my bike won't start!

[whitedevil]

It wouldnt turn over if it was the kill switch. did you service the ht lead and boot like i said in the earlier post?

[twlou]

did you service the ht lead and boot like i said in the earlier post?

 

yeah did that this morning before i changed the spark plug. if i put the old one back in i can see a spark but the new one nothing. it's definitely the right plug too, have checked

don't think i mentioned this before but i have tried to jump start it from my car battery(car not running) and the same happens.

[whitedevil]

Did you set the right gap on the new plug? I dont think the battery is the problem.I think its either the plug, the lead or cap, the coil, a faulty kill switch or the cdi.

[twlou]

Ok, thought the gap was preset so no haven't done that. Will get on it shortly. I've done a check of the whole electric system, switches and that and they're all fine. I'll try changing the CDI unit next week, will have to be ordered.

One final thought and I'm not sure if this makes a whole lot of difference but, when I picked the bike up I remember the guy saying he always filled it with super unleaded. When I had to fill up I just put in regular unleaded. It was then after about 10 miles the bike cut out. Could this have contributed to it?

[Bogof]

It wouldnt turn over if it was the kill switch.

 

Mine does. In fact, both mine do. As does my son's. It would appear that the Honda kill switch only cuts the ignition circuit, not the starter circuit.

Which is why I asked the question, and no, it wasn't a joke.

[Bogof]

Ok, thought the gap was preset so no haven't done that. Will get on it shortly. I've done a check of the whole electric system, switches and that and they're all fine. I'll try changing the CDI unit next week, will have to be ordered.

One final thought and I'm not sure if this makes a whole lot of difference but, when I picked the bike up I remember the guy saying he always filled it with super unleaded. When I had to fill up I just put in regular unleaded. It was then after about 10 miles the bike cut out. Could this have contributed to it?

 

It will not be the CDI if it sparks with one plug.

It will definitely not be the wrong "grade" of petrol.

[Colin the Bear]

Didn't put diesel in it did you?

[Guest Hodgy]

If it's a weak spark, I'd be looking at coil or a bad earth, deff not cdi.

Oh and my Honda will churn away forever with the kill switch off, but no ignition to fire the engine up, don't ask how i know

[twlou]

If it's a weak spark, I'd be looking at coil or a bad earth, deff not cdi.

Oh and my Honda will churn away forever with the kill switch off, but no ignition to fire the engine up, don't ask how i know

 

Ok will check the ignition coil and earth but I did check these previously. Will do it again though. Have gapped the spark now and can see it but it's still weak.

No haha I didn't put diesel in it

[twlou]

Just been out and checked ignition coil. Between ignition coil and plug cap it was 6.76 which is normal according to the book. But between coil and earth it read 0.00 and supposed to be between 0.18-0.28 and it suggests to change the ignition coil if any resistance is out. Guess that's my problem then

[N1NJA]

Is there an earth connection on the coil that maybe just wants a good clean?

[fredc]

Between ignition coil and plug cap it was 6.76

between coil and earth it read 0.00

 

What units are you measuring

did you change range on the meter

[twlou]

What units are you measuring

did you change range on the meter

 

Ohms. Had it set so when you turn it on it says .1

 

Is there an earth connection on the coil that maybe just wants a good clean?

 

thought the same thing, took it off and cleaned it up but still gives the same readout

[Tango]

From the vid it sounds like the bike is turning over fine. Wet plug = fuel getting through.

From your description it sounds like the coil is going down to ground. Coil and HT lead/Plug cap is where I would be heading I think. CDI? maybe....but could also be the sender which sends the signal to the CDI when the crank turns.

As I said to someone else on here....start with the simple things and then work up from there. Plug first, Coil/HT Lead/Plug Cap, then CDI and sender.

Also check the compression. If the compression is down you'll have trouble getting it to fire up. If the guys could only get it to run on higher octane fuel it may be that the compression is low.

[twlou]

hey thanks Tango, been helpful.

i'll check HT lead and plug cap again tomorrow. how would I check the compression? do i need a test kit for it? compresion could be the answer as this might be why it cut out in the first place. the best description i can give for when it cut out was i was riding at about 50mph then suddenly it died, twisting the throttle did nothing didn't even rev but the lights and that stayed on

[Bogof]

hey thanks Tango, been helpful.

i'll check HT lead and plug cap again tomorrow. how would I check the compression? do i need a test kit for it? compresion could be the answer as this might be why it cut out in the first place. the best description i can give for when it cut out was i was riding at about 50mph then suddenly it died, twisting the throttle did nothing didn't even rev but the lights and that stayed on

 

All of which points to either a loss of spark or a loss of fuel. Since you know fuel is getting through, loss of spark is top of the list. It is very unlikely to be a compression related issue, they tend to be coupled with catastrophic banging and crashing if they arise suddenly.

I still come back to you saying you had a spark on one plug but not the other. Apart from the plug itself, what else changes when you get spark or don;t get spark?

[twlou]

Apart from the plug itself, what else changes when you get spark or don;t get spark?

 

i'm not sure if i've understood you correctly but did you mean now that i've changed the spark plug? if so, then the only change i've noticed is that the plug is no longer wet. i was told that initially the reason why it was wet was because the engine was flooded so i took the plug out and left it for around 45 minutes to let the excess evaporate(as i was advised to do)

[Bogof]

So you get a spark, sometimes. There is fuel getting through.

At this point I would get a car and a pair of jump leads.

[twlou]

So you get a spark, sometimes. There is fuel getting through.

At this point I would get a car and a pair of jump leads.

 

right ok, i have my car and a set of jump leads.........easy to hook up?

[twlou]

here's another video of me trying to bump start the bike. you can hear a "click clack" noise and i'm sure it's coming from the engine area. perhaps i wasn't going fast enough

see what everyone thinks

[Colin the Bear]

Noise sounds bad. Something clattering in time with engine rotation

[twlou]

thinking about it, that sound is probably the valves and they need adjusting. could be wrong though?

[Bogof]

So you get a spark, sometimes. There is fuel getting through.

At this point I would get a car and a pair of jump leads.

 

right ok, i have my car and a set of jump leads.........easy to hook up?

 

Positive to positive, negative to negative.

If you see sparks and/or flames you wasn't paying attention.

Couldn't be easier.

[twlou]

Hooked it up to my car, didn't do anything. Still doesn't start.

[Tango]

When the engine cut out on you what actually happened? Any loud noises or whatever?

Stupid question...but I'll ask anyway....is your oil level OK. You haven't lost all the oil have you?

The compression can be checked using a checker (around £20) but you can just pull the plug out and spin the motor briefly and put your finger over or near the plug hole. You'll feel the pulses of air when the piston comes up. This is not an accurate way of checking it, but it'll indicate if you've got some compression: ie. not holed a piston or dropped a valve.

Actually maybe you should open the rocker covers and just check that a valve hasn't dropped before going too far. That noise when you were trying to bump it was a bit loud for just poorly adjusted tappets.