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On side of the road right now - bike's not starting

  • Thread starter Thread starter LoopGaroo
  • Start date Start date
L

LoopGaroo

Guest
Hey everyone. I was out on a ride today with my wife, and after pulling over for lunch my bike is not starting. There's no reaction when depressing the start button. No click, nothing. The headlight and gauges are all functioning, and the bike will crank really strongly when I connect the solenoid posts with a screw driver. So, the bike is cranking really strong but nothing is catching...does this mean that there's no spark? There's plenty of gas in the tank, and the run switch is in the On position. I don't have a spark plug wrench with me to pull the plugs to test for spark. I also don't have a mini-screwdriver to open up the clutch lever to see if there's a bad connection there. All the fuses are good.

Any help? Luckily my bike was parked in front of a public library and a starbucks so I've got computer access and warm coffee. :)

I'm at my wits end, otherwise we can both ride my wife's bike home and I can come back up here tomorrow....
 
" I'm at my wits end, otherwise we can both ride my wife's bike home and I can come back up here tomorrow.... "
If no bike tomorrow , problem solved !

Sure sounds like bad kill switch ( gauges on = so ignition switch should be OK). try hitting it gently and hope that coffee aroma will perk it up. Do you often use the kill switch?
 
Can you psychically pull the fuses and even find some to replace them. Wish you were closer I have a spare pak on my Bike. The coils may not be getting 12 vdc.
 
Put fuel valve on Reserve or Prime position,is "choke" on/open... working ok? Rap on starter solenoind a couple times also..a little shock treatment... put sidestand up...
 
Bypass the clutch switch, then you will know if that's it.
Stick a screwdriver or something similar into the spark plug cap, hold it near the head but not touching it to check for spark.
Don't get zapped!

Is the kill switch off?
 
Yea, I have two fresh back up fuses, and I went through and replaced and tested the starter after trading out each fuse.

I use the kill switch every time I start and stop the bike, and I ride the bike daily.
 
LoopGaroo said:
Hey everyone. I was out on a ride today with my wife, and after pulling over for lunch my bike is not starting. There's no reaction when depressing the start button. No click, nothing. The headlight and gauges are all functioning, and the bike will crank really strongly when I connect the solenoid posts with a screw driver. So, the bike is cranking really strong but nothing is catching...does this mean that there's no spark? There's plenty of gas in the tank, and the run switch is in the On position. I don't have a spark plug wrench with me to pull the plugs to test for spark. I also don't have a mini-screwdriver to open up the clutch lever to see if there's a bad connection there. All the fuses are good.

Any help? Luckily my bike was parked in front of a public library and a starbucks so I've got computer access and warm coffee. :)

I'm at my wits end, otherwise we can both ride my wife's bike home and I can come back up here tomorrow....
Click to expand...

From your description It is sounding as if your start switch is bad not the clutch switch.

If the clutch switch was bad, then shorting out the solenoid the bike should still start.

To check for spark, pull off one of the spark plug boots and stick a screw driver or other metal object into the boot and hold the metal close to bolt head on the engine. If it is about 0.25-0.5 inches away you should see a faint spark confirming that the coils and ignition is powered.

Hold on to the rubber part of the wire else you might get a shock when cranking the engine with key on.

If the start switch is broken somehow you can "hot wire" the bike by running a lead from the battery (+) to one of the positive terminals on the coil (Orange/white)

If you are near a parts store, you could also get a Phillips screwdriver and try to take apart the start switch but it would be pretty easy to lose parts on the side of the road. However, opening the switch does give an opprotunity to short out the run switch from the inside contacts as well. (some alligator clips would work) the . A volt meter would help out but ........
 
The kill switch is ON.

I'll go try your other suggestions...

tkent02 said:
Bypass the clutch switch, then you will know if that's it.
Stick a screwdriver or something similar into the spark plug cap, hold it near the head but not touching it to check for spark.
Don't get zapped!

Is the kill switch off?
Click to expand...
 
Piece of advice we got.DON'T USE THE KILL SWITCH unless you need to.It will wear it out.Not designed to be used all the time.
 
Last edited:
Pull out the Headlight Fuse and save the battery power for the staart up attempt(s).
 
SVSooke said:
Piece of advice we got.DON'T USE THE KILL SWITCH unless you need to.It will wear it out.Notdesinged to be used all the time.
Click to expand...

Yes it is redundant to the ignition switch so it should be left ON all the time except when you need it.
 
LoopGaroo said:
I just tested: There's no spark...
Click to expand...
Very likely kill switch, if you could pull tank off you could run a jumper wire from orange/white wire on coils to battery positive -this would power the coils and the ignitor. It would likely also let starter button work.
 
LoopGaroo said:
I just tested: There's no spark...
Click to expand...

===>so your kill switch is bad; you need to hot wire the bike.

either get a wire and run it from battery to coil (+)
you strip back the end of hot wire wire and wrap it around one of the coil posts. Then reinsert the harness plug as normal. This will power the entire ignition circuit. The other side can goes to (+)accessory on the fuse box.

or

open the switch and use alligator clips on the O to O/W inside of the switch


O=Orange
O/W = Orange /white (stripe)

maybe someone else has a better idea, but I can't think of one.
 
I was able to push my bike to a train station, put my wife on the train and ride her TU250x home (fun!).

I'll ride the train out there tomorrow and bring my tool box and multimeter along.

Are there any other possibilities besides a bad kill switch? I'm afraid of putting all my eggs in one basket..
 
Sure, but kill switch is the most likely culprit,and since you are a serial kill switch user.....get it home and find out.
 
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