Went down stairs to start the bike for the first time this year and it wouldnt start. The battery was dead so i put a charger on and cranked it over,still nothing. The bike would crank but not fire soI thought maybe it had some bad gas from sitting. So I pulled the plastics off by the airbox and gave it a shot of start fluid. the bike fired right off, but as soon as i leave of the starter switch the bike shuts down. i looked at the kick stand and saw what appears to be maybe a kick stand switch. will that shut the bike down in neutral or only in gear,or is that wire for something different? Could it be a fuse,or maybe a short at the starter? any thoughts. thanks shawn p.s I guess you figured i am new to bikes.

 

Could be bad gas if it sat long enough, but most likely either the vacuum valve in the petcok is stuck, or the needle valves are stuck to the seats in the carbs-which is usually caused by stale gas. How long since it ran?Where you from?

 

thats the weird thing.It runs fine as long as i keep my thumb pushing the starter button. Could the dead battery cause it to do this. It shuts off the minute i move my thumb.otherwise it runs normal.

 

Sometimes a battery that has sat long can shortinside, and if your using jumper cables orcharger it may still crank, but die when you let off button. If you leave the battery onslow charger for 20 min. or so, (or use jumper cables with the motor running on the car), it should be able to at least run the lights with motor off for a while, if it's totally dead,it's probably done. Personally I've about hadwith bike batteries the past couple days!

 

The kickstand switch turns the bike off if the stand is down and the bike is in gear.....the rest is sorta answered above and im tired

 

i am going to get a new battery this weekend .Its toast. I will see if that takes care of it. bizzare if thats what it is never had a car do that to me.Looks like i got new stuff to learn.

 

so were all your dummy lights turning on? I am having teh same problem with my o1 f4i. It stays running with the starter down...I guess im going to go try and jump it...

 

Battery took care of it fired right up.