Bike Won't Start
 

Well after I lowsided at the track I've been piecing it together... I've ran it a few times and it idled ok and everything.. I ran it 2 days ago with no choke lever and it ran ok but stumbled a little bit. After that I forgot to turn the bike off and left the key on for about a day n half.. I charged the battery tonight and I've got nothing.. It doesn't seem to be making any spark..

So basically it was running, I replaced the choke and killed/charged the battery and she won't start at all...

I checked all the connections, but nothing else has changed besides whats mentioned above..



WTF?

Have you checked the battery voltage? Needs to be 12.8

Does it turn over?

Do you have any other sign of power?

Battery is at 13 +

Turns over quickly,

and gauges, fuses, connections, gas, air filter, coolant, oil, seem to be ok..

Can you easily check for spark???

Not sure of an easy way to check..

On my old Suzuki with the spark plugs exposed, I could pull off the spark plug wire, insert an old plug, lay it on the cylinder head and crank the engine. I could then see if the plug is firing.

On my Honda, I could take out two screws, lift the front of the gas tank, and set it on the holding rod. Then I could pull a plug wire, insert a spark plug and crank the engine. Notice for both bikes, I didn't have to pull a spark plug out of the engine.

If you can pull off a side panel to somehow see a spark plug wire, you could attach a probe from a timing light and see if it's getting a spark. But I think that new Kawi's use the coil on top of the spark plug. KTRIC or something like that. You will probably have to use the manual and a voltmeter to see if the coil is getting power.

Probably one of the safety switch's isn't working. Your Kawi has several of them for the ignition and for the fuel injection. Most likely the tip-over switch.

he mite have the stick coils(whatever you call em) on top of the plugs. kinda hard to do the sparkplug ground check.

time to whip out the test light and multimeter. i dont envy you right now haha

Are you getting gas flowing thru the throttle bodies?

This bike actually has carbs, and it smells like gas out of the exhaust.. I'm guessing I fouled the plugs during the crash and now they are just done.. I'll switch em out and see what happens.. :idk:

Yeah let us know what happens after you swap the plugs.

Well, not fouled plugs, seems to be a fuel issue..

I sprayed some starter fluid and it started right up..

The tank did get dented, I took it off and there doesn't seem to be any blockage. I can't tell if the fuel filter is clogged, but there's def pressure in the line going into the carbs..

Any ideas?

I take it this means you won't be there on Tuesday and Wednesday next week?

You thinking about dedicating her for the track? ;)

Pretty much.. I'm gonna get track plastics when I can afford (NO INS)

I'm pissed off man, over a month without riding in PERFECT riding weather.. Ah man...

Have fun man..

you dented the tank? I'd drain the tank... and check to see that all the fuel lines are clear... no blocks... I've heard fo tanks having a coating on the inside... (could be bs:idk:) could be that flaked off because of the dent and clogged the fuel lines. check your fuel filter and pump while your at it

I pulled the tank, drained it, didn't really see anything in the gas, however the reserve pickup did have what looks like a black flake on it.. it was toward the bottom of it, not in the way.. I checked all the lines and they are clear.. I don't know how to check the fuel filter other then seeing it looks pretty much clear and i can blow through it with no resistance.. I lost my multimeter but I tried testing the fuel pump by seeing if it vibrated during starting and it didn't seem to do anything.. :idk:

if the fuel pump is out-prob almost solved. gota check if the pump itself is out, or just a blown fuse or relay. service manual would be handy....

I have one, just need to get my multimeter to actually test the stuff. I always seem to lose them for some reason.. :idk:

:dthumb:

Yeah they really are, it led me to test the fuel pump relay which turned out to be busted... luckily i had another one off of a replacement swingarm and she FIRED!..

Now I have a new problem... It seems my clutch isn't working properly.. I had the rear tire off the ground, Pulled in the clutch and shifted to first, before letting out the clutch the wheel was moving very fast and wasn't easy at all the stop (as if the clutch was just dragging) I've adjusted it all around on the lever and on the clutch, no luck so far.. What exactly in the clutch assy. could I have broken? I looked at the service manual but it didn't really help me that much.. Just tryin to see what I should look at before I go opening her up..

Thanks.

Damn bro... I feel for you. That shit sucked for ya.

I was real bummed about mine but it ended up turning out well ;)

I'm sure as time goes on yours will turn out fine too... get some track plastics on there and you'll be happy as a clam again, dragging knee through turn 6 :rockout:
What about the adjustment of the cable down by the clutch cover?

Maybe your adjustment range on the handlebar isn't large enough to get it right... the crash could have moved things around...

I was adjusting by the clutch cover as well, Found a combo that doesn't kick too hard, and grabs 3/4 the way up.. So not perfect but gettin better, Its a different clutch lever so I guess it makes the adjustment different..

It's starting to come back to me that I had a similar problem with the clutch slippin when I put the pazzo levers on..

Took her around the block a few times today.. felt great, she rode straight and accelerated like before.. :dthumb:

Yeah you have to be carefull with your clutch adjustments. A service or owners manual should help with this adjustment.

When people tell me their clutch is acting up, adjustment is always the first thing I tell them to check.

Remember, a clutch system is VERY simplistic.