lexmoto lowrider wont start

[wendywu]

I am having problems with getting my bike to start. Battery is charged, bike in neutral & off the side stand yet nothing. Wont turn over at all. Any ideas gratefully accepted. Please be gentle with me as I know nothing about bike mechanics .

[al_stu]

nothing at all? no bangs clunks clicks? Must be loose connection, possibly to the starter motor, most other faults you'd get at least some effort from the starter to turn. Either that or the battery isnt connected...

[al_stu]

Also why not introduce yourself in newbies? and please add location to your profile - maybe someone local can have a look

mwahaha beat you all to it

[rennie]

hello and welcome

please put your location in your profile

It could be a switch sticking either on the clutch,

side stand or even the kill switch if it has one.

1 of our members has the same bike I think, he should

be able to help

[Stu]

mwahaha beat you all to it

 

she beat you to it too

[rennie]

only just!

[eastanglianbiker]

does the neutral light come on when you turn the ign on

[wendywu]

Yes the neutral light comes on .

[RantMachine]

Hiya, I'm the other person with a Lowride, as mentioned above.

My troubleshooting will be limited to problems I've had, of course

Does it sound like the engine is trying to turn over? Is it doing ANYTHING?

If it doesn't seem to be doing anything, check the ignition cable. The bodywork that it runs underneath has a nasty habit of cutting into it, so that could be a culprit. If you're getting any kind of sounds, let me know and I'll suggest summat else

[wendywu]

I am getting absolutely nothing .

[RantMachine]

If you listen really carefully, can you hear a faint clicking noise when trying to start it?

[wendywu]

Only clicking I hear is when I press the ignition button , otherwise nothing .

[RantMachine]

Solenoid is probably buggered, happened to mine after about 6 weeks

Edit: No smart remarks about Chinese bikes folks, WE KNOW ALREADY

[Ricky]

Going to use my knowledge for once...

Brace yourself...

Is the kill switch in the off position?

I'm all out of ideas...

[wendywu]

First thing I did was check the kill switch. It is still under warranty so I will ring the garage tomorrow. Thanks for all the help , it is much appreciated.

[Ricky]

Damn, well sorry I couldn't help.

[BikerMooFromMars]

First thing I did was check the kill switch. It is still under warranty so I will ring the garage tomorrow. Thanks for all the help , it is much appreciated.

Oh christ almighty, enjoy those mega short services and niggling initial problems! Hope your dealer is nearby

Other than that, Ollie/RantMachine's bike is pretty freaking awesome and he loves it. I had a little go on it, found it pretty easy to handle and I love the chugging sound it makes.

I reckon it might help if he lists off a few issues he had so that you can avoid em too. Faffing with the choke and stuff, cables needing extra electrical tape to stop them rubbing etc.

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-signs003.gif

And welcome to the forum!

[wendywu]

Thanks for all your help. This will be the second time that it will be back in the garage. I had petrol pouring out from under the tank just before Christmas & now if I go above 40 it shakes all over the place. Perhaps the wheel needs balancing or am I being stupid & that's just for cars It's a really nice little bike when it works properly

[RantMachine]

It's a really nice little bike when it works properly

 

Well said

Tank shakes over 40, or the whole bike? The decorative silver plastic bit on my tank shakes like crazy at around 8000rpm.

Anyway, at BikerMoo's suggestion, here is a list of the issues I've had with my bike in the 4,500 miles since I bought it, in the order they occured:

* Fuel gauge didn't work at all - turned out the float... didn't float. New one fitted, which is still fairly useless. Talking to Sinnis Vista owners (same bike minus some of the trinkets), this is pretty common. Full means full, half means 3/4 full, two bars left means 1/2 full, and empty means everything else

* The two bits of silver plastic that cover the various wires and cables (seen here http://www.lexmoto.co.uk/DFE125L_parts_30620-FR_1700_DFE125L.php) have a nasty habit of not sitting flush, and the cables end up slipping between the plastic and the frame when you go to full lock in one direction... and then cut into the now trapped cables when you go the other way. Make sure the dealer have done a decent job of securing the cables, if not then get some cable ties on them or tell the dealer to sort their mess out. Probably worth putting some electrical tape or similar around the edges of the cable recesses, as they can still rub a bit. Also, on my bike the small metal loop that holds the speedo cable in place as it runs alongside these bits of plastic would've benefited from being bent around the cable a little tighter, so I'd recommend doing this. On mine, the cable came our of the loop and promptly slipped between the loop and the frame, getting cut into when steering hard to the left And the loop then snapped off! Cable ties ahoy.

* The starter solenoid packed in, which sounds like the same problem you're having. Guessing the stock one is just crap quality, as I've had no problem since it was replaced. I was concerned that the cables having being damaged by the plastic panels may have had a part in the problem, so they were replaced.

* Serious carb problem after the inlet rubber split - fine one day, next morning it wouldn't idle at all, and struggled to start no matter how much choke I used. Had to get to work and back revving like an idiot because it cut out completely whenever it dropped below 3000rpm! Dealer took the rubber off their showroom bike to fix this there and then, as it was rather crippling (Seen here http://s86.photobucket.com/user/spastic_potato/media/P7040062_zps23c630e7.jpg.html).

* And the current problem - the speedo. It doesn't give me a proper reading when I'm between 6,500rpm and 8,000rpm - tends to dip by about 5mph when I enter that range, then suddenly jump to an accurate reading when I go past it. Good thing it's easy to work out your speed based on gear and rpm with this bike But really, not hard to work around. The only time I don't have a reading is when I'm on a road where I know the bike isn't capable of exceeding the speed limit

Lexmoto have covered all of these issues under warranty, as you'd expect really. They got a bit iffy about replacing the damaged cables, but saw reason in the end.

As an aside, a couple of tips about the luggage boxes - it's worth lining the inside of the lip of the lids with thin foam tape or a double layer of electrical tape, as when the rattling kicks in they tend to grind against the lower half and wear down a little (and make an annoying noise). And the rotating lock covers - these aren't very secure! Always rotate them clockwise, or they can come undone and go missing And if you haven't already experienced this, pay special attention to the right luggage box bracket when cleaning, this bit corrodes faster than any other part of the bike - water sometimes settles on parts of it when the bike is on its side stand.

In the defense of the bike, I've put it through one heck of a lot and I've been pretty darn happy with how it handled everything, especially the TMBF rally.

[Fozzie]

Yikes... That's a lot of stuff to go wrong (not that I can talk)

I had an Aprilia RS125 (2 of them in fact) and people heckled me on the unreliability. It needed to idle for 5 minutes before you could ride it in a morning, it would seize if you rode it too hard or shut off the throttle at high rpm's. And configuring the electronic exhaust valve got tricky when it decided what day it would and wouldn't work

So I can't really say much but I did 4000 miles in 2 months through all weathers which was a big ask for a 125. And it managed about 5 or 6 months before it went pop the first time. Chinese bikes seem to have an array of various problems, Italian ones seem to have ones you half expect

Maybe you should follow Bikermoo and get a Honda... you can get these for less than £1500

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload/840/images/MVT1220043BA-01.jpg

Engine from a varadero and it will do 75-80mph apparently.

[wendywu]

Rang the garage this morning for them to pick it up & their van is broke so I am now running around looking for a man with a van to take it to Cannock for me. My right hand mirror is all lose so they can fix that too & I will have a word about the cables too. The whole bike shakes when I do over 40 so I will be mentioning that too when I eventually get it to them . Thanks for the welcome

[klingelton]

Rang the garage this morning for them to pick it up & their van is broke

 

How convenient...

[wendywu]

In their defence they have been good the last 2 times, been here straight away to pick it up. I am away for a few days from Friday so I will ring them when I get back. Would help if I could find a man with a van though .

[klingelton]

the last 2 times?! Who can defend a china bike if the bike needs picking up that many times?!!???!

anyway - despite that, sincerely hope you get it all sorted out soon.

[RantMachine]

Admittedly while mine has had a generous helping of problems, it's never been so bad that I couldn't ride it to the dealer somehow. Did it show any signs of misbehaviour beforehand? Intermittent starting difficulties, or unusual noises?