Hi:

I recently purchased this bike and it has been well cared for with a recent oil change/filter and new wires and plugs 2 months ago...60,00km. I rode the bike home and had planned on storing it temporarily in unheated garage until such time as I could move it to a heated dry space. Unfortunately bad weather has hit with fluctuating weather -8/+8 c (Bert can attest to our weather!) and I have not had a chance to move it. Bike now will not start. I made the mistake of not filling the tank with fuel (about 5 litres remained )prior to bad weather and suspect water. I have filled the tank wtih hi-test and added "moisture stop" hoping that would help.

The bike will back fire and rumble as an almost start...very frustrating.

Before I start taking things apart any suggestions or suggested fuel additives ...first places to look etc?

Thanks

Peter

I got caught with the bad weather too. I managed to bring 1 bike in my basement, but the K100 is still in the shed (no heat).

Did you flood the cylinders when trying to start it?
First I will remove the spark plugs and see if they are wet. If it's the case,
crank your engine for a couple of secondes without the spark plugs. The gas accumulated in the cylinders will be pushed out.
Then, take a propane torch and warm up the spark plugs before re-installing them.
Now here is what I did when I had the engine flooded. Do not repeat it as a lot of people will disagree with this solution(but it works):
I removed the 4 spark plugs, and put the flame of my propane torch in the spark plug holes. The gas vapours will burn and sometimes create a small explosion in the chambers. DO NOT PUT YOUR FACE IN LINE WITH THE CYLINDERS.
This is why they call me Crazy Frog......

Hi Peter,
As our resident not so Crazy Frog says that is the quickest way to be sure what is happening and to get it going. The only comment is to confirm you heat the plugs after you light the cylinders as suggested. That way there is a chance if you work quickly that the plugs will still be warm when you go to start. The fuel pump runs when the starter runs but if the engine fails to start and run, the fuel pump stops as soon as you release the start button.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Thank you....followed the instructions and bike started on first bang. It took about 1 min to get the crud out during idling and then took bike for a good run. It is now stored for the remainder of winter in a nice heated garage. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Thanks, Bluenose

Good one you have it working again.

Just a quick one, I don't necessarily agree with K-BIKE above; normally on the earlier K's (with LE-Jetronic) the pump stays one for a few seconds after you release the start button. This is one of the tricks with the older ones; if it doesn't start always listen if the pump runs after you release (or just blip) the start button to give an indication.

Cheers, Rene.

May 3, 2009: Hi gang...back again with the starting problem...after storing the bike in a heated dry garage for five (5) months the bike just will not start. The bike will back fire and once it ran rough shortly, spit and died. Tried again and just backfires. I have pulled plugs and all are wet, they look good and I heated them with propane torch prior to re-installing. Also blew cylinders with propane torch...again no start just backfires. I have repeated the process several times and it just will not go. Any ideas before I haul it off to repair shop? This bike has all new wires and ran good at storage time.

Thanks Bluenose

Hi Bluenose,

First thought would be the quality of the fuel as there are a number of reports of it "going off" in a relatively short space of time.

I also recall Bert saying something about a squirrel in the intake so as you are in the neighbourhood could be the same squirrel

Regards,

Phil

Could you have water in the fuel? Did you check if the plugs are properly sparking before you reinstalled them? If those work it seems the mixture is off. First would be a look at your air filter and anything that can block the air passage. If that's OK the mixture is adjusted depending on a few measurements, where starting itself I understand is only dependent on the air temperature as measured in the air mass meter. The only thing I can recommend is making sure that all electrical connections are made proper (also the one on the AMM inside the airbox!). Good luck!

If it is backfiring I would draw the conclusion that it fuel is getting into the cilinders and also being burnt (because it backfires). I am thinking of too much fuel or to little air passing through to the cilnders as the spark plugs get wet. Are they all wet? Possibly bad sparking rather then no sparking?

Backfiring which means explosions out of the intake rather than the exhaust are usually caused by timing issues. Unless you have intermittent Hall Effect sensors it is not likely to be timing. Misfiring could be caused by fuel and fuel does go off especially when it is in a plastic spare fuel can. I suggest syphon all the fuel out and replace it with known good high octane fuel and operate the starter with the spark plugs out to get the engine turning over and run the fuel pump to get the good stuff into the rail. Then put the plugs back and go for a trial start, does it start or is there no change in the previous observed coughing and banging.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Thanks everyone:

I removed fuel and turned engine without plugs...put new fuel in and turned engine many times without plugs...put new plugs in and pushed the start button. Engine started on first spark and is purring like an old cat. Sometimes the obvious is just too obvious especially when expecting other gremlins.

Thanks to everyone...a great forum...see you on the road.

Regards

Peter