Caporegime
could have an earth somewhere too
What did you do to your bike today?
- Thread starter edd1e
- Start date
Tend to find people stick red rubber grease on these, usually used round the seals of the caliper pistons. Not sure if theres a reason to it, maybe the stuff is just a bit cleaner looking or theres some logic to it
Associate
That was my first thought however it's been a bit spluttery starting in the morning the last few months (ie it initially starts on 3 cylinders) but as soon as it gets going it has been fine. The plugs are due a change anyhow, was last done a good 12k miles ago and I don't want to buy a battery if I don't need one. I'm leaving the battery on charge overnight and will stick it in and see if it goes in the morning. My other thought was the carbs could do with a clean out as it's been about 12k miles since I cleaned/balanced them but that's last on the to do list
What did I do to my bike today? I pushed it home!
Stopped off somewhere to sort my gear out then was unable to get any power despite charging the battery fully just a few days ago. Something in a little yellow box under the seat was whirring away like crazy. Not sure what it was, it was next to the flasher. Possibly related to my installation of heated grips a few days ago?
Stopped off somewhere to sort my gear out then was unable to get any power despite charging the battery fully just a few days ago. Something in a little yellow box under the seat was whirring away like crazy. Not sure what it was, it was next to the flasher. Possibly related to my installation of heated grips a few days ago?
That was my first thought however it's been a bit spluttery starting in the morning the last few months (ie it initially starts on 3 cylinders) but as soon as it gets going it has been fine. The plugs are due a change anyhow, was last done a good 12k miles ago and I don't want to buy a battery if I don't need one. I'm leaving the battery on charge overnight and will stick it in and see if it goes in the morning. My other thought was the carbs could do with a clean out as it's been about 12k miles since I cleaned/balanced them but that's last on the to do list
Well fair enough sounds like it needs a bit of loving. Just seen many bikes at the track come back in coughing and spluttering and not starting and the battery is the problem. Drawing the spark is the biggest energy sucker from the battery when going so if its going itll be felt.
Also that first frost will start to kill any dying out batterys, esp since theyve little protection from the temperature.
Clicking type noise when trying the ignition? Sounds a dead battery. Did you remember to turn the grips off? Lol. Done that and had the exact same thing.
Next time stick the bike in 2nd gear, give it a push and let the clutch out and should fire up
No, clicking when turning the electrics on. Definitely didn't leave grips on and tried a bump start to no avail.
Associate
Aye I appreciate the feedback. I really was set on the battery until someone drilled spark plug into my head, it died out extremely quickly trying to start it in Sainsburys car park and the more I think about it the more I lean to battery. Might pop into town tomorrow and see if I can pick one up, a new battery was on my Christmas service list
Aye I appreciate the feedback. I really was set on the battery until someone drilled spark plug into my head, it died out extremely quickly trying to start it in Sainsburys car park and the more I think about it the more I lean to battery. Might pop into town tomorrow and see if I can pick one up, a new battery was on my Christmas service list
On some gell batteries just one cell has to go and it's game over unlike the led acids which obviously still die but a little more gracefully.
Caporegime
looked on fleebay? i picked up an mf gel battery for £40 new
Soldato
Put my bike at the back of the garage behind the car where it'll probably stay now until winter's come and gone. I'm a bit of a fair weather rider (which we haven't had much of recently 
), and add to that having not a lot of spare money until I find a job, so no going out for bimbles 'just 'cos I feel like it' at the moment.
), and add to that having not a lot of spare money until I find a job, so no going out for bimbles 'just 'cos I feel like it' at the moment.
Soldato
- Joined
- 29 Dec 2009
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Worth taking my battery out of bike and keeping it in the house nice and warm? lol
Soldato
Seeing as i don't have a garage, thats what i allways do if i plan on parking up for any great period of time, take the battery off, give it a charge, then stick it in the cupboard under the stairs.
Associate
I got the battery in this morning and the bike turned over much healthier however still wouldn't fire up unless I opened the throttle and kept it open but it wasn't running on all four and it sounded like it was really struggling, if I left the throttle off it died out even with the choke on.
What was odd about yesterday was that it started okay in the morning, started fine leaving work and then all of a sudden it wouldn't go. Seems like somethings "gone" or blocked
What was odd about yesterday was that it started okay in the morning, started fine leaving work and then all of a sudden it wouldn't go. Seems like somethings "gone" or blocked
Soldato
Had exactly the same thing happen on my ZRX11 once, nipped to the post office to re tax it, ran fine, came out the PO & it took ages to start, misfired, coughed & banged all the way home, running like a 3 legged race horse, couldn't get it to start after that.
Charged the battery up, made sure i had a fat spark on all 4 plugs, checked me HT leads & coils, decided to strip the carbs & sure enough, blocked jets. why it had decided to spontaneously foul it's jets i'll never know.
Soldato
Here's a photo of the tube in question:
which goes behind a side panel and then up towards the tank:
I'm not sure where it goes from there? I'm not mechanically minded to pop the tank off, and it doesn't appear to go into the engine.
I took the bike for an MOT this morning and it passed (with advisory that there is a little play in the swing arm, so the patched hole is not leaking), that said where could I find a replacement?
which goes behind a side panel and then up towards the tank:
I'm not sure where it goes from there? I'm not mechanically minded to pop the tank off, and it doesn't appear to go into the engine.
I took the bike for an MOT this morning and it passed (with advisory that there is a little play in the swing arm, so the patched hole is not leaking), that said where could I find a replacement?
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Soldato
That would make sense, I should have really asked at the shop, or not gone in first thing
[edit] I couldn't see where it ends up, it looks like it ends up at the tank area as it doesn't appear anywhere else that I could see.
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Associate
Well I think I've found the culprit
Suspicious amount of oil
And then a crack
And a very out of focus shot of the plug in question
Suspicious amount of oil
And then a crack
And a very out of focus shot of the plug in question
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Associate
Naa, not as much as the starter or headlights. A lot of proper race bikes don't even have a battery or starter motor, the generator provides more than enough power for an ignition system.
If changing the battery made a difference to how a bike runs, then the act of changing it would have likely disturbed some crusty connection somewhere that was causing the problem. The battery would have to be knackered to draw that much power away from other circuits. Maybe this is the case on road bikes that people use for the track, due to them being laid up. It's unlikely for a battery on a road bike to suddenly deteriorate that much after being o.k. up to the point of it failing during a trip to the shops.
The battery may well be on its way out, but I reckon something else is wrong too.