Bike not running.....not too obvious, opinions required please

OK, I was supposed to be at Cadwell today, but I didn't go, as I was suffering bike problems. The bike is pretty new to me, but so far I have had 100 trouble free miles.

Background: Since getting the bike (which came with 1 yrs MOT) I have done some home servicing, but nothing to do with electrics.

Bike last used: Saturday 24th May. Up to this point the bike had / was running fine. I went out for a quick hour. Rode with my headlight on. Came home, the trip was reading 101 miles.

So I came to start my bike yesterday, to ride over to meet my friend with trailer. The bike started, but died a shortly after. Tried again to start, but would die. I kept trying and trying, (not for too long) but the battery went flat.

I scrounged a drop of petrol from the neighbour, but it wouldn't bump start (do v-twins bump start?).

So I stuck it on the battery charger (not optimate), and left it. A few hours later, and 5 litres of petrol and it started. So I just thought it was very low on fuel, and I flattened the battery.

So tonight, I set off to get to the petrol station to fill her up, and she cuts out on me a couple of times, and I get no futher than 200 yrds up the road. Thankfully it was "up", so I rolled her home. Not before flattening the battery trying to start it. The batter only lasted for 2 mins of trying....if that.

So, I have brought it home, and put it on an Optimate 3 I bought ages ago, but never used. As I wonder what is wrong, I have come up with the following scenarios:

1) Reserve tank. Is there a reserve tank on the sv? I can't see a tap on my bike? Maybe there is one, but it has broken off, so I need more than 5 litres to get her going.

2) The battery is dead, beyond repair (hoping Optimate 3 will tell me if it's dead beyond repair).

3) Good old regulator / rectifier has bit the dust. Hence out with my headlight on, and there is not much power left. But there would be no power at all if this was the case I guess.

4) Blockage in the fuel line somewhere?

So, any suggestions? The Optimate is currently just "charging".

Thanks in advance, .org!

Well judging by your sig its a old curvy model SV, same as me. Now I take it when you start the bike the starter motor turns over and engages fine? If that's true then I would start with first checking your spark plugs to check your getting a spark. If your not sure where they are or how to get to them then have a look HERE
Also you said you've had 100 trouble free miles, was it a private sale or trade, if trade did you get any warranty and how long you had it. If private, then its probably sold as seen but you can at least phone the owner and see if they have seen any of the problems before.
Oh and there is no reserve tap, if the tank is low then a light flashes when you have about 3 litres of fuel left and at about 1.5 litres it goes solid. When you first turn the bike on the yellow fuel light will illuminate till the bike starts to show you the bulb is working. 5 litres should be more then enough to start the bike.

Starter motor turns over no worries. New spark plugs were fitted only about a month ago, most of the miles have been on the new plugs, but I will check.

The bike was a private sale, so no dealer comeback there.

As for low fuel, the fuel light works when the ignition is on, but it never came on when I was riding it, so I thought I should have plenty fuel in. Unless the low fuel sensor thing is faulty, I could ask the previous owner that - but to be honest, it is sold as seen, so I don't want to really hassle the guy.

I'm hoping the optimate will give me a clue. By tomorrow morning, hopefully it will tell me the battery is chargeg, and it is doing it's cycling thing then.

Another thought I had maybe if the petrol ran low, that could flush any crap in the tank in to the fuel line / or carbs?

I dunno, will sleep on it and also get more petrol tomorrow, then see what happens!

[jambo]

Okie dokie.

Your battery sounds like it's OK. 2 minutes of turning over a V-twin takes quite a bit of effort out of the battery. The bike should start way before this so the battery is chosen to be compact and light, rather than be able to crank the bike for 10 minutes.

You can bump start v-twins but they take a bit of effort, and frankly if 2 minutes of turning on the starter motor's not helped I wouldn't waste my breath.

The bike does not have a reserve tap, it has a single tap, with a single fuel feed, and an electronic fuel sensor wired to the fuel light on the dash.

Even if the Reg/Rec had bitten the dust, I'd expect it to run for a reasonable number of miles before going flat. Race bikes sometimes run without alternators to save weight, and last a whole race. They don't have lights, but still. it should be OK for a while.

So, back to basics. With the battery charged up, try to start the bike. If it fires up then let it run for a bit and see if it cuts out, or if it idles happily. Intermittent faults can be trickier as you can only find what's broken when it won't work.

First find out if you are getting fuel and spark.

Use a spare spark plug and change the plug cap over to that or remove the plugs one at a time, earthing it on an exposed engine bolt and check for spark at both cylinders. If both cylinders are sparking, and it still won't run it's probably fuel.

If it's a K3+ turn the bike off and on and check for a whine of the fuel system priming / pressurising. If it's an 99-02 bike, lift the tank and check all the hoses are on tightly and are not damaged, especially the fuel pipes and the vacuum pipe to the fuel tap. If this is leaking air then the fuel tap will close, starving the bike of fuel.

Have a look and let us know what you find.

Alternativly you washed it. This is always a bad idea

Jambo

Edit, ah '99 bike, and beaten to some of the main points by grinch.

I didn't wash it but thanks for the post.

I'm still waiting for the guy who always says....

No, not bash your wife with a hammer...just use a hammer!!

[mister c]

Is the bike left outside?
I've had a problem with mine today, washed it on Saturday, came to it today, fired up on tickover, blipped throttle & died. Had a quick look at it tonight & it looks as though the fuel tank drain thingy majig in the top of the tank is blocked.
There is a LOT of water built up in the fuel filler cap, so I have a feeling that water has got into the carbs, tank, etc, etc. I will have a proper look tomorrow if it's not raining & see.
Could be worth looking at

[jambo]

Let us know how you do looking at the fuel and spark questions, this can help a lot. The bike is new to you so there are plenty of things that could be wrong. Rather than going through all of them now, best to know what's playing up and try to narrow it down from there. It would be nice to think someone hadn't sold you a bike without disclosing a known intermittent fault, but hey.


Jambo

[embee]

I'd be checking out the known wiring chafing points on the curvey.

From what you say about cutting out a couple of times it would fit with an intermittent short.

The obvious places to check are behind both the rider's seat bolts (which are too long and hit the harnesses behind) and under the pillion seat the wiring harness wraps round a frame bracket towards the rear on the offside.

They can chafe up near the headstock, just look carefully as you turn the bars as to whether wiring rubs anywhere.

I had the same problem with my Varadero , the rectifier and battery were changed under warranty as the rectifier was overcharging the battery which killed one of the cells . I measured the voltage on the battery and it was 9.5v . The headlights used to flicker when this problem started and the bike would die on roundabouts and stuff . One rectifier and new battery later it was ok ....... just thought I would throw this one into the mix as well .

Well, just checked the optimate, and it tells me the battery is charged, and it is in maintain mode.....so I'm guessing all is ok there. But if it was a reg / rec problem, then I wouldn't really know until it was swapped out, our I got busy with a multimeter.

The bike is garaged, so hopefully no probs there.

I did notice yesterday afternoon that the rear near-side indictor had suddenly stopped working. I assumed it was just a bulb though, and not a short. But it could be. I'll also check the fuses etc. But all this will have to be done after work tonight, so standby for an update then!

(This is doing my head in. I was awake late last night, just lying in bed thinking, "AArrrgggh, whats wrong with it!" )