Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

Hi all, it's been a while since posting here - the CBRFL has been in the shed for the winter but I've dropped by from time to time for a look.

Anyway, time to get the bike back on the road. I've given it an oil change and new filter. THe battery is completely dead and won't accept any charge either, but it's 4 or so years old so that's to be expected I guess, I'll pick a new one up tomorrow.

To save some time I figured I'd try and get it started anyway so I put 5L or fresh fuel in the tank and hooked it up to the car battery. Now the last time this bike ran, it actually ran (unintentially) till it ran out of fuel so the carbies would have dried up by now.

Last night I was cranking away and just couldn't get the thing to start - I ended up flattening the car battery in the process - d'oh! Obviously the carbies need to fill up with fuel and all. I checked the spark plugs during all this and they were dry as a bone. I also checked to see if I had a spark to which there was, but not an overly strong one.

So I'm hoping someone might have some suggestions on trying to start a bike once it's been in storage for 6 or so months.

Cheers - Carl.

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

michnet76, need to get a battery with a good charge, w/o a good battery the cbr is known to turn over but not start, need to have a strong battery, also could cause weak spark. as far as your dry plugs make sure you have good fuelflowfrom the pet cock, if both of those check out good, you may have to clean the carbs.

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

You're a genius fast1000f - I charged the car battery overnight and went for a stretch out on the highway to make sure the car battery was nice and topped up. Got home for lunch break just and hooked up the jumper leads to the CBRFL - this time I also took out the dud battery from the bike and then thumbed the starter - fired up within a couple revolutions of the starter! Didn't even cough or splutter - mind you it was a bit rattly till it warmed up a bit.

Hopefully a new battery will rock up to the bike shop tomorrow so I can take it out for a ride this weekend - itching to get out now! LOL!! Although have to take it easy as I need to take it in for new fork seals before I do too much riding on it - hopefully that won't take too long as the weather has been perfect of late.

Thanks again for your help.

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

Hi there michnet76 / Carl

What year is your bike and how many km has it done?
Great time of the year up there in Berri to hit those country roads now you've got the bike running.

Did you see you have Bluebeard and Coopz from theis group over theve in SA? Should contact them for a ride.

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

G'day Naga Thai...

89 model 'L' with just over 100K (km) on the clock. Still running like an ox - when it starts ;-) Never have any problems with it prior to putting it in the shed in the 10,000km I've had it for.

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

I think you probably had some muck in the jets which has been washed out .
I ran out of gas the other day (doh !) and it took an age for the bike to fire, and that on a full battery, and after only half an hour of standing ! I think you were a bit lucky there.......:D

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

(" You're a genius fast1000f " ) ;)

Yup no full battery charge..no go mate ...std issue with these old girls ;)
glad all is ok now ..
Hope you did all the other things to make sure she was ok and ready for the road mate ?:eek:

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

Carl - If you'r no riding all the time - like me - then do yourself a favour and buy one of these battery "tenders". When you park you bike plug it in and the battery is kept in top condition. You can read all the specs but this is what I and many others use - it also certainly extends the life of your (expensive) battery.

I wired mine in with the kit supplied and the connector pops out the back just above your number plate. So i park my bike in the garage and plug it in.

http://www.batterydoctor.com.au/stor...product=BFJ012

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

Yer ..that is a good idea Martin...;)
My bike tends to sit at least 3-5 days during the week without starting due to me being at work :eek:

I have noticed the battery has dropped a bit and shes turning over slower and slower since winter ..
I normally just chuck her on charge , but that's a hassle because of removing the seat ...

I think I my just grab one of them and a kit ...;)

RE: Dry starting a bike from storage - won't fire up!
 

Two more options of the same device herein Aust....

http://www.projecta.com.au/catalogue/cid/3/asset_id/14/

http://catalogues.cataloguecentral.com.au/default.aspx?xml=batteryworld.xml&iid=9937&amp ;did=10913600&VendorId=213&hash=c6c176dbab 77cba9e328ead87fda9c7473f5c79b&user=auth