2003 SV 650 Starting Issues

Hi all,

Been a while since I've posted here (or ridden for that matter!). I am sure this has been covered extensively before but I was having trouble using the search function properly.

I have a 2003 650 with about 9k miles. The bike has been sitting in the garage for a good 4-5 weeks. I fired the bike up about 10 days ago and let it run for about 3-4 minutes. Today, I decided to try and do the same thing. I got all the usual lights upon turning the key to the right and the bike proceeded to turn over but would not start. It will turn over a few times and then struggle and the lights will turn off, then the fuel pump comes back on. I am not sure as to why the bike will not start, but I am assuming it is because of the battery or bad gas. How do I go about testing each and fixing it?

Thanks in advance.

[Sid Squid]

Certainly sounds like a low battery, three or four minutes running at idle isn't enough to put back into the battery even what an easy start will take out. Also running it for such a short time does more harm than good.
Charge the battery, chances are that - unless you previously had some fault with the bike - there's nothing wrong, it's just that the battery has lost charge whilst unused, this is nothing unusual and is not an indication of anything wrong, even a new battery in good order will self discharge to a certain degree.

Hi,

Thank you kindly for your response. Assuming the battery is the issue, can I just jump-start the bike from a car battery? Or, what are my options in regard to charging...do I have to hook it up to a device?

If the fuel is the culprit, do I have to drain the tank, or can I just add fresh fuel and some type of cleaner to it?

Thanks,

crzylanesplit

[yorkie_chris]

The fuel is probably OK, injected bikes are pretty resistant to bad fuel.
Yes just jump start it from a car. Don't turn the car engine on when you do it. Try that first.


Why are you starting your bike and leaving it idling?

that happened to mine, i fitted new battery and optimizer runs fine now fuel does go off but it will take a while for it to go completly put some fresh fuel with the old

[jonny.boyd]

May well be too late but whatever you do don't jump start from a car!

Car batteries have a completely different (and much higher) current in comparison to a motorbike battery. Subsequently by jump starting from a car (with the bike battery still in the circuit) you'll completely knacker and cripple the plates in your bike battery. This will lead to a dodgey battery which does charge properly, doesn't hold charge properly and doesn't output the highest power it can, etc etc. If you don't want to wait for the battery to charge then use a motorbike power pack or something of the sort.

^ jumping from car is ok as long as the car is not running

Hi All,

Thanks again for the replies. I have not had any time to ride lately and decided it would be beneficial to just start the bike and let it run. Apparently, this is not a good idea, will refrain from doing so.

Also, I was wondering if it is possible to somehow roll the bike and then pop it into gear, resulting in the equivalent of a 'jump-start'...not sure in regard to the exact procedure but I remember reading about it.

Lastly, would it be advisable for me to check to make sure nothing is blocking the air filter? If so, how would I go about checking this?

Thanks,
crzylanesplit

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by jonny.boyd

May well be too late but whatever you do don't jump start from a car!

Car batteries have a completely different (and much higher) current in comparison to a motorbike battery. Subsequently by jump starting from a car (with the bike battery still in the circuit) you'll completely knacker and cripple the plates in your bike battery. This will lead to a dodgey battery which does charge properly, doesn't hold charge properly and doesn't output the highest power it can, etc etc. If you don't want to wait for the battery to charge then use a motorbike power pack or something of the sort.

Not true.
Car battery is 12V so is your SV - jump starting from your car is perfectly safe and fully recommended in this circumstance. There will be no damage to the bike or the battery - unless you do something daft that is, but if you were to do so it wouldn't matter what the battery came from or was connected to.

Crzylanesplit
You can bump start your bike, but you may find this difficult due to the engine configuration, it's simply a matter to technique. In your circumstance a battery charger would be a good investment, after you jump the bike off the car the battery will still be near flat, it will take a long time riding your bike, (don't take any notice of the rubbish you may have heard, such as 'riding your bike for 30 miles will fully charge the battery', there are too many variables to give any sort of estimation), a battery charger is a better bet, particularly if your bike spends any periods unused you may need to do this again.
Also if you do have any times when your bike is unused, firstly don't start the engine periodically this will worsen the problem and does harm to your engine, and secondly do charge the battery periodically, this will extend it's life and make your bike usable when you need it.

Hi All,

A big thank you to everyone who posted...I was out of town for the past few days, will get to fixing the bike either tomorrow or day after. Hopefully it will be straightforward, if not I will post again.

Cheers