Bike won't start :crybaby:

[Mightycaz]

Was gonna be lazy this morning and ride into work (I only live 10 mins walk away) but the damn thing wouldnt start, I dont think its the battery because that sounds like it has plenty ok kick to it! The starter motor sounds ok and when i turn it over i can feel it almost fire but then nothing, I tried with and without choke but nothing seemed to work. It was working fine last night, I went for a good ride stopped at a few ppl houses and went to fill up and no problems at all! I hope its just because its cold this morning and by the time i finish work an the sun has been on it for a few hours itll be ok tonight!

[Guest]

Was gonna be lazy this morning and ride into work (I only live 10 mins walk away) but the damn thing wouldnt start, I dont think its the battery because that sounds like it has plenty ok kick to it! The starter motor sounds ok and when i turn it over i can feel it almost fire but then nothing, I tried with and without choke but nothing seemed to work. It was working fine last night, I went for a good ride stopped at a few ppl houses and went to fill up and no problems at all! I hope its just because its cold this morning and by the time i finish work an the sun has been on it for a few hours itll be ok tonight!

Hi MightyCaz.

i've had a few suzukis and they benefit from new plugs (or plug) especially if its cold, a new plug gives a good spark, so i'd change that and see how you get on..

[Mightycaz]

The plugs and battery are only a week old, Spoke to the dealer i got it from and he said that somethimes they dont like the cold in general. Ill give it another try when i finish work, He said if it still dont work then give him another call and he will get a mechanic out to me tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice Frankie

[Guest]

The plugs and battery are only a week old, Spoke to the dealer i got it from and he said that somethimes they dont like the cold in general. Ill give it another try when i finish work, He said if it still dont work then give him another call and he will get a mechanic out to me tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice Frankie

could be a loose HT lead then, the bit that connects to the spark plug, but your mech, should figure it out for you.

bigger suzi's have pre-heaters on the carbs to prevent this from happening, but mines sometimes sluggish on a cold morning (aren't we all....)

[Mightycaz]

Had a quick look at that this morning, gave everything a good push to make sure nothing was loose. Dont think i have a pre heater, I do have a primer on my fuel switch is that the same thing? I was late for work this morning so i didnt really have the time to mess about with things too much. With a bit of luck it'll start when i get home after a day of soaking up the sun. I hope

[Pete]

Try cleaning your air filter. If it's clogged up it'll be stopping air getting to the carbs, thus stopping it firing.

As Frankie knows I've had my fair share of bother with my bike over the last week (!!) and along the way of fixing it found that it wouldn't start a few times. I'd press the ignition and the starter motor would turn and turn and turn but...no dice! I thought about the sparks, checked them, cleaned them up...still nothing. Eventually I thought I'd try taking the air filter out...BOOM first time! I've cleaned it out and put it back in and it's starting OK for now, but another one's on the way.

Anyway, you might want to try taking the air filter out just to see if that helps. once it's chugging away just chuck the filter back in (after cleaning it with compressed air) and consider buying a new one if you're still having bother.

As for the spark plugs...not many people think you have to check the gaps on brand new plugs. I certainly didn't until my uncle pointed it out to me. I thought he was talking rubbish until I had them out the other day and they were WELL off (supposed to be between 0.6 and 0.7mm and were at about 0.9!). I've regapped them and cleaned them up and it's going OK so you could check your gaps too.

[Mightycaz]

No idea where my air filter is let alone take it off, I have te hand book at home so i'd imagine that would tell me how to do it. If not ill be buyin a haynes manual tomorrow! supposed to be goin to my mates tonight to watch the footy, suppose if i cant ride that means i can have a drink and a smoke so not all bad (I'd prefer to ride though!!)

[Pete]

Depends what bike but the air filter will usually be under the tank somewhere.

[Mightycaz]

Its a Suzuki vl125 Intruder, Just had a quick look now but haynes dont make a manual for it, I have the original owners manual at home so id imagine that would tell me where it is!

[Guest]

looking at the pictures of an intruder, i would guess that your airfilter is hidden inside one or both of the chrome covers under the side of the tank.

this is where they are bigger v-twin cruisers, and the lack of room under the seat, for the likes of the battery etc..

[Mightycaz]

Had a day off today so was able to have a good look around the workings of the bike and get my hands dirty. I took both air cleaner covers off, The left hand one was almost totally clean and looking relativley new so i assume its ok. The right hand side was a different story, I took off the cover and there isnt even a filter inside it!! it does look clean in there so i hope there has been no damage done to the engine. Just waitin for my mate to come pick me up so i can go get a new filter from somewhere. Is it possible that this is the reason that the bike won't start? Bear in mind that i have been riding it for a week and had no problems. The only other thing i can think of is that the battery has gone dead again, I spoke to a mechanic that loked at it last time and he said that mechanicaly the thing is sound and if any thing it is an electrical problem.

[Guest]

Please dont laugh but you havnt flicked the kill switch on by mistake have you

[Mightycaz]

LOL. No No first thing i tried! I went out and bought some foam inserts for the air cleaners and cut them to size. It turns out that the right hand side air cleaner is a dummy so that explains why there was no foam in there! I also bought a battery analiser and when i hooked it up it said that the battery needed charging, I only charged it about 5 days ago so i am assuming that it is a problem with the altornator (SP?) as the analiser said that there was no current being taken from the batttery when it was just sitting there in the bike so i think i can rule out a short circit. Wil put n update on tomorrow when the battery is fully charged again and see what happens

Fingers crossed its something simple that can be fixed quickly!!!

Thanks for all the help so far guys

[Voodoo]

Maybe the batteries on its last legs

[Mightycaz]

I thought that could be a possibility but i got got myself one of these today http://rflintonandsons.co.uk/acatalog/B ... rgers.html

Its just finished doin its full cycle now and it says the battery is good and fully charged. I really think its the Altornator that is not working and just not charging the battery when i am out and about. Ill give you an update in the morning as to weather it starts up or not!

[Pete]

Remember that the alternator will only work when the bike's running. I'd guess at it being the battery, motorcycle batteries are hugely underpowered for the task that they have to perform.

If you do come a cropper and run out of juice you can always try bump starting the bike. If you don't know what that is then it's when you get on the bike, turn the ignition on and kick it into 2nd gear. Then you get a mate to push you a bit, or you roll it down a hill and slowly let the clutch out and it'll turn over without the battery. I had to do it once in a Tesco car park once on my own without a hill. I ran alongside the bike, got it going and leapt on like the star of an old western. I wouldn't want to do it again though through fear of dropping the bleeder.

[Mightycaz]

HAHA! i tried bumping it but it didnt work (I did try it in first tho, I wonder if thats why?) Will update tomorrow when i have tried the fully charged battery!

Night Night

[Mightycaz]

Ok, I tried it today with the fully charged battery but still no dice! Have to wait for it to be picked up and looked at now. If its a massive problem then i am going to have to ask for my money back, Whic i really dont wanna do because i love that bike

[Guest]

HAHA! i tried bumping it but it didnt work (I did try it in first tho, I wonder if thats why?) Will update tomorrow when i have tried the fully charged battery!

Night Night

if bumping a bike, use 2nd and get someone to push you, the extra weight over the back wheel stops it locking up and skidding.. done it once or twice on my bikes..

hopefully it'll be something and nothing, so i wouldn't give up hope..

[Pete]

No don't give up, that's a pansy thing to do !!

I had to bump mine today, it was fairy embarassing. It was in the middle of Leamington Spa High Street outside the Suzuki shop of all places and the hill wasn't good enough so matey boy came out from the shop to give me a shove. Nice guys, I'll have to shop there again!

Just keep at it, it'll most probably be something very simple/cheap to fix and when you do fix it you'll feel an overwhelming sense of achievement. It will make you feel like some sort of man-god type thing for a while after.

[Mightycaz]

So the bike has been taken away to be fixed now (gotta love warranty's!) Ill get a phone call later on today hopefully letting me know what is wrong with the thing. Hope its not gone for ages!!!

I just wanna get out and ride!!!

[Mightycaz]

Just got a phone call from the garage i got the bike from, They said it was a faulty circit box cutting it out. Its all been fixed now and i can pick it up on monday! I hope the weather holds out so i can have a nice ride back from Macclesfield to Chester!

[Pete]

Wow that's a weird one oh well all's well that ends well

[Mightycaz]

Yeah, apparently it was the switch box that all the electronics run through had a dodgy connection that was stoppin it from startin, He said he had changed the whole thing now so it should all be perfect now. I suppose ill find out when i pick it up tonight an ride it back!

[Mightycaz]

Ok, More fun for me! I got to the shop last night and the guy was stood there with a big smile on his face and said "here you go sir one fully working bike" then splutter splut, It wouldnt start! So his mechanic came out and started having a tinker but couldnt figure it out, Then it started then it wouldnt then it would etc etc..... So he takes off the ignition barrel as it seemed to start when he moved the key in a certain way and found that the ballbearings in the ignition barrel were out of place.

He hung his head and said he was so embarresed by the whole thing, He said that it is now his top priority to get this fixed and deliver it back to me this week. He then took a tenner out of his own pocket for the petrol we used to get down there on my mates 600 bandit, Top top blokes and although im a bit dissapointed by it not startin im pretty happy with the way they have treated me!