Chinese POS.

[SvNewbie]

So my friend bought a Chinese 125 last year. She rode it around the block a few times but never really got used to riding a bike with a clutch. She then left the bike all winter without starting so predictably it didn't want to run when she tried.

I popped over yesterday assuming it would be something like the fuel tap left off or the kill switch flicked off but no luck. It will turn over quite happily but doesn't make any attempt to fire.

I took the spark plug out (after picking a socket which would fit), after turning it over a few times it was definitely wet. I kicked the engine over a few times with the spark plug out dried and wiped the spark plug. Checked that there is compression (feels fine on the kick starter) and enough to blow my finger off the spark-plug hole.

I tested the spark-plug by grounding it against the engine block and turning the bike over. This only produced the finest of tiny sparks. Possibly it wasn't grounded that well though. Parts are dirt cheap for it so ordered a new spark plug and coil.

Pushed it to the nearest garage and filled the tank just incase (it was nearly empty).

Going to try charging the battery (was pretty flat by the end) changing the spark and the coil. Other than that any words of wisdom? Am I right in thinking that even with the worst mixture in the world (but definitely some fuel) it would at least cough a few times when cranking it / kickstarting / push-starting it.

[atassiedevil]

Should do. Tried changing the plug cap? Had to do that recently on my stepdaughters chinese 125.
They do fail. Often.

[SvNewbie]

If the picture is accurate the coil comes with a new plug cap and HT lead so that should be taken care of hopefully.

[willf]

I would charge battery before spending too much money on other parts. Your diagnostic logic seems sound.

[willf]

Fresh fuel never hurt either. But 6 months isn't so long.

[punyXpress]

Give it a shot of lighter fuel

[bobbleheadbarne]

Shot in the dark is it carb?

[bobbleheadbarne]

Try some easy start at the air intake

[_Stretchie_]

What model is it? Check the kill switch (We've all done it, if I leave the kill switch set to 'Off' but try to start mine it does the chugga chugga and sounds like it's trying but never fires) and change the fuel

Engine wise they are all pretty much the same. Mine was stood for a couple of years, I could get it started but it would just die after a bit so I stripped the carb and just cleaned it all with a can of carb cleaner.

Is the choke on the bar or under the tank on the carb itself?

If it is on the carb itself then it should have three settings, down, middle up.
Up = On max - If cold or not used for ages then have it on this setting, kick the bike over and hold the revs at about 5k for 5-10 seconds, then put down to middle setting
Middle = Half on, hold the revs at about 5k for 5-10 seconds then back off the throttle slowy to see if it dies or if it stays on
Down = Off

[SvNewbie]

Cheers Stretchie, it is a Lexmoto Vixen with the pulse 125 engine, double and triple checked the kill switch. It would kill the ignition if it was not working or not in the right place right? Will check whether the weak spark becomes no spark at all next time I have a look at it just to be quadruply sure. Probably a good idea to check the side stand switch while I'm there.

The choke is on the carb, tried with it both up and down but will give the middle position a go for completeness. I seem to remember that when it did run it didn't particularly like having the choke completely off. Possibly a blocked jet somewhere or is running with the choke in the middle pretty standard for them?

I'm leaning more towards it being an ignition issue than fuelling though, based on the fact that the spark plugs are definitely wet with fuel after cranking it. If it was making any effort at starting at all, not idling or running rough I'd have thought a fuelling issue was more likely?

[SV650Racer]

Fuels gone stale. Fresh fuel, new plug and clean out the carb, mainly blocked pilot jet will prevent starting and stale fuel messes up plugs. Most common job we get in this time of year.

[atassiedevil]

It definitely sounds like ignition. Spark is weak if it's yellow, so that is where to start.

so, thats not too many components. I'd discard ignition switch as it'll either spark or not, so you've CDI charging coil, ignition pickup coil, cdi unit, coil, plug, plug cap.

Most likely culprits are coil, plug, cap, ht lead. You're replacing all of those in one hit, so i'd expect that to help greatly or fix the problem

Report back when thats replaced. If that still doesn't fix the issue i'd look at a new CDI unit (around £20 i recall) or replacing the stator/cdi plate, which is't much either.

mine was the stator plate, the flywheel was loose and had lunched the pickup coil. £12 to fix, so not too bad.

[SvNewbie]

Sounds like a plan. If the ignition parts don't help I'll see if it will start on a whiff of easy start.

[_Stretchie_]

If you want to give it a service, a service kit from CMPO is about £20 delivered

http://www.chinesemotorcyclepartsonline.co.uk/bikes_HT125-8%28Lexmoto%29.php

[willf]

Did you get it going mate?

[SvNewbie]

Heading over there tonight to take the battery off and leave it charging for the evening. May also remove the Carb if I can see enough to do it as will be dark by the time I'm there. That way I can clean it up tonight and get it refitted tomorrow, hopefully before the rain starts!

[SvNewbie]

Took the carb off tonight, to be honest it was pretty much spotless inside. Tiny bit of reside at the bottom of the float bowl but nothing that would account for not starting. Gave them a while over and sprayed some car cleaner through the jets just in case. Pretty sure it must be ignition now. See how it goes when I put it all back together tomorrow.

[SvNewbie]

Yup, New spark, coil, HT lead and boot and away it went. Slightly annoying not knowing exactly which part went but for the sake of £13 in parts, £16 for a cheap battery charger and a few quid for carb cleaner was quite good to do everything at once.

[willf]

Nice one! Shame it's still a Chinese pos, but good feeling when you fix it yourself

[SvNewbie]

Yeah, I'd almost convinced myself that it was worth trying to pick one up as cheap transport. My friend got hers for just over £200, and there is almost nothing on them that can't be fixed for the price of a good night out.

That was until I rode it for a few miles, the brakes were barely adequate and with the wide bars I couldn't filter nearly as much as I'm used to. Was glad to be back on the SV :)

[atassiedevil]

They do the job. Surprised the brakes aren't up to the job though, the stepdaughters CBR 125 clone stops on a 2p piece if you want it to.
Reliable enough if you keep on top of maintenance, she uses hers every day for work.

[SvNewbie]

Yeah, not sure what state the brakes are in. If she starts riding it reasonably often I'll get her to bring it round and give the calipers a clean and change the fluid. Pointless doing it now as she'll probably leave it for another month before trying to move it again!

[ClunkintheUK]

Yeah, I'd almost convinced myself that it was worth trying to pick one up as cheap transport. My friend got hers for just over £200, and there is almost nothing on them that can't be fixed for the price of a good night out.

That was until I rode it for a few miles, the brakes were barely adequate and with the wide bars I couldn't filter nearly as much as I'm used to. Was glad to be back on the SV :)

Yeah, SV's are great through London traffic.

[ophic]

Wide bars are easily fixed with a hacksaw.