Hi,
I'm posting for my friend who isn't online right now. In fact he is with his bike trying to get it registered and started. He just got a 1990 K100RT delivered. It seems that there is fuel, and electric. It turns over but won't start. The big was shipped in a tractor trailer, but without a manual. Is there a kill switch or a fuel valve he might have missed?

My friend is near White Plains, if there are any willing people who are local please send me your number.

Thanks,
James

Hi dunno if its any use but the other day I was tinkering and when I put the tank back on
I forgot to reattach the 4 way plug under the rear RH of the tank ( again!!!)
It cranked over like a good 'un but wouldnt start
perhap your pals is loose or someone did what I often do?

BTW f the kill swtch was in the off pos, you'd get nothing
done that too

Is the Kill switch or the shutoff valve hard to find? Anyone have a picture?

Thanks,
James

Kill switch is the little green lever fitted underneath the red start button. It should be in the centre position.
If you download the electronic k1100 manual it will tell you a lot about the bike, although for a slightly different model.
Have a look at the download page on this site. Lot's of good info and fault finding directions.

Thanks guys he did check the kill switch, but wasn't sure about the plug under the seat. No joy for him today but I sent him the link to this forum, so he should be getting in touch soon.

Thanks for the help,
James

Hi James,

I seem to remember something from K-Bike about a side stand switch on that model in that it would crank but not start?

Can you hear the fuel pump operating in the tank? A whirring sound is what you want to hear. There is a round multiplug on the left side of the tank near the fuel hoses. Even if its plugged in, the connection may be funky (ask me how I know). So clean the contacts and plug in tight and see if you get the whir.

Thanks guys I'll update Aaron

Hey everybody, this is Aaron, the guy with the bike that won't start. Thank you so much for all the great replies. I haven't had a chance to check anything out yet as the bike is dead in the parking garage of my former employer (long story). Anyway, a couple of questions:

The side stand WAS down when I tried to start it, but it was in neutral and I had the clutch in, shouldn't that cancel the side stand cutoff? Also, if the side stand were the issue, would this kill the fuel pump too? I did not hear any whirring.

When I get back up there on Friday, I'll check all the connections mentioned in the posts. Thanks again everybody, I'll let you know how it turns out.

So it sounds like the fuel pump is the issue. My understanding of the sidestand switch is that the starter should not crank over at all if the switch is active, so that may not be your problem. The main problem these bikes exhibit is electrical connections, so go over that first...

Not true,
My K100 RS 16 Valve will crank till the battery goes flat if the stand is down. BTDT
Regards,
K-BIKE

Roger that K-Bike. Also true for the earlier ones???

Now you mention it the early ones may not have had a switch at all on the side stand, I just had a look through the circuit diagram for early bikes and cannot see one. That being the case it is something else, he needs to check that volts are getting to the fuel pump and is it running if it is not then that's a deal breaker for getting the engine running. As Stu Ritter the Mercedes E- class Guru says "diagnose-diagnose" it's the best way of nailing problems, the worst is to follow the bad mechanics at some garages process of throwing parts at it till the problem gets better.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Yes that is even more so when you don't have shelves of parts to pull from and just swap out, Crazy Frog is the exception with his cache of used parts just waiting to be used, though I know he is a heavy diagonser too.

Well, I will put all the speculation to rest. It was indeed the side stand. I always thought that if it was in neutral this wouldn't happen. I was wrong.

I put it up on the center stand. Charged up the battery and as soon as I put the kill switch in run position I could hear that beautiful whirring of the fuel pump. The bike started right up after that and runs like a dream.

Thanks so much everyone for all your helpful insight. I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me...

-aaron

Is that great?
A lot of people tried to help you and put you on the right track.
We don't always have the same success, but it's always nice to know that when you are beating your head on the wall, other riders are scratching their own to try to find a solution.

We hate to loose a member due to a fractured skull

You will have your turn to help somebody else.

Cheers

Bert