Hey guys (and ladies),
Having some trouble getting my bike ('02F4i)started this morning. I am a maintenance freak so I know I have taken care of it thus far. I have a full tank of gas, oil is good, it just kicks over like its about to start andwon't. Iknow a bit about cars but bikesI am a little sketchy. I was thinking maybe a fuel filter clog or maybe abad starter???Since Ihaven't exactly made my "first million" yet, I like to do things by myself ie. avoid taking it to the Honda shop.A friend said something about dropping the clutch but that sounds like something I should record and put on youtube cause I am sure it'll be classic. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. thanks

 

Flooded? Charge the battery good, open the throttle all the way and then crank...repeat as needed.

 

I will give it a try tonight, its supposed to be 67 tomorrow and I need to be out on the bike. thanks

 

My bike wouldn't start one day, held ignition down and it would crank but not start. After a while, battery died from my repeated attempts. recharged the battery, tried again, didn't work. Also noticed I couldn't hear the fuel pump priming (that high pitch whine sound when you turn the key to "on" position)

Gave up after all my attempts at everything, and took it to the shop. They said it was a damaged ground wire in the bank angle area. Don't ask me where that is but it deals with the fuel pump. No power was going to the fuel pump, so it didn't pump fuel to get the bike to start.

You can take a look at your manual, find the bank angle area, check all wires make sure there's power going through. Or if your fuel pump is making the high pitch sound, it should be okay and your problem's different. Other than that, good luck man.

 

Just a thought, but have you tried clutch starting it (just to see if it will crank)?

 

I think this guy --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi6N5Iyqfwk wishes he had the same foresight you have... That being said it's not very difficult to pop the clutch if you really need to. Get a buddy (or two) and have him push you on LEVEL ground until you get rolling, then just release the clutch and see if she starts. I used to do this all the time on my old kawasaki since the battery was constantly dead and we didn't care enough to actually charge it up (it was a beater bike).


also, +1 on it being flooded.

 

Definitely will try to drop the clutch if I can't get it started tonight after charging the battery all day.

 

Also, i'm not sure if there is a "proper clutch-popping technique" but you really don't need to be going that fast (a good roll - maybe 5-10mph), just have your hand on the brake and have both feet down at the side. If you are careful you'll be fine. Also I was thinking about it and typically after I popped my clutch I'd pull the clutch right back in once the engine started so there is not much of a load on it. In my case I gave it some extra gas to keep it alive but I think you should refrain from that since you may be dealing with a flooded engine.

Let us know how it goes

 

If it is cranking over, it is not your starter. First this is first, check to see if you fuel system is at least working. Turn the key on and do you hear the fuel pump prime the fuel system? Listen for that high pitched whine. If you hear that, then your fuel system is most likly okay. Crank it over with the Throttle Wide Open, then if it still has not started, go smell your exhaust, does it smell like a ton of raw fuel? If so, the bike is usally flooded, keep that throttle wide open and crank her. Buy putting the throttle wide open when starting, at least on cars, it puts the computer in to "flood" mode and it stops adding fuel to the engine to let it clear out. If all that fails....time to check for spark.

 

Got it going last night! Had to drop the clutch but with a little help from thelittle bro it wasn't too bad. It was just flooded. Thanks for the help guys. Rode it to work this morning (firstwarm day in OK in January).