year old battery. And welcome to the site.

 

[opds9091]

Buy a trickle charger, somewhere on the search finder look for that and you will see some off the issues you have. My bike sat in the garage for 7 month's due to me having surgery, so the bike just sat there, and i am in Florida and it doesn't get cold here. I Had them (the dealer) charge the battery and bought another battery, and a trickle charger. When I'm not ton the bike i plug it in at night and i charges it up, unplug and starts up. As far as the spare battery, i charge that about every 3-4 days. So hoped i helot you and have fun and be safe.

 

[Yatz86]

my guess is also the battery was not charge fully by ure shop, take it back to ure dealer if its still under warranty

 

[Cmayer31]

When I bought my '07 new from the dealer I had a similar issue. It started slowly and after riding it around and showing it off to my buddies it got to the point where it was completely dead (too much high beam, and not enough RPM to keep the battery alive). I quick charged it a couple of times and it kept dying on me. The next day I wired a battery tender lead and just let it trickle charge for a full 24 hours. Haven't had a problem since.

If you're close to the dealer or an auto parts place have them load test the battery to make sure it's good. I didn't live close enough to the dealer to easily take it back, but mine was simply never given a good charge.

 

[jwrider41]

I had the same problem. The optimate and a pigtail is the answer and will solve your problem. Just connect to charger once a week in winter and when it comes to your mind during riding season.