[topster]

02, will crank but not fire up. Parked bike in driveway about 1300 today. Had turned it around to be able to drive straight out tonight. Was in neutral , turned off key and put kick stand down. I always leave bike in gear, but today I Rev button and left bike sitting in rev..No indications of any problems earlier today. Battery bug shows 12.8 - 12.9 volts. Drops to 12.3. - 4 while cranking. While riding today, battery bug indicated proper charging conditions. 14 after start up. 81 % of battery life left per battery bug. My other battery indicator showed proper charging etc also. Sprayed shut off switch which I never use and also rev button with contact cleaner. As of 1830 today, still will crank like hell but not start.:evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:


Just an update. After about 15 min on battery tender, it fired up. Cannot beleive it is the battery with all the indicators saying battery is good. Battery is only about 6 mon. old. Only thing I can think of is rev or kill button was dirty, contact cleaner cleaned it up and dried out allowing bike to start. Does that sound plausible?

Any suggestions where to start?

 

[ssncob]

Hi Top, I've subscribed to this thread because I am definitely interested in the resolution. I'm on the road, not near my service manual, hope Rocky or TrikeLady or other guru chimes in. Now for .02 suggestions.

1. Got fuel? Sorry, but got to ask the obvious.
2. when you turn the key on, can you hear the fuel pump run for a second or two?
3. Check/swap fuses for the ECU?
4. Pull a plug wire, check for spark?
5. Doesn't happen often, but do you smell fuel (check tailpipe). If smell fuel, may be flooded. Hold throttle fully open while cranking, cuts out fuel injectors to allow a flooded engine to clear.

That's my initial guesses, good luck to you.

 

[topster]

1. Got fuel? Sorry, but got to ask the obvious.
2. when you turn the key on, can you hear the fuel pump run for a second or two?
3. Check/swap fuses for the ECU?
4. Pull a plug wire, check for spark?
5. Doesn't happen often, but do you smell fuel (check tailpipe). If smell fuel, may be flooded. Hold throttle fully open while cranking, cuts out fuel injectors to allow a flooded engine to clear.

1: Full Fuel, just filled up this AM.
2: It started and ran after sitting there, so fuel works ok.
3: If fuse was bad for ECU, it wouldn't have started at all.
4: It started, so spark was be good unless intermittent failure in some competent.
5: No fuel smell at all. I always let it idle for a minute before I shut down.
When I went back out to try one last time, it started up normally, no holding throttle wide open or prolonged cranking. Started in about 1-2 seconds.
Only thing I can think of is somehow rev switch opens ignition circuit and rev switch got screwed up. Sprayed it and bike started after about 15 mins of sitting there while I came in to post problem on here. May be a gremlin.......opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:
Thanks for the response.....

 

[James I. Jones]

First things first. DO NOT PARK THE BIKE IN REVERSE. Next, It very well CAN be the battery. The bike will not turn over if the kill,(shut off) switch is dirty or off. Next check your battery connections to be sure they are tight. When you park in reverse, the starter is what is holding the bike. First gear is much better.

 

[ssncob]

I normally park in first gear, never nuetral. If bike is on a slope or I am parking in an area I don't want someone trying to roll off with it, I use reverse.

Just make sure you have done your switch maintenance on the reverse switch, or you won't be going anywhere either.

 

[SneakySnake]

If it happens again check a sparkplug to see if it is firing. This sounds like what happened to mine when the pulse generator failed. It can be intermittent and will fail again if that is the problem. If it fails to start again, put the kickstand down and turn it over for ten seconds with a good charged battery and then leave the key on. See if you have a FI light flashing. Mine flashed a code indicating the pulse gen.

 

[onewayblues]

What type (brand) of battery did you install last?
Not all batteries are created equal!