what a morning... (help)

I was getting ready to leave this morning and I was moving my bike out into the driveway when i lost my grip and it fell over. of course it falls in the narrowest spot so i can't pick it back up (no leverage) and i have to ask my neighbor for help.

anyway, the bike was on it's side for probably a solid minute before we could get it back upright, and now it wont start. i checked the battery cables and everything but do you think the fact that it spilled some gas is the problem? engine wont turn over at all/push start is not functioning.

help?

 

hey-check the kickstand kill switch or maybe the clutch switch on the lever-this bike is full of interlocks-thats why i bypassed them on mine. good luck!

 

thanks for the quick reply. i checked both and everything seems to be in order so I'm going to charge the battery for a bit and see how that works out. to be honest i can't be sure it would have started before i dropped it as i didn't try before-hand.

 

make sure one of the cyls did not fill with gas. did the starter click or anything how about the tail light or neutral light hopefully its the battery but i would pull the plugs and turn it over just in case a valve was open if a cyl did fill with gas could spell disaster if you turn it over bend a rod or break a piston. It probably did not but better safe

 

Its possible that you are experiencing hydraulic lock , that is one or more cylinders filled with fluid gas oil both pull the plugs before you try and start her up

 

sounds good ill be sure to pull the plugs before starting. i was planning on getting gas this morning as i was almost empty and it didn't appear that much dumped out, there's hardly any on the ground.

i had a battery problem when i first got the bike and the symptoms were exactly the same... lights work fine, everything works as normal except the starter switch seems inactive. still charging i'll check on it in about an hour and see if i can get it to turn over at all.

 

quick update- tried starting it again after charging for a couple hours with no luck.

in case it matters, it fell over onto it's right side, so i am doubting it's a clutch/kickstand sensor issue. am i right in this assumption?

waiting for dad to bring home a sparkplug removal socket...

 

lay bike on side. you flood the carbs.

wide open throttle and crank crank crank.

eventually it'll fire back up. usually takes about 15 seconds. if it don't then something else is wrong and it probably wasn't going to run in the first place.

that battery does have to be fully charge though. weak batteries can crank the motor but not provide spark.

 

will that help me if the engine wont even turn over? otherwise i'm not gonna get the "crank crank crank"

 

Just so as not to overlook the obvious - are you sure you are in Neutral? You may have shifted it into gear inadvertently when you picked it back up. Also, since it fell on the right side are you sure it didn't crack the battery? Did you check the cables to make sure they are tight? If they were not real tight to begin with the fall may have jarred them loose enough so that you are not getting a good connection. Also, the starter relay is on that side as well. Look at the cable connections at the starter relay.

 

So when you say it won't start... Do you mean it's cranking over but won't fire, or that it won't even crank over?

 

it wont even crank over at all. i'm going to guess it's a shot starter because my battery is at 12.4 and the fluid levels are proper.

i successfully roll started it so i know it's nothing mechanical, once i get it roll started it runs/idles/accelerates fine. only thing that's not working is the start button.

i've done my best to look for the kickstand/clutch interlocks but i'm not too sure what exactly i'm looking for in that respect.

 

test to see if you got power at the starter solenoid when pushing the button. it might just be a bad solenoid.

if you got no power then you're in for some diagnosing via all the switches and safety switches.

 

I'm with Snowwy on this, either solenoid, button or safety switches...

 

Dont rule out a bad wire on the starter button or something like that the sudden tip over could of finished breaking the wire. Jump the sol. see if it turns over check the hot wire that triggers it see if it has voltage when you hit the start button .

 

ok, how about the extreme obvious....does your bike have an engine run toggle on the right control assembly? Maybe it got knocked to the off position and was hit hard enough that even in the run position is still turned off.
Just a thought.

 

If it was the kill switch then the bike wouldn't run when push started

 

yeah kill switch definitely isn't the issue. i pulled apart the whole right handlebar assembly today and the wire to the starter button (blue w/white stripe) is firmly soldered so no issue there. i'll have to tear into the solenoid tomorrow and see if we can get that resolved.

if nothing else i have a yamaha dealership down the hill from where i live so i could push start it to drive it down there, although i'd like to avoid spending a lot on a mechanic if possible

thanks for the help guys i'll keep you updated in the morning

 

Resurrecting this a couple months later...

So today I got my starter back from the rebuilder... the starter had the gears smacked out of place somehow and was locked up. Reinstalled the starter and charged battery (pulling 14.7 volts now on the voltmeter).

Headlights, tail light and blinkers all very bright, all guages work, no start. Not even a turn-over. Solenoid has resistance still, so it should be functioning... any pointers?

how frustrating. I have an offer for $500 and possibly $700 to buy the bike... should i sell it?

 

okay, just went out and jumped the starter itself (hooked a nice big new car battery via jumper cables, positive on the wire running from the solenoid to the starter, negative on the negative battery terminal, and the starter definitely turned over a healthy amount.

This seems like good news! I assume that means the starter solenoid is the issue? It clicks on ignition but like i said doesn't let the starter turn over. I obviously am an amateur but i'm pretty stoked if it's just a solenoid.

 

Keep pushing! Don't sell it man! You'll regret it I'm sure. You can do it!

 

Haha, I have it on craigslist and have got a couple cash offers and lots of wacky trades (old stoves, antiques, a bed, a snowmobile, a hot tub, etc) but I really just want to get this bastard running again.

If it's just a solenoid I'm going to be REALLY glad because they're not very costly.

 

I have a starter and solenoid from a 550 parts bike if you want it, assuming they will work for your bike. The clicking thing makes me think about grounds and connections, make sure you check them all if you can. Just let me know. Hate to see someone give one of these bikes up when they could be "riding" lol.