| Author | Message | ||
     Fl_a1a |
Hi Today I go to lunch on my bike. Done eating in about 20mins. Hop on bike and it won't turn over. I hear a clicking sound when pressing the start button but it never turns over. I get the bike towed to my house and try it one more time and it turns over on the first try. This seems has happened 3 time in the last 5 years. The only observation of a pattern is the bike is still warm after riding. I never have this problem in cold starts. Anyone else have this happen? Previously I was able to put it 1st gear and pop the clutch to get the crank in a different position and that seemed to work in the few times it has happened in the past. Is there a way to shut off the bike so that the crank is in an optimal position to turn over. For example, I'm think I could hit the kill switch right before the next cyclinder fires. Could this just be a weak battery. I have the original with battery and this is a 2005 xbs. I think some else mentioned that if the bike is still warm one of the cyclinders may have been in the compression stroke and the pressure is trapped somehow. Is there not some tube on the right side of the bike the lets pressure escape? The other odd thing is if I pop the clutch I hear the injectors repressurize ( the 6 second electrical whinning noise you hear when first flipping the kill switch to on). Maybe when I hit the kill switch I should have it in neutral. Seems like this only happens after I've been riding for about 45 minutes and stop some place for about 20 minutes. (Message edited by fl_a1a on October 11, 2007) (Message edited by fl_a1a on October 11, 2007) (Message edited by fl_a1a on October 11, 2007) | ||
| Cataract2 |
Could be a weak battery or loose battery cable. | ||
| Punkid8888 |
dito, it also sounds like a bad spot in the starter. I doubt it has anything to do with the engine being in a specific position. the starter is designed to turn over the engine at any point. remember back (i know I am only 25 but I have done this a few times) in the day when your starter would not work on your car so you gave it a wack, with a hammer, batt, a big rock, anything. basically it just needs a bit a shock to get the brushes to a better spot. this aways happen more when the starter is hot. I would look into the connection at the starter or the starter its self. I dont even know where the starter is on these bikes. | ||
| Etennuly |
It sounds like your battery is just weak enough to not be able to overcome the cylinder coming up on compression which goes away when the engine is completely cooled down. Fully charge your battery and have it load tested. If the battery fails the test or is close to failing replace the battery. Before you charge or test it check your terminal bolts where the cables bolt to the battery for looseness. There has been a long standing problem with the bolts being a little too long and a simple flat washer makes them tighten up nicely. | ||
| Hexangler |
I use a trickle charger once a month, otherwise I have this very same issue, and my bike is only 1 year old. I think that the cylinders are cooling faster than the innerds and at 20 minutes from hot, the engine is tighter than when all cool or all hot. Just a theory. Hex | ||
| Brumbear |
It is your starter/soloniod/relay or a poor ground I would think however that only the starter or soloniod if seprate will be effected by heat as a poor ground can also start with the easy stuff first. Ground | ||
| Fl_a1a |
The starter bush theory sounds most reasonable to me as does the heads cooling at different rates of the engine case. I also notice that if I park it were there is good wind flow it seems not to be a problem... adding to the cooling rates of different parts. Next time it happens I think I will get a cup of ice water and throw it in the starter area. What ever the problem is I believe there is a direct relationship with heat. Also it seems if you pop the clutch and hit the starter button at the same time, that would be enough to get the starter out of the odd position. (Message edited by fl_a1a on October 11, 2007) (Message edited by fl_a1a on October 11, 2007) | ||
| Irideabuell |
I had this happen once. The bike was totally cool and I heard nothing when I pushed the starter button. There are a couple of us that ride in my shop and I assumed that my overly mischievious driver had disconnected something to cause this problem. After a stern phone call to him and his scared assurance that he hadn't touched it, I was at a loss. I walked away for 10 minutes and when I returned it fired right up like nothing had ever been wrong. Weird! | ||
| Fl_a1a |
Some one at work said he had this happen with a car which is called gas line vapor lock. This means the injectors won't work until the gas depressurizes by cooling down. | ||
| Bake |
Some one at work said he had this happen with a car which is called gas line vapor lock. No disrespect but.......my guess is with the battery or connection, kinda doubt a vapor lock would stop it from turning over. | ||
| Freezerburn |
Battery. I had the same prob. Trickle charged her back up - no problem. Things get a bit tight when hot. The metals don't all expand at the same rate so things get snug at high temp. | ||
| Fl_a1a |
Had the same problem today. I leaned it as far as I could to the right side and tried the start button. For some reason this worked. Maybe because I got the oil sloshing around and that cooled the engine walls. Maybe because the gas vapor moved enough when tilting the bike. Maybe it was just luck. Give it a try see if it works for you. | ||
| Fl_a1a |
So since leaning the bike from left to right seems to fix the problem I check the oil. It was low. I top off the oil and so far so good. |
