Motorbike help! :(

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 14:16

Hi guys!

I've been riding a few months on my CBT and I purchased a brand new lexmoto xtrs 125 on finance (I'm skint!

)

It's got about 1800Km on the clock and is due for it's 2000Km very soon obviously, in the last week or so I've had a few issues, I've noticed it hasn't been happy to start with the ignition button, as in I put a bit of choke on, rev slightly and hold the button for a few seconds (which normally fires it up straight away).

Recently when it try this (with choke in every position) it turns over for a few seconds then I release starter to make sure I don't burn it out, sometimes it also makes this hollow clunk sound when I release the start button.

If I keep trying this for a few minutes (leaving 30 sec gaps to not flood/burn out motor) it will finally start (very grudgingly). It goes pretty much first time if I give it a decent kick start with the choke on though, is this a problem with the electrics?

Also this morning I started it with kick and let it idle for a good 5 minutes, revving it occasionally to warm it up a bit more. When the engine was nice and warm I saddled up and rode off - after about 1 minute I come to traffic lights and come to a stop, as soon as my revs settle back to the resting 1800-2000rpm it suddenly starts to splutter and the engine just cuts out (as if I just let the clutch snap off and stalled it), I try to give it a few quick starts with starter button but nothing happens, so i was forced to kick start it before the lights turned again. Luckily it went first time with kick start again!

Does anyone know what could be causing this issue? I'm pretty new to bikes but have a decent understanding of how my engine works (I plan to get it looked at when it goes in for 2k km service, but this is just for my own knowledge!)

Can anyone advise as to what could be going wrong?

Notes

I'm using Shell Vpower Nitro + fuel, almost full tank at the moment
I normally ride it quite hard and it runs nice and smooth and zippy for a small bike
If it's been running about 30 minutes and I turn ignition off, it will start perfect on starter button within a few moments after shutting off
Bike is kept in a garage at night and is always kept warm and clean (where possible)

Thanks!

Jamie

Will Gill · 2 May 2014 at 14:22

moved for you

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 14:37

Will Gill said:
moved for you

Woops! Should have looked for the sub forum, my apologies! :3

wazza300 · 2 May 2014 at 15:08

maybe try cleaning the spark plug? or put a new one in,idk why its cutting out at the lights

clean or spray your plug lead and cap inside and out with some wd40 might help,when starting you should only apply the choke then thumb the starter,dont rev the throttle as you might flood the engine

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 15:11

wazza300 said:
maybe try cleaning the spark plug? or put a new one in,idk why its cutting out at the lights

clean or spray your plug lead and cap inside and out with some wd40 might help,when starting you should only apply the choke then thumb the starter,dont rev the throttle as you might flood the engine

Hmm, will it literally just pull out? (I'm perfectly confident to rip pc's apart to fix them, but with the vehicle that carries me around at 60mph + on a daily basis it's more scary!)

Sounds daft as well but how would I clean it?

Sometimes the only way it will start is the throttle, seems to help chucking a bit more throttle into it

leigh_boy · 2 May 2014 at 15:21

just replace the spak plug, when you get the old one out, look at the end of it if it is black then the bike is running to rich and the carb needs attentions, like wise if its iw white on the end its to lean, you want a nice brown colour.

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 15:37

leigh_boy said:
just replace the spak plug, when you get the old one out, look at the end of it if it is black then the bike is running to rich and the carb needs attentions, like wise if its iw white on the end its to lean, you want a nice brown colour.

Do I literally just pull it out from the rubber cap? I think this is it?

Forgive my ignorance please!

Felix · 2 May 2014 at 15:54

That looks like the starter motor.

leigh_boy · 2 May 2014 at 16:01

satanicguardian said:
Do I literally just pull it out from the rubber cap? I think this is it?

Forgive my ignorance please!

that is your starter motor. ths spark plug is on the very top of the engine

leigh_boy · 2 May 2014 at 16:02

looks for somethign like this.

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 16:03

Hmm, to the user manual! Need to try find where it's located!

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 16:05

Ok so the badly translated user manual says that only "motorcycling technician" should attempt to fiddle with it, I can't see how complex I could be, but I just need to find the sod! :O

wazza300 · 2 May 2014 at 16:11

you use a socket spanner to unscrew the sparkplug (it'll be ontop of the engine the cylinder)

I would let a bike shop do it or a friend that knows how

leigh_boy · 2 May 2014 at 16:12

the manuals will always say that, what is the bike? some times you have to remove the fairings or tank to get to the spark plug. job you will have been given a tool kit with the bike that will have a plug spanner in it.

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 16:12

wazza300 said:
you use a socket spanner to unscrew the sparkplug (it'll be ontop of the engine the cylinder)

I would let a bike shop do it or a friend that knows how

Hmm it could be an idea to let some else do it, knowing my luck I'll end up shocking myself or something!

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 16:13

leigh_boy said:
the manuals will always say that, what is the bike? some times you have to remove the fairings or tank to get to the spark plug. job you will have been given a tool kit with the bike that will have a plug spanner in it.

http://www.lexmoto.co.uk/KS125-24.php

This is the bike, it's only cheapy but I like it

probably right, may be only accessible under the fairings!

wazza300 · 2 May 2014 at 16:13

the pic you posted shows the cylinder head on the far right with the fins on it,it'll be ontop of that under a plastic sparkplug cap

leigh_boy · 2 May 2014 at 16:16

ok so i looked its a cbr 125 wanna bee. so this should help
http://www.wikihow.com/Change-a-Sparkplug-on-a-CBR-125-Motorcycle

you need to remove the right fairing for sure

leigh_boy · 2 May 2014 at 16:19

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTUVeKXGnoo

same engine same bike but with out the side fairings.

satanicguardian · 2 May 2014 at 16:46

Thanks for all the info guys! I just spoke to my local bike dealer (where I go for services), they said just keep kick starting it and ride fairly gentle till I take it for service (about 200km), he reckons that it could just be that the valves need a cleaning etc. he said that this model of bike can be fussy about certain choke settings, even though I can normally start it first time cause I know where it likes the choke to be set...

He was right in mentioning though that these bikes HATE running with the choke on with any particular amount of a throttle.. basically if I started it and let it idle on choke, then pulled off without turning choke off, within about 5 seconds my engine will start "flubbing?", revs drop and it sounds like it's starting to flood, I have to close the choke and it roars back to life again